28 ATREATISE 



THE THIRD CHAPTER. 



OfDifcourfixg. 



I. TN the laft Chapter we have QieWed, how two apprehensions 

 How difcourfe J| j'oyned together doe make a judgement ; now in this our 

 a c * firft employment will bee, to fliew how three of thefc 



thoughts or judgements, well chofen and duely ordered, doc 

 coropofe the firft and moft fimple of perffft difcourfes ; which 

 Logicians call a Syllogifme : whofe end and effect is to gaine the 

 knowledge of fomething, before hidden and unknowne. The 

 meant s whereby this is comparted, is thus. By the two firft 

 judgements, we joy ne the extremes of the proportion we defirc 

 to know, untofomc third thing; and then, by feeing that they 

 both are one third thing, and that one canbebutone, we come 

 to difcerne, that truly one of them is the ether ; which before we 

 faw not ; fo that,the identity, which firft made an identicall pro- 

 pofition be knowne and agreed unto, and afterwards caufed 

 the like aflent to be yeelded unto thofe maximes, whofe identifi- 

 cation prefently fhewed it felfe, now by a little circuit and 

 bringing in of a third terme, maketh the two firft ( whofe iden- 

 tification was hidden and obfcure, whiles we looked upon the 

 termcs thcmfelves) appeare to be in very truth but one thing. 

 2 The various mingling and difpofing of thefe three terrnes in 



Ofthe'tiguref the t wo firft proportions, begetteth a variety in the fyllogifmes 

 and moods o: that are compofed of them : and it confiftcth inthis,that the af- 

 Syllogifmcs. f ume d t^rme unto which the other t wo are interchangeably joy- 

 ned, is either faid of them, or they are faid of it: and from hence 

 fpring three different kinds ffyllogifmesj for either the aflumed 

 or middle terme,isfaid of both the other t wo j or both they are 

 laid of it; or it is fa id of one of them,andthcotherisfaidof it: 

 neither is there any deeper myfterie then this, in the three figures, 

 our great Clerkestalkefo much of: which being broaght into 

 rules, to help our memory in the ready ufe of this tranfpofition 

 of the termes ; if we fpm our thoughts upon them into over 

 fmall threds , and thereof weave too intricate webs fmcane 

 while not rtflecling upon the folid ground within our felves, 

 whereon thefe rules are built,nor confideringthe true cpd why;) 



we 



