Logic in Two Books, Title page – Table of contents
Peter Ramus HIS LOGICK In two Bookes. Not onelyonly truely Tranſlate… into Engliſh, but alſo digeſted into Queſtion and Anſwere, for the more eaſie underſtanding of all men.
By R. F. Gent.
LONDON: Printed for Nicholas Vavaſour, and are to bee ſold at his Shop in the Inner Temple, neere the Church-doore. 1636.
TO THE WORSHIPFVLL, MY ASSVRED loving Vnkle, Beſtney Barker Eſquire, at Saint Gilſes in Eſſex.
VVOrſhipfull Sir, being excited, as well by the bond of kindred, as alſo by your louelove and courteſie towards me, to ſhew you ſome thankfulneſſe, withall to teſtifie a reciprocall and mutuall louelove towards you againe, not forgetting that duty, which both as a kinſman and friend I owe unto you, I adventured (albeit my beſt ſtrength bee but weaknes) upon a bold aſſay, namely, to tranſlate this worke, and preſent it unto you, as a ſmall mite of that tribute, which even nature bindeth me to render. But ſeeing my firſt worke unluckely ſuppreſſed it ſelfe, I have added unto my former boldneſſe, a more audacious part, namely, not onelyonly to tranſlate it againe, but alſo to illuſtrate it according to my ſmall ability, by the plaine and facile way of a Dialogue. May it croude it ſelfe into your preſence and gaine the leaſt aſpect of a favourable countenance, I ſhall thinke my time wa… ſpent, and not onelyonly ſo, but imploy my ſelfe about weightier matters. What ſaid (weightier? this Science & Author may ſtand before Princes, if not ſpoiled by my own unſkilfulnes. However it ſhroudeth it ſelfe under your patronage, vntill the ſtormes of reproch and ignominie be overpaſſed, ſoliciting in the meane time a pardon for mee, in that I have preſumed to offer ſuch a trifle to ſuch a kinſman. So hoping that the worke, though ſmall, may be accepted, and benevolentlie intertained, I ſubmit both it and my ſelfe unto your favourable cogitations in all dutifulneſſe; and reſt.
March 26. 1632. Your aſſured loving Nephew Ro. Fage.
To the Courteous Reader.
BEnevolent Reader, I doe here preſent thee with this ſmall worke, hoping it may produce good effects. Certainly it hath aſſayed before time to thruſt it ſelfe into the world, but that it found ſo kind friends, who conſidering the unworthineſſe, were pleaſed to ſuppreſſe it and keepe it priſoner in the goale of their owne houſes. Howbeit now it is adventured abroad, and with the spring beginneth to spring afreſh. Its winters impriſonment is likely to better its ſummers condicions, for I have laboured ſo far as I could to prune and loppe off the former errors, that ſo it may be the more plauſible. I have alſo adorned it with a new weed, to wit of a Dialogue, or queſtions and anſwers, that ſo my booke may even learne to ſtoupe to the weakeſt capacities. If it ſhall be thought to come in a new faſhion, may you pleaſe to looke into the world, you may ſee abundance in this habit, our common Catechiſmes weare this gowne; yea, Mr. St: Egerton of the Blacke Friers in London, hath contracted the ſeven treatiſes of Mr. Rogers into this forme. For my part, I hold it more eaſie then the former tract, neither greatly preiudiciall to the Author.
This adorned, I have given this my ſecond ſonne, full libertie to be a free-man, baniſhing my firſt and worſt labours, from the view (ſo farre as I can) of all men. For ſeeing it would not, when I would, I hold it not fit, that now it ſhould be publiſhed. Touching that worke, it ſlowed ſo inconſiderately from my penne, and ſlipped ſo raſhly out of my hand, that it eſcaped not without many defaultes, imperfections, obſcurities & blemiſhes: that with the Egyptian Graſhopper, it will not onelyonly conſume ſome part, but utterly eate up and waſte the golden ſeaſon and happie houres of the courteous reader. Let this laſt worke then kind reader finde favour in thine eyes; if that winter bird ſhould be ſeene, it would appeare like a Cuckoe at Chriſtmas, or like the Oule which is the admiration of other birds. I will onelyonly now ſhew thee the cauſes producing this laſt worke, and the uſe thereof, and ſo leave it to thy diſcreet iudgement. The cauſes are manifold, firſt to ſtoppe the ſpringing of that Abortiue foreſpoken off, that ſo it might not thrive to the diſcredit of its parent. Secondly that the gratuity and thankefulneſſe to my Vnkle aforeſaid might not be buried in oblivion, for tritum eſt perire quod facis ingrato. Thirdly, for the benefit as I ſaid of the ſimpleſt capacitie. And finally for the zeale I beare to mine owne country, being willing and deſirous, that not onelyonly men, but even women, ſhould exerciſe themſelves in the ſtudy of the ſacred artes.
