There are three general parts or phases of Deductive Logic, namely: Terms, Propositions and Syllogisms. Therefore, in considering Terms we are entering into a consideration of the first phase of Deductive Logic. Unless we have a correct understanding of Terms, we cannot expect to understand the succeeding stages of Deductive Reasoning. As Jevons says: "When we join terms together we make a Proposition; when we join Propositions together, we make an argument or piece of reasoning.... We should generally get nothing but nonsense if we were to put together any terms and any propositions and to suppose that we were reasoning. To produce a good argument we must be careful to obey certain rules, which it is the purpose of Logic to make known. But, in order to understand the matter perfectly, _we ought first to learn exactly what a term is, and how many kinds of terms there may be_; we have next to learn the nature of a proposition and the different kinds of propositions. Afterwards we shall learn how one proposition may by reasoning be drawn from other propositions in the kind of argument called the syllogism." Now, having seen that terms are the outward symbols or expression of concepts, and are the names of things which we join together in a proposition, let us proceed to consider the different kinds of terms, following the classifications adopted by the authorities. A _term_ may contain any number of nouns, substantive or adjective or it may contain but a single noun. Thus in, "Tigers are ferocious," the first term is the single substantive "tigers;" the second term is the single adjective "ferocious." And in the proposition, "The King of England is the Emperor of India," there are two terms, each composed of two nouns, "King of England" being the first term and "Emperor of India" being the second term. The proposition, "The library of the British Museum is the greatest collection of books in the world," contains fifteen words but _only two terms_; the first term being "The library of the British Museum," in which are two substantives, one adjective, two definite articles and one preposition; the second term being, "the greatest collection of books in the world," which contains three substantives, one adjective, two articles, and two prepositions. The above illustration is supplied by Jevons, who adds: "A logical term, then, may consist of any number of nouns, substantive or adjective, with the articles, prepositions and conjunctions required to join them together; still _it is only one term if it points out, or makes us think of a single object, or collection, or class of objects_." (A substantive, is: "the part of speech which expresses something that exists, either material or immaterial.") The first classification of terms divides them into two general classes, _viz._, (1) Singular Terms; and (2) General Terms.