It is not easy to phrase the proposition so that it shall mean precisely what we wish to argue; so that it shall include the whole matter at issue, nothing more and nothing less ; so that there shall be no possible ambiguity. Yet, unless the proposition is so phrased, a debate may degenerate into a lifeless quibble concerning the meaning of the terms, under which the living heart of the question is buried.

p. 2; as cited in: Robert James Branham (2013). Debate and Critical Analysis: The Harmony of Conflict. p. 31 - Argumentation and debating, 1908