[13]
This major premise is either
an admitted fact as in the last example or requires
[p. 357]
to be proved as in the following: “He who wishes
to live a happy life, must be a philosopher”: for
this is not an acknowledged truth, and the premises
must be established before we can arrive at the
conclusion. Sometimes again the minor premise is
an admitted fact, as for instance, “But all men wish
to live a happy life,” while sometimes it requires to
be proved, as for example the statement quoted
above, “That which is dissolved into its elements is
devoid of feeling,” since it is doubtful whether the
soul is immortal after its release from the body or
only continues to exist for a time. Some call this a
minor premise, some a reason.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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