An introductory text-book of logic - Mellone, Sydney - Rare Books at ...

AND THE ARISTOTELIAN SYLLOGISM. 123
In Aristotle s treatment, propositions are usually formu
lated according to the predicative view, expressly and ex
plicitly :
A is predicated of B,
B is predicated of T.
This expression, with the predicate before the subject, is the
natural one according to the Greek idiom, but not in Latin
or English. In Greek we should naturally say rb A TTCU/T!
T B virdpxet, or rb A. Kara Travrbs TOV B KarTiyopf iTai ; but in
Latin or English, omnis B est A, all B is A. And when the
propositions are written as Aristotle expresses them, and
also with the major premise first, then the major term is the
"
first term, and the minor term the last : A is predicated of
B, B is predicated of r." Hence in Aristotle irpwrov and
eo-xarof, first and last, are far more prominent expressions
than psi&v and e^arrov, major and minor, which only apply
to what is with him the rarer "extension" or "class" in
terpretation.
3. The conditions on which the formal validity
of a syllogism depends, have for long been drawn up
in a group of rules, known as the Rules or Canons of
the Syllogism.
us eight rules.
The most convenient arrangement gives
I. Relating to the structure of the syllogism :
(1) A syllogism must contain three, and only
three, terms.
(2) A syllogism must contain three, and only
three, propositions.
II. Relating to quantity :
(3) The middle term must be distributed in one,
at least, of the premises.
(4) No term must be distributed in the con
clusion unless it was distributed in the
premise
which contains it.