  Burke, in other words, could think through not only his own grouping of claims but also their opposites. This reflects, no doubt, other features of his mind apart from his understanding of complex ideas, such as the skill in seeing the strong side and the obverse of any argument, which Burke had acquired in his undergraduate study of rhetoric; and it reflects, too, a habit of versatility begun in his debating society, for there speakers were called upon to play roles; and no doubt it is reminiscent, again, of Burke's undergraduate interest in the theatre. Yet beyond all of these, it suggests that in the large topics which experience had put before Burke—religion, morals, arts and sciences—argument had not produced an overwhelmingly decisive case. For A Vindication also seems to make a case against everything he had espoused.