Journal of the History of Philosophy

Notes and Discussions THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE ART OF LOGICK (1654) TheArt of Logick does not appear in the standard scholarly sources on the history and bibliography of logic, even though several general bibliographic works record the volume.' The work was published in 1653, late October, and a second edition was published in 1657. 2 Both editions are scarce today, for just thirteen libraries record copies of the first edition and only four hold the second edition.3 Nowhere has the question of authorship been raised. Indeed, Thomas Spencer Baynes's brief mention of The Art of Logick in the preface to his translation of the Port-Royal Logic simply states that Zachary Coke is the author. 4 The research presented here reveals the author of The Art of Logick to be the Brownist theologian Henry Ainsworth (1571-1622 or 1623). A learned mind produced The Art of Logick, and it was probably directed to a learned reader. The full title--The Art of Logick; or the Entire Body of Logick in English unfolding to the meanest Capacity the way to dispute well, and to Refute all Fallacies whatsoever--is misleading, for the work is more theoretical and philosophical than practical. A short opening section (pp. 1-13) defines logic as an art and For citations of the work, see R. C. Alston, Bibliography of the English Language... (Leeds: E. A. Arnold, 1965-72), 7: 13; Donald Wing, Short Title Catalogue, 2nd ed. (New York: MLA Index Committee , 1972), p. 388; British Museum General Catalogue of Printed Books (London, 1966), vol. 41, col. 389; and The National Union Catalogue Pre-1956 Imprints (London: Mansell Ltd., 1970), 114:119. The work is not mentioned in Wilbur Samuel Howell, Logic and Rhetoric in England, 1500-1700 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1956); Walter Ong, S. J., Ramus, Method and the Decay of Dialogue (Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1958), and Ramus and the Talon Inventory (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1958); Robert Blakey, Historical Sketch of Logic (London: H. Bailliere, 1851); and Wilhelm Risse, Bibliographica Logica, Vol. I (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1965). A facsimile reprint of the first edition of The Art of Logick is No. 192 in the series, English Linguistics, 1500-1800, published by the Scolar Press (1969). 2The volume was presented at the Stationer's Register on October 28, 1653; see A Transcript of the Registers of the Worshipful Company of Stationers from 1640-1708 A.D. (London, 1913; reprint ed., New York: Peter Smith, 1950), p. 433. The British Museum copy, in the Thomason Collection, is dated November 9, 1653. 3 Holders of the first edition are the following: British Museum, Cambridge University Library, The Congregational Library (London), Christ Church College Library (Oxford), Edinburgh University Library, Huntington Library, Harvard University Library's Houghton Library, Yale University Library, Folger Shakespeare Library, Joseph Regenstein Library (University of Chicago), Sheffield University Library, University of Minnesota Library and the Bodleian Library. The second edition is held by the University of Illinois, Columbia University, the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library (UCLA), and the Philosophical Faculty Library at Oxford; a second edition reported at Gray's Inn, London, was destroyed in World War 11, according to Mr. P. C. Beddingham, Librarian at Grays Inn. All copies of the first and second editions listed in Wing, Alston, and The National Union Catalog Pre-1956 Imprints have been checked through correspondence, enabling me to omit the Leicester University Library (which does not hold a copy despite the recording in Alston) and the University of Iowa (which holds a microfilm copy) from the accounts of holders. All quotations from The Art of Logick are from the first edition. 4See Baynes, The Port Royal Logic translatedfrom the French, with Introduction, Notes and Appendix , 3rd ed., enlarged (Edinburgh: Sutherland and Knox, 1854), p. xxxviii. [3211 322 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY deals with the properties of logic. The "First Book" (pp. 14-99) considers simple terms, the "Second Book" (pp. 101-127) treats propositions, and the "Third Book" (pp. 129-185) deals with the syllogism. Brief discussions of "Method or Order" (pp. 186-190), "the Use and Exercise ofLogick" (pp. 191-217), and "Analysis" (pp. 217-222) complete the volume. This organizational pattern is...