If any ſhall demande what benefit ſhall redownd hereby, or what may be the uſe hereof? I anſwere, it will availe greatly, not onelyonly for civill and morall diſcourſe, but alſo for the overthrowing of all errors, either in manners or doctrine, for ſaith Ovid,
Adde quod ingenuas didiciſſe fideliter artes emollit mores nec ſinet eſſe feros.
But may ſome ſay, I live privatly, converſe not in the world, what neede have I of this ſcience? It ſeemeth to conſiſt chiefly in diſputing, but I imploy my ſelfe most in ſilence and meditation. Well friend, thou mayeſt have great benefit by this ſcience, even in that likewiſe, an example of which, word for word, I have here produced out of Mr. Egertons treaty aforeſaid, that ſo thou mighteſt know how to benefit thy ſelfe by this ſcience even in thy meditation.
What thing is this O my ſoule, that doth ſo beſot thee? or what manner of thing may it bee, wherewith thou art ſo delighted, or rather bewitched, and how doth the Holy Ghoſt in the ſcriptures define it, and ſet it forth? who are ſinners, but they that rebell againſt God, and againſt his holy will, revealed in his word?Definition. and what other thing is ſinne, but a breach & tranſgreſſion of the law of God, 1 Iohn. 3.4. a turning out of the way of life, as the phraſe of the old Teſtament doth import, and a ſwerving from the right marke and end, as the word uſeth in the new teſtament to ſignifie: viz. the glory of God and thine owne ſalvation. This curſed thing called ſinne, is not of one ſort or kind; it is is a monſter of many heads, and (as it were) a beaſt of many hornes. It is both originall, bred and borne with us, and actuall ſpringing out of us from that venomous root of our originall corruption. Againe, it is either inward lurking and boyling in the heart; or outward ſhewing it ſelfe in the life and converſation: ſometimes it onelyonly inhabiteth and dwelleth in us, and oft times it doth raigne and overrule us; ſometimes it is but an error and infirmity, and ſometimes it is a willfull and preſumtuous evill, Pſal. 19.11, 12. ſometimes it is pardonable, by the free grace and mercy of God to them that truely beleeve and repent; and ſometimes it is utterly unpardonable and never to be forgiven, being ſuch that it is impoſſible that the committers thereof ſhould be renewed by repentance, Matth. 12. Heb. 6. Sometimes it ruſheth mediately and directly againſt God, and ſometimes it reacheth more properly to the hurt of our neighbour. But who is able to reckon up all the branches of this moſt bitter and venomous tree, wherefore (to looke more nearely unto it) whence proceedeth this deadly poyſon,Cauſe Eficient. what may be the cauſe whereof it commeth, and the fountaine from whence it ſpringeth? Surely my ſoule, it is even thy ſelfe: thou art the roote that bringeth forth all this bitterneſſe, thou art the fountaine from whence all this deadly venome doth ariſe. For every man is tempted to ſinne, and hee is drawne away of his owne concupiſence, and enticed. Beware therefore O rebellius ſoule, that thou lay not the blame upon the Lord, neither make him the author of thy ſinne: for thou O God as thou canſt not be tempted to evill thy ſelfe, ſo thou tempteſt no man to commit ſinne, being a thing which thou ſo ſtraitly forbiddeſt to all, and ſo ſeverely threatneſt in whomſoever it is found, and for which thou ſo grieveouſly plagueſt the wicked, and ſo ſharpely correcteſt thine owne children, Iam. 1.13, 14. Heb 12.7, 8. Thou O Lord art holineſſe it ſelfe and the fountaine thereof, and there is none eternally, and unchangably good but thee alone, Mat. 19. Thou madeſt man good at the beginning, but he ſought many inventions Eccleſ. 12. ſo all the imaginations & thoughts f his heart be came onelyonly evill continually, or every day, ſabboth and all, Gen. 6.5. True it is indeed, that the Divell that old Dragon uſing the ſubtle ſerpent for his inſtrument, did offer the firſt occaſion of ſinning, wherby he became an externall cauſe of ſinne, and is called a murtherer from the beginning, and the author and father of all deceit, Iohn 8.44. yet man had power to have reſisted him if he would, which he not doing, became the true & proper efficient cauſe of corrupting himſelf, & all his poſterity, who likewiſe by meanes of the poyſon derived from his loynes, became alſo the proper and immediate cauſes of their own ſinnes. Marke well then (O my ſoule) the roote of this evill, and further conſider, what unſavory & curſed fruit it bringeth