Latin Works of Giordano Bruno

versal negative, or a particular affirmative, or a par- folio 3 verso, P edition ticular negative. We seek the first The "universal affirmative" proposition. in the form of the first "mode" of the first "figure"; the second in the first and second figures; the third in the first and third; and the fourth in all of them. In Aristotelian logic, "figures" and "modes" are the various structural arrangements of a syllogism.

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SECTION III.

Just as every inquiry or problem consists of two parts joined together by a substantive verb original: "verbo substantivo" — the verb "to be," which links the subject and predicate., the first of which is that about which something is affirmed or denied, and the second is that which is affirmed or denied of the other; so too it is necessary that every syllogistic 10 708 G edition and enthymematic An "enthymeme" is a logical argument where one of the premises is implied rather than stated directly. argument consists of three terms: the major extreme A, the minor extreme C, and the middle B. Therefore, before any syllogistic discourse or dispute regarding the matter being brought into controversy, the major and minor extremes 15 are held in advance, and the thing that remains to be sought is the middle term, The "middle term" is the bridge or link that allows a hunter of logic to connect the subject and predicate of their conclusion. concerning which you must soon consider how it should be placed and ordered. Now, therefore, we shall first examine this, and then the remaining artificial meditation that is to be completed. We will discuss, I say, first the discovery of the form, and second the discovery of the 20 matter.

folio 4 recto, P edition

SECTION IV.

The general form of syllogizing can be investigated in only three figures; for it is according to these that the propositions and terms of any problem happen to 25 communicate in some middle term. Indeed, if it must be demonstrated that A...