A Brother Asks: Common Sense Resources for Trivium Studies?

 

A Brother Asks: What are some common sense resources that I can get a hold of to
strengthen my Trivium Studies.

Coach: That's a great question and one that I have been asked countless times, usually in this form, "What can be done to improve oneself in the Trivium."

I continually point out that LEARNING ABOUT the Trivium is much different from LEARNING the Trivium.

The former gives you an understanding of what the Trivium is.  The later engages you in developing the skills to apply it.

Do you want to develop those skills for yourself? If your answer is "yes", then my primary recommendation is to access materials that are freely available so you can do just that.  The web is a rich resource for such things.

 

GRAMMAR

When it comes to Grammar, I recommend older versions of English Grammar Primer texts. Pre 1930s materials are excellent and available for free on Goggle Books under "English Grammar Primer".  

Here are a few of COUNTLESS examples from basic to more advanced (I neither endorse nor recommend any of them.  They are EXAMPLES of what you can obtain for free and use should you want to get a start on learning the subject!):

1. English Grammar / by KNUT GJERSET, Ph.D. 
2. An Elementary Grammar of the English Language: For the Use of Schools / by Thomas Wadleigh Harvey 
3. A Primer of Historical English Grammar / By Henry Sweet
4. A NEW ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR SCHOOLS BEING A REVISED EDITION OF A PRACTICAL GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE / BY THOMAS W. HARVEY, A.M. 
5. A Primer of English Grammar: In which Etymology Alone is Considered: Designed for Primary Schools
6. Key to the Exercises, Adapted to Murray's English Grammar: Calculated to Enable Private Learners to Become Their Own Instructors, in Grammar and Composition / by Lindley Murray
    

LOGIC

There are three areas that I recommend seeking light when it comes to logic studies. Here are some of the resources that I have recommended over the last 2 decades when Brothers ask me about studying logic. It's a great starting point for those who are serious about this part of their training.

1) Logic Study Course for non-math students

1. A great overview https://builds.openlogicproject.org/?fbclid=IwAR3if9i7mrY9rVNXJiD6c54Dxvv1X5ewVwZj8Pl8TOJMf-86rb4c2YF0QbU

2) Two Logical Fallacies Lists

1. Where things go wrong!  https://www.logicalfallacies.org/?fbclid=IwAR0QXFfKNh5wSS56cNfx1fWsvzGzfMq7ct4p3ac3W7-sGfxpLjqeYuNh5J8 
2. More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies?fbclid=IwAR0atc-3Cs4vQLlDf7x7vQQDtjBvOSEnNnKq1FWPs2RurpvnKtDY9bbKO-Y
   

3) The Art of Deception - An audio book on How to Detect the MISUSE of Logic - How reasoning can be purposefully deceptive/misleading

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUqKOMCjfb0&list=PLOHZSUApmPdbDoHkb6ddnpE9AJQQDI18O&index=13

4) (And ONLY after you explore the former) Some soft & hard core primers and writings from in and around 1900:

1. A Primer of Logic / By Emily Elizabeth Constance Jones
2. Primer of Logical Analysis: For the Use of Composition Students / By Josiah Royce
3. Studies in Logic / edited by Charles Sanders Peirce
4. Studies and Exercises in Formal Logic: Including a Generalisation of Logical ... / By John Neville Keynes
5. Studies in Deductive Logic: A Manual for Students / By William Stanley Jevons
6. The Existential Import of Categorical Predication: Studies in Logic / By Abraham Wolf

 

RHETORIC

As with the other Trivial studies, there are some great free resources available for study. Beside the traditional rhetorical cannons  

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventio
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispositio
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elocutio
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoria
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronuntiatio
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronuntiatio
   

I highly recommend an intense study of Figures of Speech targeting the 150+ Tropes and 150+ Schemes specifically.

Here are seven more that can get you started:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric#Canons
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylistic_device
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiom
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_forms_of_word_play
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetition_(rhetorical_device)
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorical_device
   

After you have studied the general parts of the three aspects of the Trivium, please explore other sources to further refine your skills.

 And, if you find some resource material links that are even better, please share those links with me and I'll upgrade my list.

ENJOY!

Coach John S Nagy 

 PS - and if you're interested in the Quadrivium, here's a great resource along the lines of algebra and calculus!