1000000030

· G

;nn.n,~,

II'C

eOO1par~

til'O figures of a diífmot make, io

order tO jlldgcof Ihei r equahtyor inequalil)', it IS plaio,

Ih3t by bardy eonfidering Ihe licures themfelves we

connOt .lrrive " :tnexa/1 dettrminalion ; beeaufe, by,ea

(on

01'

their

dif~gl'eeing

forms, it is iml'0llible fo to pUl

themtogether, as th:lt ,heir fevw l pans fi,all mutually

coincide. Here thenit

becollle~

o,cea"'ry lO look out for

fome third idea. that will admit of fueh ao applicatiooas

the prefeot

caf~

recluir.s; wherein if we 'fucceed, all

diRieulti.s vanilh, aod the rdation we are in quell of

may be traccd with eafe. Thus right·lined figures are

.1I .reducible tO fquares , by meaos of which \le can

meafure their areas, aod determine exaélly their agree·

ment or dlfagreement in point of magnitude.

But how (Jnany third idea

ferv~

tO difcover a relation

between

111'0

othen, by beinc eompared feverally with

{hefe olhers 1 for fueh a comparifon enables us to fee holV

fJr the ideas with which this third is compared are con·

oeéled or dlsjoined between Ihemfdves. Inthe example

meotioned aboye . of t\Vo richt.lined figures, if we como

'Pare eaehof them with fome

fqu~re ,~hufe

area is known,

and find the one exaélly equal to it, and the other lefs

by a fq nare.inch, we imediately conclude, tha! the area

of the firil figure is a fquare ioeh greater thaothat of the

fceond.

T~is

maooer ofdelermining the rdalion belweeo

any I\VO ideas, by the ioterveotion of fome third \Vilh

which they may be compared, is that which IVe call

r(a·

foning.

Tite greal art lies, in findiog out fuchiOlerme·

diale ideas, as, when com pared \Vith the olhm io lhe

lIueilioo, \ViII furoilh evideol aod koowo lrulhs, becaufe

il is ooly by Oleaos of them that \Ve anive at lhe koow·

Iedge of \Vhal is hiddeo aod remOle.

Heoceit appears, that every a<'t of «¡foniog oecelrarily

¡oeludes three dillioél judgmeots; t\Vo whmio the ideas

whofe relatioo\Ve

w.nt

to difcover are feverally compared

.willt the middle idea, aod athird \Vlterein they are them·

felveseonnefted or disjoined accordin¡:

tbe refull of Ihat

compadfon·. Now, as, iothe firil pan oflogic, our judg.

meols. when put into words, were called propofillons; fo

here, in lhefecond parl, the expreflionsofourreafonings are

termed

f)'lI'gifim.

And heoce il follow" Ihalas evtry aél of

«¡fooing implieslhreefeveraljudgmenu, fo veryfyllogifm

muil ioc!ude !hr.t dillinél propofil ions. Wheo areafoniog

is thus PUt irolo IVol'ds, and appears in formof a fyllogifnl,

the intermedim idea made ufe of to difeover the agree–

'n)ent or

dif~greement

we fearch for is ealled the

/l/iddle

"'ni;

,nd the

111'0

ideas Ihemfelves, with which tbis

lhird is compared, go bythe n,me of Ihe

,xlrnnn.

But as thefe things are bell illullraled by examples;

let us, for iofiance, fel ourfelves

inquire.

,vheth"

I~,n

I1munl.bI,

jor Ihúr af/iQnJ .

As the relation be–

(ween Ibe ideas of

mnn

and

.ccollnlabltn'fr ,

eom's not

wilhin lhe immediate vie\V of Ihe miad , our firfi cm

mua be,

find OUt fome Ihird

ide~,

thal \ViII

en~ble

the mOle e.,fil)· tOdilcoyer ,nd trace il A very fmall

meafure of rcflcélion is fullicirnt lO ioform us, tlm no

creature can be ,ccouotable for his

~éI¡ons, unl~fs

\\ e

fuppo'e him ' apahle of dlilincuilhing Ihe r,ood froOl the

bad. Nor is this alone fuRicicnl.

ur ",h3t ",ould It

avatl hin!

know eood from b,d

~t'lion',

If he h3d no

[r~cdpm

of cJ¡oicr, nor could avuid the

,n~

and pUlfue

Ihe olher 1 henee it beeome, necclr.;i tO lake in bOln

conr.Jerolions io lhe prefent cafe.

