case.

proved. This presumption is strengthened by arguments from example, which furnish evidence concerning similar occurrences, and by those from sign, which furnish evidence tending to show that what was likely to occur did occur. Arguments from antecedent probability, since they suggest a cause or causes, point to the principle which is applicable to the case in hand; those from example furnish instances of its application in other cases; those from sign tend to prove that it applies in the present "Mr. Burke, in his speech on the Nabob of Arcot's debts, in endeavoring to prove that India had been reduced to a condition of extreme want and wretchedness, first presents the causes in operation to produce it; then, examples of the operation of those causes; and finally particular signs of the fact. The mind very readily receives the whole statement, because, from the view of the cause, the effects are naturally anticipated." In legal opinions, it is usually advisable first to lay down the principle that governs the case, a form of the argumẹnt from antecedent probability, and then to cite precedents, that is, examples of similar cases; in a treatise on medicine, it is usually advisable first to give the theory of a course of treatment, and then to cite examples from practice. If the examples came first, they might be regarded as exceptions to the general rule; coming after the general rule, they appear to be instances under it.

Other considerations come into play when a reasoner is obliged to meet a formidable opponent; for until he has weakened the impression produced by his opponent's argument he can make no headway with his own. It is, however, unwise to treat adverse arguments as if they were very serious, for this is to 1 H. N. Day: The Art of Discourse, part ii. chap. v. sect. 161.

Refutation.

emphasize their importance; it is equally unwise to neglect them altogether, for entire neglect raises the suspicion that they are not answered because they cannot be; and it is a still greater error to misstate them, for misstatement is almost sure to be detected, and, if detected, is likely to be judged even more severely than the facts warrant. Prudence, as well as honesty, prescribes that the arguments of an opponent shall be fairly

met.

Necessary as it is to answer objections, it is generally injudicious either to begin or to end an argument with an elaborate refutation of an opponent's; for to do so is to fix attention on that which we wish forgotten. As a rule, the refutation of objections should be near the middle of the discourse, so that the arguments refuted may not make either the first or the last impression. The beginning and the end of an argument, as of a play, are the most important parts.

It is often advantageous to begin by making a general answer to the arguments on the other side, but to postpone refutation in detail till a more convenient season. If this course is pursued, it is well to say distinctly that further discussion is waived for the time being only. After a reasoner has made out a prima facie case, he can dispose of objections with less trouble and with greater effect. Those who aim at victory rather than at truth sometimes make a dishonest use of their right to waive a point, by forgetting to take it up again; but this stratagem usually ensnares the contriver.

17

useful adjunct

SECTION VI.

PERSUASION.

Argument, if understood to mean merely the process of convincing, seldom occurs by itself; it is usually comPersuasion a bined with PERSUASION, which includes all those processes that make the persons addressed willing to be convinced or ready to carry conviction into action. Unlike argument, persuasion is addressed not so much to the intellect as to the feelings.

to argument.

To substitute an appeal to the feelings for argument is, of course, never justifiable. "It is dishonest to try to convert excited feeling into evidence of facts which would justify it. To say, 'There must be a God because I love him,' is just like saying, 'That man must be a rogue because I hate him,' which many people do say, but not wisely." Equally dishonest is the argumentum ad hominem; 2 for this is neither more nor less than an attempt to make an appeal to prejudice or passion seem like proof. In no case is persuasion an equivalent for argument.

The following passages from the report of the arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States in the recent income-tax cases (1895) are persuasive rather than convincing:

"In conclusion, Mr. Carter said the law had been enacted by the representatives of the people, acting in their legitimate and uncontrollable sphere as the taxing power of the government, elected by a great popular majority, and that the expression of an

1 Sir James Fitzjames Stephen: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. chap. vii.

2 See page 347

opinion by that means could always be accepted and considered as final. A triumphant majority, he said, firm in the possession of a view which they believed to be just and right, would find a way to the accomplishment of their purpose, if need be, over the ruins of constitutions and of courts. It was the wise thing not to provoke such a contest.

"Mr. Carter spoke two hours and a half and was followed by Mr. Choate. Mr. Choate, in opening, said:

"It never would have occurred to me to present [as] either an opening or a closing argument to this great and learned court, that if, in their wisdom, they found it necessary to protect a suitor who sought here to invoke the protection of the constitution which was created for us all, possibly the popular wrath might sweep the court away. It is the first time I ever heard that argument presented to this court or any other, and I trust it will be the last.

"I thought until to-day that there was a constitution of the United States, and that the business of the executive arm was to uphold that constitution. I thought that this court was created for the purpose of maintaining the constitution as against unlawful conduct on the part of Congress. It is news to me that Congress is the sole judge of the measure of the powers confided to it by the constitution, and it is also news to me that that great fundamental principle that underlies the constitution, namely, the equality of all men before the law, has ceased to exist. '" 1

Though not an equivalent for argument, persuasion is a useful adjunct to it. Cold logic alone may convince the persons addressed, but it will not take firm hold of them unless they already feel a vital interest in the subject. It is the "instilment of conviction "2 (to quote Matthew Arnold's definition of persuasion) that makes conviction hold. Conviction alone, moreover, does not influence the will. To win assent to a general proposition is one thing; to secure adhesion to a doctrine that has a personal application and requires exertion is another and a far more

1 As reported in the Boston Daily Advertiser, March 13, 1895.

2 Matthew Arnold: Essays in Criticism; The Literary Influence of Academies.

difficult thing. Most difficult of all is the task of persuading a man against his original convictions. Such a triumph was achieved by Whitefield over Benjamin Franklin:

"The sight of their miserable situation [that of the children in Georgia] inspir'd," says Franklin, "the benevolent heart of Mr. Whitefield with the idea of building an Orphan House there, in which they might be supported and educated. Returning northward, he preach'd up this charity and made large collections, for his eloquence had a wonderful power over the hearts and purses of his hearers of which I myself was an instance.

"I did not disapprove of the design but as Georgia was then destitute of materials and workmen and it was proposed to send them from Philadelphia at a great expense, I thought it would have been better to have built the house here and brought the children to it. This I advis'd; but he was resolute in his first project, rejected my counsel and I therefore refus'd to contribute. I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold. As he proceeded I began to soften and concluded to give the coppers. Another stroke of his oratory made me asham'd of that and determin'd me to give the silver; and he finish'd so admirably that I empti'd my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.”1

exordiums and

Sometimes the work of persuasion is done by means of an exordium which insures a favorable reception for what Persuasion in is to come, or of a peroration which carries perorations. home the conclusion. It is in exordiums and perorations that a young writer often fails: he does not know how to get at his subject or how to get away from it. He should beware of putting in a word of introduction that is not necessary to prepare the way for his argument, and of adding a word at the end that is not necessary to

1 Benjamin Franklin: Works, vol. i,; Autobiography. Edited by John Bigelow.