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Secrets of the Art
Revealed
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10. most useful
Ten: This
Art is most useful
"This
Art was invented for many useful purposes; it teaches us
to understand and love GOD, to follow the virtues and
hate the vices, and to confound the erroneous opinions of
unbelievers with cogent Reasons; it teaches how to put
and solve questions, and how to acquire other sciences in
a short time and to reduce them to necessary conclusions
according to the requirements of each issue, and it shows
how to investigate and find the conditions and properties
of things, and above all it elevates the intellect to
transcendent points, and many other useful things follow
for those who know this Art. (Doctor Illum. in Comp. Art.
Dem. in prol.) It teaches how to make good use of memory,
intellect and will, and good ways to believe,
contemplate, find, direct, preach, expound, solve, judge,
counsel, demonstrate and heal, as is said in the Book
entitled "The Demonstrative Art", in the third
Distinction, on Intention, page 43. (Doctor Illum. in
Introd. cap. 1. n. 4.) And you should note, my Son, that
under the literal aspect of the said properties I call
the sixteen modes of the Demonstrative Art, lies a great
secret of my Elemental Figure, namely the way of
operating that underlies the way of demonstration.
"Therefore, my Son, in all your reasonong, you
should consider whether you can find this Art, and you
will always find it if you inquire diligently after it;
and if you learn to practice this Art, you will find it
admirably useful to reduce whatever reasons you may come
across to the cameras of this Art; as you do this you
will gain practice in seeing many things in a few, as you
match every camera with the angles, and as you combine
the cameras with the angles, and the angles with one
another and with the terms of the question at hand, and
as you derive countless things from them etc.; just as
countless general kinds of compounds issue from only four
elements according to different ways of combining
them." (Doctor Illum. in Introd. cap. 34. n. 2. fol.
29.)
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