forth; ſurely even ſuch as it ſelfe is,The finall Cauſe, or the end or fruit of ſinne. for ſuch as the tree is, ſuch are the fruites: as is the roote, ſo are the branches; a poyſoned fountaine casteth forth no wholeſome ſtreames, Iam. 3. and who can bring (as the wiſeman ſaith) a cleane thing out of filthineſſe? ſurely there is not one, but onelyonly hee who is holineſſe it ſelfe, Iohn 14.4. And without all controverſie, the reward and wages of ſin is death, and that not onelyonly temporall and bodily, which is a ſeparation of the body from the ſoule for a ſeaſon, but alſo spirituall and eternall both of ſoule and body for ever and ever. Is any good thing withheld from us? let us thanke our ſin for it: is any plague or puniſhment laid upon us? be ſure that ſinne is the cauſe, or at the leaſt (even in the deareſt children of God) the occaſion of it. Is any good bleſſing of God made of no force, or even turned to a curſe to us? wee may be ſure that it is by reaſon of our ſin: for (as the Prophet ſaith) the Lords hand is not ſhortned that it cannot ſave, nor his eare heavie that it cannot heare, but our iniquities ſeperate betwixt us and our God, and our ſinnes doe hide his face from us that he will not heare, Eſay 59.1, 2. Finally (as Iob ſaith) miſerie ſpringeth not forth out of the duſt, neither doth affliction ſpring out of the earth, but man is borne to labour as the ſparkles fly upward, Iob 5.6, 7. As if he ſhould ſay, man is as prone by nature to ſinne againſt God, & conſequently to pull Gods iudgements upon him ſelfe, as the fire (which is a light element) is naturally prone to aſcend and mount aloft. And to the end that thou (my ſoule) maiſt ſee upon what an ugly monſter thou hast ſet thy delight, doſt dote upon,The o… poſites & contraries and art bewitched withall, conſider how faire and amiable pietie and vertue are, for as they make a man lovely and honorable, ſo ſinne maketh him loath ſome and contemptible: The feare of God (ſaith Salomon) makes the face of a man to ſhine and be beautiful, but impiety and prophaneſſe do deface and diſfigure the image of God in him, and cauſe both God and all good men to loath and deteſt him as a polluted and filthy thing, Favour (ſaith the ſame Wiſe-man) is deceitfull, and beauty is vanity, but the woman that feareth the Lord, ſhee ſhall be prayſed, Prov. 31.39. A vile perſon is contemned (that is, a prophane man and baſely eſteemed how great ſoever he be in the world) in the eyes of him that feareth God, Pſal. 15.4. And pietie is the onelyonly beauty that the Lord himſelfe is delighted with, 1 Pet. 3.4. Therefore it is cleare in the contrary part, that hee loatheth and abhorreth impietie and ſinne,Compariſons. and yet my ſoule to bring thee further out of love with this moſt ugly monſter, conſider whereunto it is like and to what it may be compared. It is like (ſaith Eſay) to filthy raggs, that are caſt aſide upon the dunghill, and deteſted of al the paſſers by. It biteth as a ſerpent and ſtingeth as a Coccatrice, creepeth as a gangrene or deadly canker, that eateth to the heart and cannot bee cured; and though it ſeeme ſweete in the beginning, yet it is moſt bitter in the end, and that which reliſheth like hony in the mouth, will prove ranke poyſon in the bowels.Teſtimonies Finally O my ſoule if thou peruſe the holy Scriptures, thou ſhalt find no booke, no leafe, no chapter, no ſcarce any verſe, wherein there is not ſome precept, ſome prohibition, ſome promiſe, ſome threatning, or ſome example which ſeemeth not very fitly & profitably to ſhew forth the amiableneſſe of vertue, and the uglineſſe of ſinne, & with what care, zeale, watchfulneſſe, &c, the one is to be ſhunned, and the other to bee imbraced. Thus farre Mr. Egerton, Lib. …. Cap. 6.
Now that thou maiſt attaine kind reader unto this ſweete delight of meditation, or to the top of whatſoever felicity thou aymeſt at by this art, uſe my booke in this manner following.
It conſiſting onelyonly of rules and examples, will bee no great burthen for thee to commit it all to memorie, and ſo whether thou meditateſt or diſcourſeſt, of ſinne or piety in the generall, or any vice or vertue in the particular, thou ſhalt finde from the head of this arte after the example foreſhewed, abundance of matter to furniſh thy meditation. So cum pacis ſapientibus I commit my labour to thy diſcreete and favourable conſtruction, and with equall reſpect to all indifferently reſt.
R. F. Junior.
PETER RAMVS to the reader wiſheth health.
