On the Purity of the Art of Logic

Book excerpt: This is the first complete English translation of 'On the Purity of the Art of Logic', a handbook of logic written in Latin by English philosopher Walter Burley (c.1275-1344/5). The work circulated in the Middle Ages in two versions, a shorter and a longer one, both translated here by Paul Vincent Spade. The translations are based on the only complete edition of Burley’s treatises, corrected by Spade on the basis of one of the surviving manuscripts. The book also includes an extensive introduction, explanatory notes, a table of corresponding passages between the two versions, a select annotated bibliography, and three indexes.