Llull's Art Llull's
Art (in Latin ) is at the center of his thought and undergirds his entire corpus. It is a system of universal logic based on a set of general principles activated in a combinatorial process. Its intent is to prove statements about God and creation (e.g., "God is a Trinity"). Often the
Art formulates these statements as questions and answers (e.g., Q: "Is there a Trinity in God?" A: "Yes"). It works cumulatively through an iterative process; statements about God's nature must be proved for each of God's essential attributes in order to prove the statement true for God (i.e., Goodness is threefold, Greatness is threefold, Eternity is threefold, Power is threefold, etc.). What sets Llull's system apart is its unusual use of letters and diagrams, giving it an algebraic or algorithmic character. He developed the
Art over the course of many decades, writing new books to explain each new version. The
Arts trajectory can be divided into two main phases, although each phase contains numerous variations. The first is sometimes called the Quaternary Phase (1274–1290) and the second the Ternary Phase (1290–1308). This terminology was coined by Anthony Bonner.
Quaternary Phase The two main works of the Quaternary Phase are (ca. 1274) and (ca. 1283). The has 12 main figures. A set of 16 principles, or "dignities" (divine attributes) comprise the general foundation for the system's operation. These principles are displayed in the first figure (Figure A) and assigned letters (B through R). The rest of the figures are intended to enable the user to combine these principles to demonstrate the truth of statements. Figure T, for instance, contains "relative principles" (e.g., minority, majority, equality, etc.), also assigned letters. Figure S displays the Augustinian powers of the soul (will, intellect, and memory) and their acts (willing, understanding, and remembering).
Ternary Phase Llull inaugurated the Ternary Phase with two works written in 1290: and (or ). The culmination of this phase came in 1308 with a finalized version of the
Art called . In the same year, Llull wrote an abbreviated version called the . In these works, Llull revised the
Art to have only four main figures. He reduced the number of divine principles in the first figure to nine (goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, will, virtue, truth, glory). Figure T also now has nine relational principles (difference, concordance, contrariety, beginning, middle, end, majority, equality, and minority), reduced from 15. Llull kept the combinatorial aspect of the process.
Correlatives Llull introduced an aspect of the system called the "correlatives" just before the final transition to the Ternary Phase. The correlatives first appear in a work called the () and came to undergird his formulation of the
nature of being. The doctrine of correlatives stipulates that everything, at the level of being, has a threefold structure: agent, patient, and act. For example, the divine principle "goodness" consists of "that which does good" (agent), "that which receives good" (patient), and "to do good" (act). Llull used a system of Latin suffixes to express the correlatives, e.g. for (goodness): , , and , respectively. This became his basis for attempting to prove that the divine principles are distinct yet equivalent in God (each principle has the same underlying threefold structure, yet retains its own unique correlatives). This supports the combinatorial operation of the
Art; for example, in God, goodness greatness and greatness goodness, goodness eternity and eternity goodness, etc. It is also the basis of the Lullian approach to proof of the
Trinity (each divine principle has the three correlatives, and together the principles comprise the Godhead; therefore, the Godhead is threefold), and proof of the
Incarnation (the active and passive correlatives are equivalent to matter and form, and the trinitarian unfolding of being occurs on all levels of reality). Within this framework, – a section of the – explores the concept of primordial chaos as the initial state of creation, whereat divine principles had yet to impose order upon formless potential. Llull's treatment of chaos aligns with his system of correlatives, suggesting that chaos itself contains within it the active force of divine causation, the passive potential of undifferentiated being, and the act of transformation by which it becomes structured reality. This concept – though philosophical, in Llull's system – bears a striking resemblance to alchemical notions of , the raw substance from which all transmutations were said to arise.
Other works Influence of Islam and early works It has been pointed out that the
Arts combinatorial mechanics bear a resemblance to
zairja, a device used by medieval Arab astrologers. The Art's reliance on divine attributes also has a certain similarity to the contemplation of the
ninety-nine Names of God in the Muslim tradition. Llull's familiarity with the Islamic intellectual tradition is evidenced by the fact that his first work (1271–2) was a compendium of
Al-Ghazali's logic.
Dialogues From early in his career Llull composed dialogues to enact the procedure of the
Art. This is linked to the missionary aspect of the
Art; Llull conceived of it as an instrument to convert all peoples of the world to Christianity, and experimented with more popular genres to make it easier to understand. His earliest and most well-known dialogue is the
Book of the Gentile and the Three Wise Men, written in Catalan in the 1270s and later translated into Latin. It is framed as a meeting of three wise men (a Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian) and a Gentile in the woods. They learn about the Lullian method when they encounter a set of trees with leaves inscribed with Lullian principles. Lady Intelligence appears and informs them of the properties of the trees and the rules for implementing the leaves. The wise men use the trees to prove their respective Articles of Faith to the Gentile (although some of the Islamic tenets cannot be proved with the Lullian procedure), and in the end the Gentile is converted to Christianity. Llull subsequently composed many other dialogues. Later in his career, when he became concerned with heretical activity in the Arts Faculty of the University of Paris, he wrote "disputations" with philosophers as interlocutors. He also created a character for himself, and he stars in many of these dialogues as the Christian wise man (for instance:
Liber de quaestione valde alta et profunda, composed in 1311).
Tree diagrams Llull structured many of his works around trees. In some, like the
Book of the Gentile and the Three Wise Men, the "leaves" of the trees stand for the combinatorial elements (principles) of the
Art. In other works a series of trees shows how the
Art generates all ("encyclopedic") knowledge. The
Tree of Science (1295–6) comprises sixteen trees ranging from earthly and moral to divine and pedagogical. Each tree is divided into seven parts (roots, trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruits). The roots always consist of the Lullian divine principles and from there the tree grows into the differentiated aspects of its respective category of reality.
Proverbs Llull wrote several books of proverbs in Catalan, to make it easier for local people to read.
The Book of One Thousand Proverbs, written in 1302, compiled maxims that encompassed various fields: theology, philosophy, morality, social life, and practical life. The main virtues noted of Llull's proverbs are concision, didactic simplicity, and musicality.
Novels . Llull also wrote narrative prose drawing on the literary traditions of his time (
epic,
romance) to express the
Art. These works were intended to communicate the potentially complex operations of the
Art to a lay audience.
Blanquerna (c.1276-83) is the [?] of his novels;
Felix (1287–9) is also notable, though it was not widely circulated during his lifetime and was only available in Catalan. It is a
Bildungsroman, of sorts, in which the titular
protagonist sets out on a journey at the instigation of his father, who has written a "Book of Wonders". The book is divided into ten chapters—echoing the encyclopedic range of the
Tree of Science—as Felix gains knowledge of God,
angels, heavens, elements,
plants, minerals,
animals,
man,
Paradise, and
Hell. Felix's journey ends at a
monastery, where he relates the "Book of Wonders"—now embellished and fused with the account of his own adventures. ==Reception==