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Full Idea
Syllogisms are useless for discovery, and serve only for verbal fencing.
Gist of Idea
Syllogisms are verbal fencing, not discovery
Source
John Locke (Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed) [1694]), quoted by Keith Devlin - Goodbye Descartes Ch.3
Book Ref
Devlin,Keith: 'Goodbye Descartes: the end of logic' [Wiley 1997], p.62
A Reaction
This illustrates the low status of logic, and the new high status of experimental science, in Locke's time. Locke's seems to miss the point that you can infer new discoveries from old ones.