[17]
But when
a reason of unusual length intervenes, it is necessary to state the final conclusion, otherwise the
major premise and the reason would suffice. “Laws
are silent in the midst of arms, and do not require
us to await their sanction when the circumstances
are such that he who would await their sanction is
certain to be the victim of an unjust penalty before
ever the just penalty can be claimed.”1 Hence it
has been asserted that the form of enthymeme which is
based on denial of consequents resembles a reason. But
sometimes, again, it is sufficient to state a single
proposition as in the example just quoted, “The laws
are silent in the midst of arms.”
1 pro Mil. iv. 10.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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