Ihef, metime

equally arparent, thal wltere·ever there is

thi~

abilily of

ditlinguilhlng good from bad aétions, and of purfuing the

one and avoiding the olher, there alfo a creature is ae·

count.ble. We have then got a third

id~a,

with which

amunlab!mtji

is infeparably conneéled,

viz. rtafonand

/io"I};

which are here to be confidered as making up

one coO!plex eonceplion. Let us now"ke this middle

idea, and compare it with lheolher term io the queilioo,

viz. /nan;

.nd we all koow by experience, th. t it may

be affi rmed of him. Having thus, by means of the in–

termediate idea, formed twO feveral judgments,

viz. Ihal

lIIan

pof:ffid

.¡

rtafon and

li~trl};

and

Ihal rtafon

ond lio,,'} il1l"I] accoulllabltn,fr;

a third obviouny and

oecelr.¡rily follows,

viz. Ih.1lIIan

accounlable jo, hit

aflion, .

Here then we have. complele aél of reaConing,

in whieh Ihere are three dillinél judgments;

111'0

thac

maybeilyled previous, in as mueh as theylead to Ihe

O–

ther, and arife fromeomparing Ihe middle idea with the

two ideas in Ihe queilioo: the third is a

confequenc~

!hefe previous aéls, and fiows from combining the ex–

treme ideas betweeo Ihemfdves lf now \Ve pUl this rea.

foning into words, it exhibils whatlogiciaos lerm a fyllo–

gifm, and runs Ihis :

Eutr} crtRlun

Poffi.l1td

.¡

rtafo.

and lió(rlJ i, oc,..

,ollnlalf, for hil aflionl.

Mull

crtal.r(

p~ffid

of r(ufon and Jib(rl}.

'Th(rifon I»an

¡,

acco.nluole jor h¡, af/iollJ.

In this fyllogifm there are three feveral propofitions,

expreflinn the Ih(ee judgments implied in the aél of rea.

fooiog, "nd fo

difpof~d

reprefent dininélly \Vhac

palres witltin the mind iD traeiog the more diflanl rela.

lionsof ils ideas. The til'O firll propofitions aofwer the

t\Vo

previ~us

judgmenls in reafoniog, and are called Ibe

¡rt",iltl,

bec.ufe they are plaeed beforeIbe otber. The

third is lermed the

conclujiM,

as being gained io coofe–

quence of \Vhat was alrcned inIhe premilfes. T he terms

exprelling the two ideas whofe relalion we inquire afler,

h~re

/lla/l

and

accounlablm:fr,

are ingeneral called !he

(xl,

,/l/ti;

andIhe intermedialeidea, by means of whicb

the reLuion i5 traced,

uiz. a malu"

P?(Jif'd

"afon

a/ld lioa/)',

lakes Ihe name of Ihe

midJl, lum.

Hence

il follow5, Iha! by Ihe

prwJiJ:'

of a fyllogifm \Ve are al–

IVays tounderiland the tlVO propofitions where Ihe middle

tcrm is fever.lIly compared wilh Ihe

rxl"»,,, ;

for Ihefe

ennfiilule the previoe5judgments, wheoce ,he Irulh \Ve

are in quell of is by reaCooing

d~duced.

The

,o/lclujion

is Ihat other rropofition, io which the

r.Ylrmn

Ih~mlclvcs

are joined or ftparaled, agreeably

\Vhat appears UpOD

lhe aboye compuifon.

The conc!ulion is made up of Ihe extreme lerms of

lite fyllogifm; and theextreme, wllieh fcrves as Ihe pre·

dlcate o the

conclur.on,

goes by the o,me of Ihe

1/ldjQr

/¡.""

;

Ihe olher extremc, which

m~kes

Ihe fubjeél in the

C.me

propofilion, is called Ihe

mi/l~r

Imll.

From this

dinirélion of the extremes, arifes alfo a dillinélion be·

tIVern Ihe

pr~m.rres,

wh" e tbere

eXIr~mes

are feverally

cornpared wllh Ihe

middl~

termo Thal propofi tionwhieh

enO!I'.lrcs the ere.ler extreme, or Ihe

predical~

of the

condufion, ",¡th

th~

middl: lerlDl is edl 'd the

tll.jcr

pr~f"¡;lior.,