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Show 3P Reafon. 1 ,Book l'V. ---<tnd fit Order, to make tbeir Connexion a~d Force be plainly and car.Jy percetved; the tlurd LS the perceLVLng thc1r1 cooncxion ; and the fourrh the making a right conclufion. Thefe fcvera'i-eegrccs may be obfcrved • in any mathematical Demonfrration : it being one thing to percei\•e the ~onnexi~n of each part,ns the Demonfrratidn is made by another ; anotl1er to percetve the dependence of the conclufion on all the pans; a third to make out a Demonfrration clearly and neatly ones fdf, and fomcthio d,[(l¢reQt from all. thefe, to have firll: found' out thofe iru:ermcdihte-Ytka! o:r .!'roof~ by "'bith it is mnde. ..,. . S· 4• There !~t thing ~ore, which r, fl1nll def!re to be confid.,.ed COI),(~'fOing RCJfool and thaOts; whether Sylhgifm, as i~ g~nerally thought, beth~ ptoper tnl\~JUment of Lt,tand the ufefullcll: way rof Cl(Crcilin" r!Jis Fa~~lry. The_ QnlfllSI have to doubt, are thefe: n ,, " _ /firfl, Becau~.S~llogifin ferv~ our Reafon, but in oneqnl)! of th~1Qr.;; !'lent1oncd _Parts of It; and that IS, to !hew the connexi,on of the l?roof3 m an~ one mlla®e~ Md nq moFe: bu( in- t)li~, it is of qo great uf~,::tjpce the Mmdcan·perceJ.Ve fucl1 connexLOn where \r really i•, as eafily, ru~n perhaps, ~tter \V.IJ:hout It. . , , ! ~: ,.,._, . Jl,we.wtll obf,r.~~ the Actingsof our own Minds, w,e !hall lin.d, tlj;lt)\'O reafo?i bell: and ,llJrar~fr, ~hen we only obfelve the ~pnnexion ~ the PrOJifs, wJthour r,C:~ucmg tt to, any Rule of Syllogifin: and therefore ii'C may,, t¥i<e not1te, ,that there are. many Meo that reafon ,!'!XCeetling clear an\11 .ng)11ly, who know nor !;low to make, a Syllogifm. He that will looK \nt~ m~ny partS of A/ia and America, will find Men reafon there, perhaps, as acutely as lumfelf, Who yet never heard of a ,Syllogifm, qo~ can redu~ any Q11~, Argum~nt to tbofe Forms. Indeed fometimcs it rna)" ~r~~ to >\ifcover ~.Falla_cy lud10 a rhetorical FlouriJh,or cun,11ingly wrapp'~ up_ m a · fmootl) Pertod ; and ll:rip~ing an rl\bfurdity of' the Covel; of "!' tt, ancj gopd Language, l)lew 1t 10 tts naked- Defor1nityj But the Mind IS not ta,~ght to reafon by thefe Rul~, it has a native Faculty, to ,J~r<;<~ivb t'rh"e fobcrence, or Incoherence of tts Ideqs, and can fOIJge them right 1out ·~r fuch perplexing Repetitions. 'Ji'ell ~ Countr.y Gentlewoman: t 1at t~e W10d 1s South-Weft, and the Weather louring and like to rain ~nd fhe WJU cafily underfrand, 'tis not Me fQ( her to g~-abr~ad thi" daci' 10 fuch a day, after a Fever: fhe clearly fees the probableconoexion of ali thefe, """· Sollth-Wefr-Wmd, and Clouds, Rain, wetting, taking Cold, ~fil~pfe, and Danger of Death, Without tymg them together in thofc artl eta! and cu'?berfomeFetters offeveral Syl!ogifms, that clog and hinder the Mmd, wluch proceeds from one part to another quicker and clearer 'jlthout them ; and the Probability which fl)e eafily perceives in Things t 1us 10 thetr native State, would be quite lQfr, if this Argument were managed learnedly, and propofed in Mode and Figure. For it very often confounds the conn~xion : and, I think,every one will perceive in mathemll: atLcadl Demonll:ratlons, that the Knowledge gain'd thereby comes fllor-te an clearefr Without Syllogifin. ., ' /eco•dfJ, Becaufe though Sfllogifm ferves to !hew the Force or Fallacy ~ an1 Arg~T,ent, made ule of m, the ufual way of difcourling by fupplymg t 1e a ent PropolitJOn, and fa fe~ting it before the vic,:, in a clear Light; Ydtf:'~t~ leis engages the Mind in the perplexity of obfcure equi~ h~a 'ant a dctousTerms, wherewith this artificial way of Reafoning _ ':'Js a oun s: 1t bemgadapted more to the attaining of Victory 'En 1.~utc > than tlje d1fcovery or confirmation of Truth in fair nqULoiCS. §. 