Class III. 2. 2. 3. OF VOLITION. 349 



paring the prefent ideas with thofe previoufiy acquired, which 

 diftinguifhes mankind ; and is termed analogical reafoning, 

 when deliberatively exerted ; and intuitive analogy, when ufed 

 without our attention to it, and which always preferves our 

 hourly trains of ideas confident with truth and nature. See 

 Sea. XVII. 3. 7. 



3. Ratiocinatio verbofa. Verbal reafoning. This arifes from 

 the feeble or inaccurate exertions of the faculty of volition in the 

 act of recalling the ideas of things, and thus miftaking the ideas 

 of words for them. One great imperfection of language con- 

 lifts in the ufe of what Mr. Home Tooke calls general terms, as 

 mentioned in Seel:. XV. 1. 5. and Seel. XVI. 17. of this work, 

 and which Mr. Locke fuppoied to expreis abftracted or general 

 ideas, fuch as the word cattle or army, which in common con- 

 verfation includes any part or property of thofe complex things, 

 and is thus liable to miflead inaccurate thinkers. Thus it was 

 faid laft night, " That horfe flrikes fire as he pafTes along the 

 pavement." And it was added jocularly, " that his feet muft 

 be as hard as iron," which miitake might arife from the general 

 term, horfe, including in common converfation both every part 

 of the animal and his accoutrements. 



A fecond fource of falfe reafoning may arife from the fame 



O J 



word having two fignifications totally difFcritnt from each oth- 

 er ; which may miflead thofe who reafon from ideas of words 

 inftead of ideas of things. Thefe are generally efteemed witti- 

 cifms, and are called puns or quibbles ; as the jocular fyllogifm 

 on the word fpirit. " Brandy is a fpirit *, the Devil is a fpirit ; 

 therefore brandy is the devil." 



A third fource of falfe reafoning is derived from the two-fold 

 meaning of fome fentences, or phrafes in all languages ; this is 

 alfo ufed defignedly in jocular compofitions, and conititutes the 

 wit of fome comedies. An old milier riding on his fack of 

 flour was accofted by two young Cantabs, who rode on each fide 

 of him, with " Gentlemen of your profeifton have fometimes a 

 doubtful character — pray, miller, do you think yourielf more 

 knave or fool ?" the witty miller anftvered, looking firit at one 

 of them and then at the other, " I think myielf at prefent be- 

 tween both." This double entendre of a fentence was ufed by 

 the prielts of the ancient oracles to deceive the inquirer into fu- 

 ture events. As that of 



Aio te, JEacide, Romanos vincere poiTe. 



I fay, that you, iEacides, the Romans fhall conquer. 



There is a fourth mode of verbofe ratiocination, which con- 

 inls in the conclufion of the fyllogifm containing an imaginary, 



but 



