 The other text mentioned above, De topicis differentiis, is equally significant for the development of later theories of consequence. It presents a discussion of Cicero’s Topics, which in turn claims to have been inspired by Aristotle’s Topics. Cicero’s work, however, is very different from Aristotle’s, and Boethius in some sense attempts to offer a unification of both approaches (he also discusses the dialectical topics of the Greek commentator Themistius). One of the key concepts introduced by this text is the concept of ‘maximal propositions’, which he claims are the general principles underlying the correctness of topical arguments. As described by C. Martin,