ing of the argument.
Certain words of common use are likely to such shifting
meanings--_republic, equality, representative, monarchy, socialistic_.
Any doubtful passage in which such an error is suspected should be
reduced to its syllogistic form to be tested for accuracy.

A representative of the people must vote always as they would vote.
A Congressman is a representative of the people.
Therefore, Congressmen must vote always as the people who elect them
would vote.

Is not the expression, _representative of the people_, here used in
two different senses?

When an argument is delivered, one of the premises--being a statement
which the speaker assumes everyone will admit as true--is sometimes
omitted. This shortened form is called an enthymeme.

Smith will be a successful civil engineer for he is a
superior mathematician.

Supply the missing premise. Which is it?

In the bald, simple forms here set down, the syllogism and enthymeme
are hardly suited to delivery in speeches. They must be amplified,
explained, emphasized, in order to serve a real purpose. The following
represent better the way a speaker uses deductive reasoning.

The appointing power is vested in the President and Senate;
this is the general rule of the Constitution. The removing
power is part of the appointing power; it cannot be
separated from the rest.

DANIEL WEBSTER: _The Appointing and Removing
Power_, 1835

Then Daniel Webster stated in rather extended form the conclusion that
the Senate should share in the removing proceedings.

Sir, those who espouse the doctrines of nullification
reject, as it seems to me, the first great principle of all
republican liberty; that is, that the majority _must_
govern. In matters of common concern, the judgment of a
majority _must_ stand as the judgment of the whole.

DANIEL WEBSTER: _Reply to Calhoun_, 1853

Then, he argues, as these revenue laws were passed by a majority, they
must be obeyed in South Carolina.

Methods of Proof. In extended arguments, just as in detailed
exposition, many different methods of proof may be employed.

Explanation. Often a mere clear explanation will induce a listener to
accept your view of the truth of a proposition. You have heard men
say, "Oh, if that is what you mean, I agree with you entirely. I
simply didn't understand you." When you are about to engage in
argument consider this metho