CROCODILE (crocodilus), in Rhetoric, a captious and sophistical kind of argumentation, contrived to seduce the unwary, and draw them speciously into a snare. It has its name crocodile from the following occasion, invented by the poets. A poor woman, begging a crocodile that had caught her son walking by the riverside to spare and restore him, was answered, that he would restore him, provided she should give a true answer to a question he should propose: the question was, Will I restore thy son or not? To this the poor woman
man, suspecting a deceit, sorrowfully answered, Thou wilt not: and demanded to have him restored, because he had answered truly. Thou liest, says the crocodile; for if I restore him thou hast not answered truly: I cannot therefore restore him without making thy answer false. Under this head may be reduced the propositions called mentientes or insolubiles; which destroy themselves. Such is that of the Cretan poet: Omnes ad unum Cretenses semper mentiuntur: "all the Cretans, to a man, always lie." Either, then the poet lies when he asserts that the Cretans all lie, or the Cretans do not all lie.