The arte of logick Plainely taught in the English tongue, according to the best approued authors. Very necessary for all students in any profession, how to defend any argument against all subtill sophisters, and cauelling schismatikes, and how to confute their false syllogismes, and captious arguments. By M. Blundevile.

Of a question, and of certaine diuisions of words.

WHat is a question?

A question is a speech where of some doubt is made and vttered with some interrogatorie: as, How, What, or Whether: and such question is either simple, or compound.

Which call you simple, and which compound?

It is called simple, when the question consisteth onely of one word; as when I aske what Iustice is, or what Fortitude is, and such like; and is to be discussed by defining and diuiding the same. It is called compound, when it consisteth of many words ioined together by rules of Grammar, to make some perfect sen∣tence; as when I aske whether it be lawfull for the Christians to make warre vpon the Turkes, or not: and such like questions, which are to be discussed by arguing and reasoning on both sides: for Definition, Diuision, and Argumentation, as I said be∣fore, are the three especiall instruments whereby Logicke fin∣deth out the truth in any doubtfull matter.

Of what parts doth a compound question consist?

Of two, that is, the subiect and the predicate.

What meane you by these words, subiect and predicate?

The subiect is the word or sentence, whereof another word or sentence, called the predicate, is spoken: as when I say, Man is a sensible body; here this word Man is the subiect, and sensible body is the predicate: or each of them may contain many words, as this, To be learned in the Law require•…•…h a long studie; here To be learned in the Law is the subiect, and all the rest is the pre∣dicate.

How shall I know in long speeches, and specially being preposterously set, which is the Subiect, and which is the predicate?

By asking this question, Who, or What: for that which answe∣reth to this question, is alwaies the Subiect, as in this example: It were meet to learne my Grammar perfectly, before I entred into my Logicke: here if you aske, What is meet, you shall finde that to learne my Grammar perfectly is the Subiect, and all the rest to be the predicate. And note that these two words, Subiect and Predicate, are said to be the terms, limits, or extreme bounds of a Proposition, whereof we shall speake hereafter.

Sith euery question doth consist of words, me thinks it were necessary to shew how words are diuided.

Of words the Schoolemen make diuers and manifold diuisi∣ons, of which I minde here to recite but three onely, whereof the first is this: Of words some be simple, which they call Incomplexa; and some be compound, which they call Complexa. Simple or sin∣gle words, are such as are sole or seuered one from another, not making any sentence, as man, horse, wolfe. The compound are words ioined orderly together by rules of Grammar, to make some perfect sentence, as, Man is a sensible body. And hereof the questions are said to be either simple or compound, as hath been said before.

What is the second diuision of words?

Of words some, be of the first Intention, and some of the se∣cond.

Which are they?

Words of the first Intention are those, whereby any thing is

signified or named by the purpose and meaning of the first author or inuentor thereof, in any speech or language whatsoeuer it be: as the beast whereon we commonly ride, is called in English a Horse, in Latine Equus, in Italian Cauallo, in French Cheual. Words of the second Intention are termes of Art▪ as a Noune, Pronoune, Ve•…•…be, or Participle, are termes of Grammar: like∣wise Genus, Species, Proprium, and such like, are termes of Lo∣gicke.

What is the third diuision of words?

Of words, some be called Indiuidua, that is to say, particular, or rather singular; and some be called Vniuersalia, that is to say, vniuersall, common or generall.