ARchymedes (O Reader) would have the reaſon of the ſpheares and clymates (in which invention he had more vehemently laboured) ingraven upon his ſepulchre. And truely ſhouldeſt thou aske me of my vigils, and ſtudies, I deſire a piller to be rayſed upon my grave from the inſtructions, of the art of Logicke. Touching the cauſe of the wiſh, they anſwer firſt to the accuratnes of the art, the bookes of invention of arguments, and their diſpoſition to be iudged, not onelyonly from Ariſtotle Organicall, Rhetoricall, Phyſicall, but from Cicero and Quintilian, and ſo many Orators. In all which wee have ſtrived with all ſtudie & diligence, by all reaſonable wayes, to contract them briefly into theſe two books, that no particle, or the leaſt ſhadow of Logicke might be there confuſed, whoſe truth might not bee expreſly delivered. And this ſhall be firſt made knowne touching Archymedes his probleme. They anſwer ſecondly to the uſe of Logicke, the elegance and dignity of all the parts to be explicated, to ſtirre up logicall meditations, as well the popular phraſes of Poets, Orators, Hiſtoriographers, as alſo the liberall and ingenuous ar…es of a new body deliuered in a new forme to the ſtudious, adorned with excellent indowments: and leaſt any ſhould feare leaſt they ſhould happen to be ſtrangers, they are given and committed to the liberall cuſtodies of their School…s. This ſhall be ſecondly made knowne touching Archymedes his probleme. Theſe therefore ſhall be witneſſe of ſo many daies & night watches, touching the truth & vtility of Logicke, and ſhall anſwer for the cauſe of our wiſh, ſhall alſo admoniſh thee (reader) as I hope of I know not what madneſſe is in moſt academies of Europe, diſputing of their ſophiſticall precepts, how that they are farre unlike both to the verity and vtility of Logicke, and ſhall alſo inflame thee to the ſtudy of the more true & profitable faculties. But beſide this there is obiected a great company, extructed with theatricall reproches, threatning paines of tribunall iudgement, condemnation at the leaſt of filthy ignorance and calumny, will thruſt us from the whole kingdome of Philoſophy as ſtrange & unheard of preſcription, both with hands and tongue, whether will they forbid the ſmall cauſe of our wiſh? what freedome was obtained by King Henry from the envy of ſo mad a Iudge; to the more ſolide iudgement of a milder cenſurer? what afterward, (when this Logical ardor had ſet foot into the cauſe of religion) was a more great offence, the life and health of us being aimed at by thoſe three civill warres? will theſe ſhew no cauſe of our wiſh? yea rather they doe admoniſh, That we give great thankes to the almighty, who hath ayded and protected the courſe of our ſtudyes hitherto, neither would ſuffer them by any meanes to be interrupted. Therefore I witneſſe that this light of Logick will availe greatly to the ſtudious in ſetting forth the truth, as alſo to adorne the ingenuous artes, as cheifly theilluſtrating the heavenly miſteries of the ſacred Doctrine: I pray that it may grow up more and more to theſe things, and and that this booke may be happily concluded to the glory of GOD.
A TABLE OF THE Chapters in the two books of Peter Ramus his Dialectica.
In the firſt booke.
1. The definition of Dialectica.
2. The parts and kindes of arguments.
3. The Efficient procreant & conſervant Cauſe.
4. The Efficient alone and with others.
5. The Efficient by himſelfe or an Accident.
6. The Matter. 7. The Forme. 8. The End.
9. The Effects. 10. The Subiect.
11. The Adiunct. 12. Diverſes. 13. Deſperates.
14. Relates. 15. Adverſes. 16. Contradicents.
17. Privants. 18. Equalls. 19. Greaters.
20. Leſſers. 21. Likes. 22. Diſlikes.
23. Conjugates. 24. Notation. 25. Distribution.
26. Diſtribution of the Cauſes.
27. Distribution of the Effects whether of Kind or Spece.
28. The Diſtribution from the Subiects.
29. The Diſtribution from the Adiunct.
30. Definition. 31. Deſcription.
32. Teſtimony Divine.
33. Teſtimonies humane of Lawes & Sentences
In the ſecond booke.
1. Of Iudgement.
2. Axiomas affirming or denying.
3. True and Falſe.
4. The ſimple Axioma.
5. The copulate Axioma.
6. The connexed Axioma.
7. The Diſcreete Axioma.
8. The Diſiunct Axioma.
9. The Sillogiſme and his parts.
10. The ſimple and contracted ſillogiſme.
11. The firſt kind of the ſimple explicates Sillogiſme.
12. The ſimple explicate Sillogiſme.
13. The firſt connexed Sillogiſme.
14. The ſecond connexed Sillogiſme.
15. The firſt diſiunct Sillogiſme.
16. The ſecond diſiunct Sillogiſme.
17. The onelyonly method according to Ariſtotle.
18. The firſt illuſtration of Method by examples of artes.
19. The ſecond example of Poets, Orators, and Hiſtoriographers.
20. The ſecrets of Method.
FINIS.