John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
10416 Appendix John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 10416 |
| AUTHOR: | Appendix |
| QUOTATION: | Begging the question. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | This is a common logical fallacy, petitio principii; and the first explanation of the phrase is to be found in Aristotle’s “Topica,” viii. 13, where the five ways of begging the question are set forth. The earliest English work in which the expression is found is “The Arte of Logike plainlie set forth in our English Tongue, &c.” (1584.) |