5· Chap. XVI. Reafon. ~- 5· But however it be in Knowledge, I think, I may truly fay it is of far lefs, or no ufe at all in Probabilities: for the AITent there, beihg to be determined by the preponderancy, after a due weighing of all rhe Proofs with all Circumlhnces on both fides, nothing is founfit to allifr the Mind in that, asSyllogifm ; which running away with one affumed ProbabilitY, or one topiCal Argument, purfues that nlltt has led the Mind quite OUt of fight of the thing under Confideration; and forcing it upon fome remote Difficulty, hold:' it tall: there, inta!Jgled per~aps, a_nd as it were, mana' cled tn th~Chatn of Syllog1fms, wtthout allow1ng lt.thc liberty, much lcfs affordtng 1t the helps rcqu1fite to fl1ew on wluch fide,all Thin<>sconfi-dered, is the greater Probability. · b g. 6. But let it help us ( as1 perhaps, may be f.1id) in convincing Men of their Errors or Miflakes; (and yet I would fain fee the Man, that was forced out of his Opinions by dint of Syllogi/m ; ) yet ll:ifl it jails our Reafon in that part, which if not its highell: Pedection, is yet certainly its hardcll: Task, and that which we mofr need its help in ; and that is t/;e finding ••t of Proofs, and makmg new Dijcr>v(rres. The Rules of Syllogifin ferve not to furnifl1 the Mind with thofe intermediate Ideas, that may !hew the connexion of remote ones. This way of reafoning difcovers no new Proofs, but is the Art of marfl1alling, and ranging the old ones we have olready. The 47rl1 Propofition of the FirO: Book ot Euclid is very true; but the difcovery of it, I think, not owing to. any Rules of common Logick. A Man knows firll:, and then he is able to prove fyllogifrically. So that Syllogifm comes after Knowledge, and then a Man has little or no need of it. But 'tis chiefly by the finding out thofc Ideas that fhew the conltexion of difrant ones, that our frock ot 1\nowlt'C\ge is increnfed, and that ufeful Arts and Sciences are advanced. Syllogifm, at bell:, is bttt the Art of fencing with the little Knowledge we ha~<e, without mal<ing any Addition to it : And if a Man fhould employ his Reafon all this way, he will not doe much otherwife than he, who having got fome Iron out of the Bowels of the Earth, fhould have it beaten up all into Swords,and put it into his Servants Hands to fence with, and bang one another. Had the King of Spain imploy'd the Hands of his Peo_ple, and his Sp'anifh Iron fo, he had brought to Light but little of that Treafure, that lay fo long hid in the dark Entrails of America. And I am apt to think, that he who lhall employ all the force of his Reafon only in brandifl1ingof Syllogifms, willdifcover very littl~ of that MalS ofKnowkdge,which lieS yet concea• led in the fecret recefles of Nature; and which I am apt to think, native rufrick Reafon (as it formerly has done) is likelier to open a way to, and add to the cornmoR frock of Mankind, rather than any fcholafrick Proceeding by the ll:rict Rules of Mode and Figure. ~- 7. I doubt not neverthelefs, but there are ways to be found to afli!l our Reafon iu this moll: ufeful part ; and this the judicious Hooker encourages me to fay, who in his EccL Pol. I. r. ~- 6. fpeaks thus: If there might be added the rigbt helps of true Art and Learning,(which bclps I nr'lfl plainly conjeJS, this Age of tbe World carrying the Name of' a learned Age, dotb neitber mucb know, norgener.lly regard,) tbere would undo•bted· !1 be almrifl as much difference in Maturity of ]udgment bet ~Peen !rlen tbere• with i~t1aed, and tbat wbicb nowMe11are, asbetrt•een Men tbat aren(Jiv,and lnnorents, I do not pretend to have found, or difcovcred here any or thofe right helps of Art, this great Man of deep Thoughts menuons; but thts is plain, that Syllogifm, and the Logtck now in Ufe, wh1ch ~~ere as well known in his days, can be none of thofe be means. It 1s fuflic1ent for me, if by a D1fcourfe, perhaps, fomething out of the way, I am fure as to me wholly 343 |
