william t. costello, sj - The School of Literature, Communication, and ...

THE FRAMEWORK OF SCHOLASTICISM 25
swerable to the expectation; the law and physic acts stark naught;
but the philosophy act made amends, and indeed was very excellent."
55
The answerer in the disputation on philosophy was Matthew
Wren, uncle of Sir Christopher Wren and later Bishop of Ely,
an extremely able student. Gossip around the screens, however,
had picked John Preston of Emmanuel, the Admirable Crichton
of his times, for the honor of defending before the King. When
Preston was picked merely as first opponent, all Cambridge knew
a battle royal was in store.
The question, "Whether dogs can make syllogismes," sounds
like an absurd scholastic quibble, until we remember that modern
psychology laboratories are full of white rats in mazes. The dis-
putants, however, took the matter seriously and Preston's ". . .
great and first Care was to bring his argument unto a head, without
Affronts and Interruptions from the Answerer, and so made
all his Major Propositions plausible and firm, that his Adversary
might neither be willing nor able to enter there, and the Minor
still was backed by other Syllogismes, and so the Argument went
on unto the Issue . . ." 56 What is meant, of course, is that Preston
used axioms or self-evident propositions for his major premises,
and, in case Wren should not distinguish a minor premise,
but elect to deny it, he had supplied himself with syllogistic
proofs which would force Wren back onto the line he wished to
be pursued.
But Wren was an able and honest respondent. For, though
". . . in disputations of Consequence, the Answerers are many
times so fearful of the event, that they slur and trouble the op-
ponents all they can, and deny things evident," 57 Wren met each
argument head-on. Wren's forthrightness and Preston's skill had
awakened the King's interest, which had been flagging during the
previous acts, where "... there was such wrangling about their
Syllogismes, that sullied and clouded the Debates extreamly, and
put the King's acumen into straits."
58
Finally, Preston got to his key syllogism. "An Enthimeme (said
he) is a lawful and real Syllogisme, but Dogs can make them."
This was a "dead soldier" and Preston knew Wren would deny
the minor premise. In proof of the minor, "He instanced in an
Hound who had the major Proposition in his mind, namely:
The Hare is gone either this or that way; smels out the minor
with his Nose; namely, She is not gon that way, and follows the
Conclusion, Ergo this way with open mouth." We can imagine