***
'All vice is odious; but avarice is a vice; for it makes men slaves; therefore avarice is odious.'
| V. | I. | ||
| Whatever enslaves | is a vice | All vice | is odious |
| Avarice enslaves | it is a vice | Avarice is a vice | it is odious |
***
'Bucephalus is a horse; a horse is a quadruped; a quadruped is an animal; an animal is a substance; therefore Bucephalus is a substance.'
| All horses | are quads. | Quads. | animals | Animal | substance |
| Bu. is a h. | he is q. | B. is quad. | he is an. | Bu. is an. | he is subst. |
This is what logicians call a Sorites. There may be a chain of valid arguments, in which the conclusion of one is precedent or case of the next; but the propositions just quoted do not make an argument, being merely a string of classifications. If we know what Bucephalus and substance mean, we know by perception that Bucephalus is a substance.
***
'Every being is then happy when it acquires the proper perfection of its nature; and consequently all vital beings are capable of receiving felicity that are capable of arriving at the perfection of their nature.'
| I. | |
| Every being that acquires | is happy |
| All vital beings capable of acquiring | must be capable of receiving felicity |