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 y