Lull's Book of Propositions

bullet1 4 - The Practice of this Art
bullet2 1 - Propositions
bullet3 9 - Fig. Elements

bullet4 Part 1

Igneity B.

1. Igneity together with the other essences is a prime essence of natural being.

2. Igneity is a being that is illuminating and illuminated, heating and heated.

3. Igneity is an essential part of universal being wherein it is an actively moving and passively moved essence.


Aereity C.

1. Aereity is an essence that moistens with its form and is moistened in its matter.

2. As aereity consists entirely of active moisture and passive moisture, it can be neither active nor passive in itself without some medium.

3. Because aereity's matter is heatable, active moisture moistens passive moisture.


Aqueity D.

1. Active coldness is more predominant in the nature of aqueity which is essentially subject to active coldness, than in the nature of terreity which is accidentally subject to active coldness.

2. Aqueity is moistened accidentally and cools its own matter essentially.

3. Aereity fills aqueity with its moist influence and aqueity restrains its matter and the matter of earth by cooling them.


Terreity E.

1. As aqueity instills moisture into terreity, terreity has a drying and evacuating form with matter that can be dried and evacuated.

2. As earth is dry per se and cold by accident, dryness produces substance from it, and accidents are produced in it by coldness.

3. Heatable matter receives dryness from drying form so it can be passive under heating form.


Being F.

1. As heating and illuminating form cannot act on its own matter without a medium, it composes universal natural being with aereity, aqueity and terreity.

2. As the matter of igneity is both substantially and accidentally passive, it participates with the other elemental matters to compose being.

3. As universal natural being is produced from corporeity into body and from essence into being, it is a universal act of substantial and accidental action and passion in accordance with the essences that produce it.


Form G.

1. The ignificative, aerificative, aqueificative and terreificative are simple forms that produce one universal form.

2. From universal form proceed four general forms which, together with their matters, constitute the powers of universal nature known as the elements.

3. Under the four universal forms, countless forms exist as there are countless elemented compounds and countless substantial and accidental forms.


Matter H.

1. The ignificable, aerificable, aqueificable and terreificable, through their mutual composition make up the prime matter that stands under universal form.

2. As prime matter is an aggregate of four essential matters, it is likewise divided into four potential matters and thus gives rise to the powers.

3. From the four matters into which prime matter is divided, countless matters descend into the substantial beings that are the acts of the elements.


Simplicity I.

1. Natural simplicity first arises in actively heating, moistening, etc. form and in passively heated, moistened, etc. matter.

2. Within the being in which nature is aggregated, there is one simple form known as universal form and one simple matter known as universal matter.

3. From the simplicity of universal form and prime matter, four simple forms and four simple matters proceed, namely the simple elements producing simple forms and matters simpler than those found in the individuals of species.


Composition K.

1. Composition first arises in active heat and passive heat and in another thing called a compound so that active heat can act and passive heat can be passive without any corruption of their simplicity.

2. Active essential heat and passive essential heat are composed by actively composing essence and passively composed essence.

3. The totality of composition is aggregated in a being called the entire body of nature, whence composition descends directly in a straight line through the compound elements with their species and individuals.


Substance L.

1.  As igneity, aereity, aqueity and terreity are substantial forms and essences, they are the essences of one universal substance composed of universal form and matter.

2.  From universal substance, four universal powers flow that are the formal and material essences constituting every natural corporeal substance.

3. As the ignifier and ignifiable seek to be a substance per se, and as they cannot do this on their own, they produce substance with other things to form something else that is not their own substance and that is diversified through the individuals of species.


Accidents M.

1. Accidents first arise in the action of active heat and passive heat, active moisture and passive moisture, etc.

2. As active heat cannot act on passive heat without a medium, quantity accidentally arises from active heat and passive heat, active moisture and passive moisture, active coldness and passive coldness, active dryness and passive dryness.

3. Universal being is accidentally aggregated, and accidents arise and exist in it and descend from it through the four elements with their acts, without any cessation of the mover and the movable.


Virtue N.  

1. In active light and passive light, the virtue of the light of fire potentially exists, and the passively illuminated virtue of air enters into it so that the virtue of both can proceed into act.

2. Nature's virtue ascends and descends from essence into being and from being into the powers, and from the powers into substance, and from substance into operation.

3. Every actively heating virtue is active on account of form and every passively heated virtue is passive on account of matter.


Operation O.

1. Intelligence and heaven give rise to the operation of nature in universal being, which is entirely moving and movable.

2. In the operation of nature, intelligence acts on the heavens, and the heavens on active heat, and so on down to substantial beings.

3. As there is no operation in nature without an intention or inclination of active and passive appetite, nature incessantly operates and is operated on.


Interiority P.

1. The interiority of nature is in one essence within another, in one part within another and in all parts within the whole and vice versa.

2. The interiority of nature is in form within matter and matter within form, and in essence within being and being within essence, and accident within substance and life within man.

3. Active heat is within passive heat and vice versa, and passive moisture has active and passive heat within it and the universal has particulars within it and man exists within his species.


Exteriority Q.

1. The human species is outside the human individual, active heat outside passive heat and the universal outside particulars.

2. Shape is external to form, surface is external to matter and color external to surface.

3. All species of substantial elemental beings are external to the elements and every compound being is external to singular simplicity.


Motion R.

1. As active heat moves actively and passive heat is passively moved, natural motion arises in the composition of nature's universal being by intelligence and heaven.

2. Natural motion descends in a straight line from essence to being, from being to the powers and from the powers into act.

3. Natural motion conserves universal principles in which there is neither generation nor corruption.