  We introduce and elaborate a novel formalism for the manipulation and
analysis of proofs as objects in a global manner. In this first approach the
formalism is restricted to first-order problems characterized by condensed
detachment. It is applied in an exemplary manner to a coherent and
comprehensive formal reconstruction and analysis of historical proofs of a
widely-studied problem due to {\L}ukasiewicz. The underlying approach opens the
door towards new systematic ways of generating lemmas in the course of proof
search to the effects of reducing the search effort and finding shorter proofs.
Among the numerous reported experiments along this line, a proof of
{\L}ukasiewicz's problem was automatically discovered that is much shorter than
any proof found before by man or machine.
