Some mathematics educators have recourse to the history of mathematics in order to better understand the student processes of learning mathematics and the way in which such an understanding can be used in the design of classroom activities. This didactical task raises some specific difficulties. Indeed, the not only a meticulous methodological design of the classroom activity is required but also one has to be equipped with a rich theoretical framework allowing a fruitful link between the epistemological dimension of the historical construction of mathematical thinking and the psychological dimension of the learning processes of our contemporary students.