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.

How to confute all manner of Elenches, or Fallaxes whatsoeuer they be.

EVery Fallax consisteth eyther in words or in things: and of those that consist in words, there are in number sixe, and of others consi∣sting in things, there are seuen, so as in all there be thirteene, as I said before.

Which be those sixe that consist in words?

Equiuocation, Amphibologie, or doubtfull speech, Con∣iunction, Diuision, Accent, and Figure, or forme of speech.

Shew what these Fallaxes be, and giue examples?

Equiuocation is, when the deceit consisteth in the doubt∣fulnesse* 1.1 of some one word, hauing diuers significations, as for example: Euery Dogge is a sensible bodie, there is a certaine Starre called a Dogge: Ergo, That Starre is a sensible bodie: heere the Conclusion is to be denied, because this word Dog hath diuers significations: another example, the Propher saith that there is no euill in the Citie, but God doth it; but there be horrible euils in the Citie: Ergo, God is the Author of e∣uill: the Conclusion is to be denied, because in the Maior this word euill signifieth punishment, and in the Minor it signifieth sinne: another example, Whosoeuer loueth Christ, obserueth his word, and is beloued of the Father: but no bodie that breaketh the Law, obserueth the word of Christ; therefore no bodie is beloued of the Father: heere the Maior is doubtfull, because this voyce, Word, may be taken eyther for the word of the Law, or else for the word of the Gospell, which the A∣postles did euer keepe, as Christ himselfe saith, and therefore they were beloued of the Father, and so consequently euery true Christian, that doth keepe the pure doctrine of Christ, is beloued of the Father: but the word of the Law saith, that e∣uery one is cursed that abideth not in all.

Amphibologia or doubtfull speech, is when some whole* 1.2

sentence is doubtfull, and may bee interpreted diuers wayes, as the Oracle of Apollo, in saying that Cressus passing the Ri∣uer of Halis, shall ouerthrow a great Empire, by which Ora∣cle was meant that hee should ouerthrow his owne Empire, and not the Persian Empire, which by wrong construing that Oracle, he hoped to subdue.

Composition or coniunction, is the ioyning together of* 1.3 things that are to be seuered. As for example, two and three be euen and odde, but fiue maketh two and three, therefore fiue is both euen and odde: which kinde of argument is to be denied, because those things are ioyned together, which ought to be seuered.

Diuision is, when things are seuered, which should be ioy∣ned* 1.4 together, as, all the wise men of Greece are seuen: Solon and Periander are wise men of Greece▪ therefore Solon and Pe∣riander are seuen: heere the Consequent is to be denied, be∣cause Solon and Periander are seuered from the rest whereunto they should be ioyned.

The Fallax of Accent is, when words are not rightly and* 1.5 simply pronounced, as when wee doe adde to, or take from a word, any aspiration, letter, or syllable, and thereby alter the true signification thereof, as this Latine word, Hara, signify∣ing a Swines cote, being pronounced without H, doth signi∣fie an Altar. In English let this be your example▪ Euery Hare is swift on foote, but this is a Hayer, (that is to say) a cloth to drie Mault, therefore it is swift on foote. Of like sort is this old iest of a Master that said to his seruant: Go heate this Ca∣pons legge, who immediately did eate it: then his Master be∣ing angry, said, I bade thee heate it, with an h: no Sir (said the seruant) I did eate it with bread. Likewise this Fallax may chance by not obseruing the right quantitie of syllables, in a∣ny word, as Populus hauing o, long, is a Popple tree, but ha∣uing o, short, it signifieth a people. Or when a word vsed In∣terrogatiuely, is made to haue an Affirmatiue signification, as for example: Caiphas said to Christ, Art thou a King? Ergo, He confessed Christ to be a King. Or when a word pronoun∣ced ironiously is turned to good earnest, in speaking one thing

and meaning another, as thus: My Master said, Come hither, you honest man: Ergo, He said that I was an honest man, when indeed he called him knaue.

The Fallax of forme or manner of speech may be diuers* 1.6 wayes, as first, when words are falsely supposed to be like ey∣ther in signification, in case, or in gender, or to be of one selfe Predicament, because they are like in termination, as Poeta, in English a Poet, and Poema, in English a Poesie or poeticall worke: these two words, because they end both in a: Ergo, they are both of the Masculine gender. Also coloured and numbred are like in termination: Ergo, they are of one selfe Predicament, and yet the first belongeth to the Predicament of qualitie, and the other to quantitie. Secondly, when a word is vsed in one selfe argument, sometime according to his proper signification, and sometime as a terme of Arte: as for example, God is euery where: euery where is an Aduerbe, therefore God is an Aduerbe. A Mouse eateth cheese, but a Mouse is a syllable: Ergo, a syllable eateth cheese. Heere Mouse in the Maior hath his proper signification, and in the Minor is vsed as a terme of Arte: and the like is to be said of the word Euery where in the first example. Thirdly, when a word hath not his proper signification, or is not vsed accor∣ding to the true phrase of speech wherein it is vttered, as thus: Whatsoeuer thou hast not lost, thou hast still, but thou hast lost no hornes: Ergo, thou hast hornes. Heere this word, to lose, hath not his proper signification, for wee are said to lose pro∣perly that which wee had, and not that which we neuer had. And finally, this Fallax is called the common refuge and re∣ceptacle of all such kinde of Sophistrie. Hitherto of the Fal∣laxes in words, now of the Fallaxes in things.

Notes

• * 1.1

  1 Equiuocatio.
• * 1.2

  2 Amphibologia.
• * 1.3

  3 Compositio.
• * 1.4

  4 Diuisio.
• * 1.5

  5 Accentus▪
• * 1.6

  6 Forma Oratio∣nis.