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CHAP. VII.

Rhetorick, Logick, and Metaphyficks.

Cornelius

Ornelius having (as hath been faid) many ways been disappointed in his attempts of improving the bodily Forces of his fon, thought it now high time to apply to the Culture of his Internal faculties. He judged it proper, in the first place, to inftruct him in Rhetorick. But herein we shall not need to give the Reader any account of his wonderful progrefs, fince it is already known to the learned world by his Treatife on this fubject: I mean the admirable Discourse Пe Babe, which he wrote at this time, but concealed from his Father, knowing his extreme partiality for the Ancients. It lay by him concealed, and perhaps forgot among the great multiplicity of other Writings, till, about the year 1727, he fent it us to be printed, with many additional examples drawn from the excellent live Poets of this prefent age. We proceed therefore to Logick and Metaphyficks.

The wife Cornelius was convinced, that these being Polemical Arts, could no more be learned alone, than Fencing or Cudgel-playing. He thought it therefore neceffary to look out for fome Youth of pregnant parts, to be a fort of humble Companion to his fon in those ftudies. His good fortune directed him to one of the moft fingular endowments, whofe name was Conradus Crambe, who, by the father's fide was related to the Crouches of Cambridge, and his Mother was Coufin to Mr. Swan, Gamester and Punfter of the City of London. So that from both parents he drew a natural difpofition to sport himself with Words, which as they are faid to be the counters of wife Men, and ready-money of Fools, Crambe had great ftore of cafh of the latter fort. Happy Martin in fuch a Parent, and fuch a Com

panion! What might not he atchieve in Arts and Sciences.

Here I must premise a general obfervation of great benefit to mankind. That there are many people who have the use only of one Operation of the Intellect, tho' like fhort-fighted men, they can hardly discover it themfelves: they can form single apprehenfions *, but have neither of the other two faculties, the judicium or discursuş. Now as it is wifely ordered, that people deprived of one fenfe have the others in more perfection, such people will form fingle Ideas with a great deal of vivacity; and happy were it indeed if they could confine themselves to fuch, without forming judicia, much less argumentations.

Conelius quickly discovered, that these two laft operations of the intellect were very weak in Martin, and almoft totally extinguished in Crambe; however he used to fay, that Rules of Logick are Spectacles to a purblind understanding, and therefore he resolved to proceed with his two Pupils.

Martin's understanding was so totally immersed in fenfible objects, that he demanded examples from Material things of the abftracted Ideas of Logick': as for Crambe, he contented himself with the Words, and when he could but form fome conceit upon them, was fully fatiffied. Thus Crambe would tell his Inftructor, that All men were not fingular; that Individuality could hardly be predicated of any man, for it was commonly faid, that a man is not the fame he was; that madmen are befide themfelves, and drunken men come to themselves; which fhows, that few men have that most valuable logical en+ dowment, Individuality +. Cornelius told Martin that a fhoulder

* When a learned Friend once urged to our Author the Authority of a famous Dictionary-maker against the Latinity of the expreffion amor pub¬ licus, which he had used in an infcription, he replied, that he would allow a Dictionary-maker to understand a fingle word, but not two words put together.

"But if it be poffible for the fame man to have.diftinct incommunicable "confcioufnefs

shoulder of mutton was an individual, which Crambe denied, for he had seen it cut into commons; That's true (quoth the Tutor) but you never faw it cut into fhoulders of mutton: If it could (quoth Crambe) it would be the moft lovely individual of the Univerfity. When he was' told, a substance was that which was fubject to accidents; then Soldiers (quoth Crambe) are the most substantial people in the world. Neither would he allow it to be a good definition of accident, that it could be present or abfent without the destruction of the subject; since there are a great many accidents that deftroy the fubject, as burning does a houfe, and death a man. But as to that," Cornelius informed him, that there was a natural death, and a logical death; that tho' a man, after his natural death, was not capable of the leaft parish office, yet he might ftill keep his Stall amongst the logical predica

ments.

