b. As typewriters, stenographers, and bookkeepers.

c. In the professions.

3. The result of these causes is that many men willing to work are out of employment.

C. What must be done?

11. Fill out the following outline.

Subject: The Thermometer.

A. Its Invention.

B. Its Construction.

C. Its Value and Uses.

12. Outline six more themes.

13. Beginning the writing of long essays, write essays in sections.

Using "Tramps" for an illustration, as it is outlined it contains about twelve paragraphs. All of section "A" may be included in one paragraph. "B, 1" may be a paragraph of repetition; "a," "b," "c,"

"d," may each make a paragraph of particulars. By stating "B, 2" in the following way, it may be a paragraph of "what not:" It was once considered unladylike for women to engage in any occupation outside of the home. Men said that they could not retain, etc.--Go on with the things woman could not do, closing with a statement of what she does do.

"B, 2, a." On account of their fidelity, honesty, and courtesy, women succeed as clerks. Repetition.

b. The quickness of their intelligence and the accuracy of their work have made women more desirable for routine work in an office than men. Comparison and Contrast.

c. There are certain feminine qualities which especially fit women for the practice of teaching and medicine. Details.

"B, 3." By Combination of Forms.

"C." By Details.

It would be a pleasure to go on with this list of exercises, but it is unnecessary and it is unwise. These indicate the objects to be sought for in the exercises. They are not a specific course, though they might suit a certain environment. Each teacher knows her own pupils,--their attainments and their interests. The subjects should be chosen to suit their special cases. Only make them interesting; put them into such form that there is something to get hold of; and adapt them so that all the topics to be studied will be illustrated in the work. The pupils should be able to write any form of paragraph, to arrange it so that any idea is made prominent, and to make easy transitions. Arrange the exercises to accomplish definite results.

During the third year, attention should be given to words and to the refinements of elegant composition. These the pupils will best learn by careful watch of the literature. The teacher should be quick to feel the strength and beauty of any passage and able to point out the means adopted to obtain the delightful effect. Clearness first is the thing to be desired; if to this can be added force and a degree of elegance during the last two years, the work of the instructor has been well done.

CHAPTER VI

ARGUMENT

Argument has been defined as that form of discourse the purpose of which is to convince the reader of the truth or falsity of a proposition. It is closely allied with exposition. To convince a person, it is first necessary that the proposition be explained to him. This is all that is necessary in many cases. Did men decide all matters without prejudice, and were they willing to accept the truth at any cost, even to discard the beliefs that have been to them the source of greatest happiness, the simple explanation would be sufficient. However, as men are not all-wise, and as they are not always "reasonable," they are found to hold different opinions regarding the same subject; and one person often wishes to convince another of the error of his beliefs. Men continually use the words _because_ and _therefore;_ indeed, a great deal of writing has in it an element of argument.

From the fact that argument and exposition are so nearly alike, it follows that they will be governed by much the same principles. As argument, in addition to explaining, seeks to convince, it is necessary, in addition to knowing how to explain, to know what is considered convincing,--what are proofs; and secondly, what is the best order in which to arrange proofs.

Induction and Deduction.

Arguments have been classified as inductive and deductive.[22]

Induction includes arguments that proceed from individual cases to establish a general truth. Deduction comprises arguments that proceed from a general truth to establish the proposition in specific instances, or groups of instances.

Syllogism. Premises.

If one should say "Socrates is mortal because he is a man," or "Socrates will die because all men are mortal," or "Socrates is a man, therefore he will die," by any of these he has expressed a truth which all men accept. In any of these expressions are bound up two propositions, called premises, from which a third proposition, called a conclusion, is derived. If expanded, the three propositions assume this form: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates is mortal. This is termed a syllogism. A syllogism consists of a major premise, a predication about all the members of a general class of objects; a minor premise, a predication that includes an individual or a group of individuals in the general class named by the major premise; and a conclusion, the proposition which is derived from the relation existing between the other two propositions. The propositions above would be classified as follows:--

Major premise: All men are mortal, a predication about _all_ men.

Minor premise: Socrates is a man, including an individual in the general class.

Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.

Terms.

In every syllogism there are three terms,--major, minor, and middle.

