INTRODUCTION'. ance given it, is the disguise and false colours in which many things appear to as in this present imperfect state. There are a thousand things which are not in reality whatthey appear to be, and that both in the natural and themo- ral world : so the sun appears to be flat as, a platt of silver, andto be lesa then twelve inches in diameter : the moon appears to be as big as the sun, and the rainbow appears to be a large substantial arch in the sky ; all which are in reality gross falsehoods. So knavery puts on the face of justice, hypocrisy and superstition wear the viaardof piety, deceit and evil are often clothed in the shapes and appearances of truth and goodness. Now Logic helps to strip off the outward disguise of things, and to behold them, and judge of them in their own nature. There is yet a further proof that our intellectual or rational powers need some assistance, and that is, because they are so frail and fallible in the pre- sent state ; we are imposed upon at home as well as abroad ; we are deceived by our senses, by our imaginations, by our passions and appetites, by the authority of men, by education and custom, &c. and we are led into frequent errors, by judging according to these false and flattering principles, rather than according to the nature of things. Something of this frailty is owing to our very constitution, man being compounded of flesh and spirit ; some. thing of it arises from our infant state, and our growing up by small degrees to manhood, so that we form a thousand judgments before our reason is ma- ture. But there is still more of it owing to our original defection from Godf and the foolish and evil dispositions that are found in fallen man : so that one great, part of the design of Logic is to guard no against the delusive influences of our meaner powers, to cure the mistakes of immature judgment, and to raise us in some measure from the ruins of our fall. Iris evident enough from all these things, that our reason needs the as. sistance of art in our enquiries after truth or duty ; and without some shill end diligence in forming our judgments aright, we shall be led into frequent mis- takes, both in matters of science and in matters of practice; and some of these mistakes may prove fatal too. The art of Logic, even as it assists us to gain the knowledge of the sciences, leads us on toward virtue and happiness : for all our speculative ac- quaintance with things should be made subservient to our better conduct in the civil and religious life. This is infinitely more valuable than all speculations and a wise man will use them chiefly for this better purpose. All the good judgment and prudence that any man exerts in his common concerns of life, without the advantage of learning, is called natural logics and it is but a higher advancement, and a farther assistance of our rational powers, that is designed by and expected from this artificial Logic. In order to attain this, we must enquire what are the principal operations of the naiad, which are put forth in the exercise of our reason ; and we shall. find them to be these four, namely, perception, judgment, argumentation, and. disposition. Now the art of Logic is composed of those observations and rules., which men have made about these four operations of the 'mind, perception, judg went, removing, and disposition, in order to assist and improve them. I. Perception, conception, or apprehension, is the mere simple contem- plation of things offered to our minds, without affirming or denying any thing concerning them. So we conceive or think of a horse, a tree, high, swift, slmv, animal, time, motion, matter, mind, life, death, &c. The form
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