Cornelius was forced to give Martin fenfible images. Thus, calling up the Coachman, he asked him what he had feen in the Bear-garden? the man answered, he faw two men fight for a prize; one was a fair man, a Serjeant in the Guards; the other black, a Butcher; the Serjeant had red Breeches, the Butcher blue; they fought upon a stage about four o'clock, and the Serjeant wounded the Butcher in the Leg, "Mark (quoth Cornelius) "how the fellow runs through the predicaments, Men, "fubftantia; two, quantitas; fair and black, qualitas; "Serjeant and Butcher, relatio; wounded the other, "actio et paffio; fighting, fitus; ftage, ubi; two o'clock, "quando; blue and red Breeches, habitu." At the fame time he warned Martin, that what he now learned as a

"consciousness at different times, it is without doubt the fame man would, "at different times, make different perfons. Which we see is the sense of "mankind in not punishing the madman for the fober man's actions, nor "the fober man for what the madman did, thereby making them two per "fons; which is fomewhat explained by our way of fpeaking in English, "when they fay fuch an one is not himself, or is befide himself." Lock's Ellag on Hum. Underst. B. ii, c. 27.

Logician,

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Logician, he muft forget as a natural Philofopher; that though he now taught them that accidents inhered in the fubject, they would find in time there was no fuch thing; and that colour, tafte, fmell, heat and cold were not in the things, but only phantafms of our brains. He was forced to let them into this fecret, for Martin could not conceive how a habit of dancing inhered in a dancing mafter, when he did not dance; nay, he would demand the Characteristicks of Relations. Crambe used to help him out, by telling him, a Cuckold, a lofing gamefter, a man that had not dined, a young heir that was kept fhort by his father, might be all known by their countenance; that, in this last cafe, the Paternity and Filiation leave very fenfible impreffions in the relatum and correlatum. The greatest difficulty was when they came to the Tenth predicament. Crambe affirmed that his babitus was more a fubftance than he was; for his cloaths could better fubfift without him, than he without his cloaths.

Martin fuppofed an Univerfal Man to be like a Knight of a Shire or a Burgess of a Corporation, that represented a great many Individuals. His father afked him, if he could not frame the Idea of an Univerfal Lord Mayor? Martin told him, that, never having feen but one Lord Mayor, the Idea of that Lord Mayor always returned to his mind, that he had great difficulty to abftract a Lord Mayor from his Fur Gown, and Gold Chain; nay, that the horse he faw the Lord Mayor ride upon not a little difturbed his imagination. On the other hand, Crambe, to show himself of a more penetrating genius, swore that he could frame a Conception of a Lord Mayor not only without his Horfe, Gown, and Gold Chain, but even without Stature, Feature, Colour, Hands, Feet, or any Body; which he fuppofed was the abftract of a Lord Mayor *. Cornelius told him, that he was a lying

*This is not a fair reprefentation of what is faid in the Effay of Hum. Undeft. concerning general and abftra&t ideas. But ferious writers have done that Philofopher the fame injuftice.

Rafcal;

Rafcal; that an Univerfale was not the object of imagination, and that there was no fuch thing in reality, or a parte Rei. But I can prove (quoth Crambe) that there are Clyfters aparte Rei, but Clyfters are univerfales; ergo. Thus I prove my Minor. Quod aptum eft ineffe multis, is an universale by definition: but every clyfter before it is administered has that quality; therefore every clyfter is an univerfale.

He alfo found fault with the Advertisements, that they were not ftrict logical definitions: In an advertisement of a Dog ftolen or ftrayed, he said it ought to begin thus, An irrational animal of the Genus Caninum, &c. Cornelius told them, that though thofe advertisements were not framed according to the exact rules of logical definitions, being only defcriptions of things numero differentibus, yet they contained a faint image of the prædicabilia, and were highly fubfervient to the common purposes of life; often discovering things that were loft, both animate and inanimate. An Italian Greyhound, of a mouse colour, a white fpeck in the neck, lame of one leg, belongs to fuch a Lady. Greyhound, genus; mouse-coloured, etc. differentia; lame of one leg, accidens; belongs to such a Lady, proprium.

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Though I am afraid I have tranfgreffed upon my Reader's patience already, I cannot help taking notice of one thing more extraordinary than any yet mentioned; which was Crambe's Treatife on Syllogifms. He fuppofed that a Philofopher's brain was like a great Foreft, where Ideas ranged like animals of feveral kinds; that thofe Ideas copulated, and engendered Conclufions; that when thofe of different Species copulate, they bring forth monsters or absurdities; that the Major is the male, the Minor the female, which copulate by the Middle Term, and engender the Conclufion. Hence they are called the præmiffa, or Predeceffors of the Conclufion; and it is properly faid by the Logicians, quod pariant fcientiam opinionem, they beget fcience, opinion, &c. Univerfal Propofitions are Perfons of quality; and therefore in Logick VOL. III

they

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