The middle term is found in both the premises, but not in the conclusion. It is the link connecting the major and minor terms. The major term is usually the predicate of the major premise and the predicate of the conclusion. The minor term is the subject of the minor premise and the subject of the conclusion. "Men" is the middle term, "are mortal" the major term, and "Socrates," the minor term.

Enthymeme.

It is rarely the case in literature that the syllogism is fully stated: generally one of the premises is omitted. Such a form of statement is termed an enthymeme. "Socrates will die because all men are mortal" is an enthymeme. The minor premise has been omitted.

"Socrates is mortal because he is a man" is also an enthymeme, because the major premise which states that "all men are mortal" has been omitted.

The conclusions arrived at by means of syllogisms are irresistible, provided the form be correct and the premises be true. It is impossible here to discuss the forms of syllogisms; they are too many.

It will be of value, however, to call attention to a few of the commonest errors in syllogisms.

Definition of Terms.

The first error arises from a misunderstanding of terms. It is often said that George Eliot is a poet; there are some who disagree. Certain it is that she wrote in verse form; and it is true that she has embodied noble thoughts in verse; but it is quite as true that she lacks "the bird-note." If this were reduced to a syllogism, it would not be a discussion of whether George Eliot be a poet, but rather a discussion of what is a poet. Stated, it reads: All persons who embody noble thoughts in verse form are poets. George Eliot is a person who has embodied noble thoughts in verse form. Therefore George Eliot is a poet. If the major premise of this syllogism be granted, the conclusion is unquestionable. The terms should be defined at the beginning; then this error, springing from a misunderstanding of terms, perhaps the most common, would be avoided.

Undistributed Middle.

The second error arises from the fact that the middle term is not "distributed;" that is, the major premise makes no statement about all the members of a class. The premises in the following are true, but the conclusion is nonsense.

A horse is an animal.

Man is an animal.

Therefore, man is a horse.

The middle term, in this case "animal," must be "distributed;" some statement must be made of _all_ animals. The following would be true: All animals have life; therefore man has life. The major premise predicates life of all animals.

False Premises.

A third error in a syllogism is in the premises themselves. If either premise be false, the conclusion is not necessarily true. A parent might say to his son, "You are doing wrong, and you will pay the penalty for it soon." Generally he would be right. However, if this were put into a syllogism, it would read as follows: All persons who do wrong pay the penalty soon. You are such a person. Therefore, etc.

Admitting the son is breaking the law, the fact is that the major premise is not always true, and the conclusion holds the weakness of the weak premise. Again, supposing everybody accepted the general truth, "All unrepentant sinners will be punished." The minister might then say to a young man, "You will certainly be punished, because all unrepentant sinners will be punished." The young man might deny the suppressed minor premise, which is, "You are an unrepentant sinner."

Both premises must be true if they prove anything. The conclusion contains the weakness of either premise. In both of these examples note that the mistake is in the premise which does not appear. In an enthymeme, great care should be taken with the suppressed premise. Be sure it is true when you use this form of argument, and be sure to look for it and state it in full when examining another's argument. It is a common way of hiding a weak point to cover it in the suppressed premise of an enthymeme.

Method of Induction.

Induction, which proceeds directly opposite to the method of deduction, is the method by which all our ultimate knowledge has been obtained. By observing individual instances man has gathered a great store of general truths. There was a time when the first man would not have been justified in saying, "The sun will rise in the east to-morrow." The general law had not been established. To-day it is practically certain that the sun will rise in the east to-morrow morning, because it has done so for thousands of years; the large number of instances establishes the general truth. Yet there may come a day when it will rise in the south, or not rise at all. Until every case has been tried and found to conform to the law, theoretically man cannot be absolutely certain of any general truth. There may come an exception to the general rule that all men must die. So far, however, there is no experience to justify any man in hoping to escape death.

"As sure as death" means in practice absolutely sure, though this is not what is called a perfect induction; that is, an induction in which every possible case has been included. "All the other States are smaller than Texas" is a perfect induction, but it forms no basis for argument. All the cases must be known for a perfect induction; there is no unknown to argue to. This, then, is only a short statement of many individual truths, and has but little of value. Induction that is imperfect is more valuable; for with many cases the probability becomes so strong that it is a practical certainty. It is the method of science.

More valuable for literature is another division of arguments into arguments from cause, arguments from sign, and arguments from example.