The purpose of an outline is to enable the arguer so to arrange and present his arguments, facts and illustrations, as to be convincing and persuasive; and in addition to this, to make them most easily Summary. grasped and most firmly held in memory. Effectiveness depends on skillful planning. Planning depends on thorough analysis of material. Analysis implies thorough mastery and full possession of all the facts, circumstances and evidence, bearing on the proposition to be established or overthrown. When an adequate plan is conceived and completed, the arguer is a long way toward the completion of his discourse. It is possible, however, that a good plan may, through slipshod development, underlie a worthless production; and it is equally certain that a poor plan will not give the framework for an excellent structure. II. BODY OF ARGUMENT. The body of any discourse the aim of which is conviction or persuasion, consists in general of proposition and proof. The proposition is that which is put forward to be proved or disproved. When established, it is also called the conclusion. Proposition and Proof. Proof is anything serving, immediately or mediately, to convince the mind of the truth or falsehood of a proposition, "the sufficient reason for assenting to a proposition as true."1 Proof becomes argument when it is used to convince another. Argument 2 differs from proof in implying unbelief which is to be combated, a proposition which is to be established against the tacit or avowed opposition of certain persons. Many terms, 1 Wharton, Law of Evidence, 4. 2 Page 73. like argument, proposition, proof, definition, subject, have both a logical and a rhetorical meaning. They are used here in their rhetorical sense. Evidence and Proof.] Evidence 1 is a portion of truth, "anything which generates proof: any matter of fact the effect, tendency or design of which is to produce in the mind a persuasion affirmative or disaffirmative of some other matter of fact."2 Proof, in law, is a broader term than evidence. Evidence includes the reproduction of the admissions of parties and of facts relevant to the issue. Proof includes, in addition, presumptions of law and of fact, and citations of law. Evidence is adduced by witnesses and documents; proof may be adduced by counsel in arguments, or by the judge in his charge. While either a term or a statement may be the subject of exposition, only a statement is susceptible of proof or disproof. The subject of argumentation, therefore, must always be expressed in the form of Only a proposition. The advocate may have to Propositions make clear by exposition what larceny or arson is, but he cannot argue the terms, "arson” and "larceny;" he can argue that "the prisoner is guilty of arson," or that "the prisoner is innocent of larceny." Argued. The first business of the writer or speaker who would convince others, is to have clearly in mind his proposition as well as the logical processes by which he himself has come to his belief regarding it. Proposition. Indeed, this is an advantage whether the dis- Necessity of course is to be argumentative, expository or hortatory. A proposition will hold the writer's efforts 1 Page 41. 2 Best, Evidence, 5. to a single point better than any mere term, however clearly expressed. President Robinson recognizes this in his advice to young preachers: "The purpose of a sermon is to enlighten and convince, and not merely to entertain and please. The preacher is supposed to have a definite end in view. The more direct his steps toward it, the more likely his auditors will be to accompany him. They have a right to know what his aim is, and to demand that he shall take a straightforward and open road to reach it. He need not blunt the edge of their curiosity at the outset by telling them what all of his arguments are to be; but the moment the movement of his thought begins, it should be movement with progress. There are few things of which audiences are more impatient than of labored movement with no apparent advance." 1 "Few discourses are less interesting or less profitable to intelligent people than those which consist of a series of disconnected paragraphs hung upon single words, clauses or sentences of Scripture, but disclosing no single principle that gives harmony and unity to the whole. At the outset, we are entertained, perhaps, with a vivid description of a bit of scenery, or of some august occasion; then we have a scrap of archæology ; then a slight touch of exegesis; then a patch of doctrine; then a hit at physical science; then a word of exhortation; then a page from ancient history; then a snatch of poetry; and in conclusion, a contrast or comparison between the present and the time in which the text was written, - all leaving no single, definite impression. " 2 If a speaker's object is to convince, his first step toward that object, his first precaution against confusion, is to set before himself a definite proposition, and make every utterance an advance towards its establishment. Whether the proposition be announced at the beginning or held till after some proofs are advanced, will depend upon circumstances. But it must be clear in the arguer's mind before he can establish it in the mind of another. The proposition should, if possible, be stated simply, briefly, and in terms not only intelligible but unmistakable. If from the character of the subject the meaning of the proposition is not perfectly Necessity obvious, or if the terms are liable to be mis- of Clear understood or are susceptible of misinterpretation, the general meaning must be made clear by exposition or the terms be made clear by definition. This narrows the field of discussion. It directs all efforts to one point. It facilitates specific statement and avoids generalities. Statement. In Debate. In a debate, where both sides are to be argued, additional care is needed in the statement of the proposition. It must be so worded as to exclude what is admitted on both sides. It must express the exact issue as understood by both debaters. The terms of the proposition must stand for the same thought with both speakers. If they do not, each side is arguing an independent proposition, which, instead of contradicting the other, may only touch it here and there; and perhaps each is true or each is false. Need of The definition of terms is no easy task. Sometimes the dictionaries give clear, simple, adequate definitions, in terms that are unequivocal or in synonymous expressions. But they often afford very little aid, for they define mostly by synonyms or by Good terms which themselves need defining. Logical definition rarely meets the requirements, since it gives only the genus and differentia. A good definition should be clear, fair, adequate, accurate, positive, Definition. convincing, and as brief as is consistent with the other qualities. If the definition is not clear, not rendering the issue any more apparent, it does not help the reader or listener to follow the discussion. If it is not fair, it does not encourage him to follow. If it is not adequate, there will be gaps in coherence. If it is not accurate, it does not promise a reward for his following. If it is negative, it gives little aid to his following. If it is not convincing, he will not follow. If it is too long, it takes attention and energy which should be given to the discussion. A term may require not only definition, but analysis or elaborate exposition, illustration by antithesis, comparison, exemplification or detailed description. On the other hand, definition may be carried to excess. It is wise to assume average intelligence in those whom we would convince. The right kind of definition limits the proposition, puts the debaters and the hearers on common ground, and tends to do away with vagueness, confusion, and ambiguous or question-begging terms.1 Erskine, Much of the first part of Lord Erskine's argument at the trial of Gordon,2 consists in the definition and exposition of the term, "treason." The conviction or the acquittal of the prisoner depended on the meaning of that word. Webster's speech on The Constitution not a Compact Between Sovereign States is largely an exposition of the terms in his proposition. Very rarely, however, is exposition made . to do the work of argument throughout a long address. When Huxley, in his Lectures on Evolution, had induced 4 1 Page 100. 2 British Eloquence, 637. 8 Great Speeches, 273. 4 American Addresses, 4 30. |