The introduction to the Breviculum by Fr. Thomas le Myèsier, giving a succinct summary of the Art
This figure provides an initial step for the
rational mind as it becomes disposed to understand the difficult and subtle
parts of Raymond's Art. It serves as a prime alphabet and a visible instrument
used by the imagination and the intellect to remove that ignorance which
negates the human intellect's natural disposition to understand things.
To address the human intellect as it lies open
like a clear table, where few, if any scientific concepts at all are portrayed,
I made the visible figure shown here. It serves to facilitate initial learning
for those who have not known other lofty sciences, and to have it as a single
prime object showing all parts of universal being in united order, for there
can be no science of non-being.
Note that the Figure shown here is not the true
Figure, because you have to sublimate it (without physically looking at the
Figure, and even in its absence) from the imaginary picture that remains of it,
up to the intellectual level. Imagine,
from this flat circular Figure, the very greatest spherical body that can
naturally exist, like the sky all the way to its outermost surface, as shown in
the Figure. Contemplate it from the center towards the circumference and rise
all the way up to the Prime Golden Link. From this vantage point, the
intellect, with the senses and the imagination, perceive the entire world as
one single sensible and imaginable being, manifested in glorious order.
All the sages of ancient times discovered the
universe in this way, as we will see, God willing, in many places further on in
this book. Now the virtue of eyesight does not reach beyond the starry sky. But
the imagination, whose power surpasses all the senses, in the absence of any
particular act of the senses, and in the absence of anything presented to the
sentient being, can imagine things larger or smaller than what was seen and
alter what was seen by the eye into another shape and color. Thus, it can act
above the senses, for no particular sense can either enlarge or decrease the
Figure, its size, color etc.
Although the eyesight cannot penetrate beyond
the starry sky, nevertheless, through the virtue of the imagination elevated
above the senses, we can perceive that a greater sky exists beyond the
constellations. This is because it perceives an extrasensory, imaginary body beyond
the starry sky; even though its virtue does not rise above this ultimate sky,
for beyond its outermost surface there is no more body, nor any physical
locality or place containing anything, or contained by anything.
Now the intellect has its real spiritual
existence above physical imagination, and so it is truer, more actual, more
powerful and far reaching as a human faculty that goes where imagination fails
to reach. Moreover, as the imagination is immediately subjected to it, it
elevates it as much as it can, by producing a fantastic being or chimera and
reaching to things that never existed for the senses. Nevertheless, the
intellect cannot carry the imagination either into the void or beyond the
physical level. This is where the virtue of imagination fails, and is overtaken
by the intellect, and rightly so, for being spirit, intellect reaches to
spiritual being beyond the physical planes.
Through the imagination, the intellect reaches
the physical being of nature, which has less form, less actuality, less
nobility and is a lesser being than spiritual being. The intellect attains
spirit and substance in an extrasensory and extra imaginary way, as sense and
imagination cannot go beyond the accidents, and extrasensory imagination cannot
go beyond the physical senses or beyond the three dimensions of space.
Gold is more precious than any other colour and
its substance more precious than any other physical substance. As the eye distinguishes
and elects the precious, neat, pure, beautiful and delightful color of gold
incomparably above other colors, so does the intellect rise aloft, elevating
incomparably above the choice of sense, the separate spiritual substances that
dwell above all the heavenly bodies.
Thus, the first circle contacted by the
intellect, which is of a less pure and neat golden color, represents reality in
a comparative way. This is not a true representation, but only meant to
facilitate learning about the nature of the rational soul as it dwells in the nethermost
spiritual horizons, where compounded with the body, it is apt to receive the
disturbances of human flesh weighing it down. Therefore, the soul is
immediately joined to the body, and above it, so that it can be aware of its own
lesser nature and of physical nature as well. By the same token, the body that
is directly in contact with the soul is the body of heaven, or the astral body,
which is a more spiritual, more formal, less compounded and subtler body. Thus,
it is elevated above the visible body, and as a spiritual body it is greater,
less compounded and simpler than the bodies below it. For these reasons, it is
elevated above the heavens and closer to the spiritual entities to which it is
joined.
Above
this circle, there is another, neater and purer golden circle, and through its
purity and neatness the angels, or simply separated substances, nobler
intelligences in no way bound to physical nature are elevated, by their greater
nobility, to a higher degree of dignity than the rational soul.
The
purest and most perfect gold of all, gold of absolute purity, dwells infinitely
and incomparably above the lower forms of gold, which stand far below it, as
likenesses are inferior in their dignity to the thing they represent. As there is a real difference, between an
image appearing in a mirror and the thing that it represents, likewise, and
infinitely more so, there is a difference between this purest gold of all and
the other kinds of gold. As perfectly pure gold is different from a dye made
with gall, which is only a very remote likeness of gold, so does God reach
above all other things in his holiness and infinite dignity.
Consequently,
among visible objects and among all kinds of beings, even the most base and
vile, a natural order exists, rising in orderly fashion through the simple
comparative degrees of great, greater and greatest. For instance, in inanimate
bodies, one stone can be naturally more dignified that another due to its
beauty, its virtue, or both; and the same applies to inanimate artificial
bodies, such as metals, to vegetation, plants and trees and to more or less highly
evolved animals. Among humans, the simple order of greater and greatest is
discerned by reason. In the world of human activities, this can be observed in
the respective worlds of the laity and the clergy and the way that they follow
a certain order, as if compelled by some kind of necessity.
In other
words, let us say that in each and every class of being, some primordial and
supreme being exists, to which all other things of its own kind are reduced. So
in this way, throughout the whole universe, a most natural and necessary order
is found, among the positive, comparative and superlative degrees. The
necessity of this order is visibly demonstrated by the orderly disposition of
the elements, each in its place, ascending and descending along a vertical
axis.
Priscian’s
reasoning, when applied to natural things, is a true and necessary one,
although it is ignored by many, who do not know how to detect the natural order
of things. They do not know how to face things as they really are, but prefer
to cast a confused glance at only a few items, without considering likenesses
and without finding any differences, and without making any orderly comparisons
according to the majority, equality and minority that exist among all classes
of natural beings. They easily jump to conclusions, and make pronouncements, as
they deem that anything that they do not know must be equally unknown to
everyone else. Moreover, they suppose that no one else can possibly know or
understand anything that they do not themselves know or understand, and that no
one else can ascend above the level of knowledge that they have achieved. This
class of individuals can be aptly described as being obstinate purely for the
sake of obstinacy.
Others
remain obstinate in believing in some true authorities whose true meaning they
have not penetrated, because they prefer narratives and stories, to
intellectual debate. These folks have no scientific background, and as they
realize their shortcoming, they are less likely to remain obstinate.
Others
remain obstinate in their false principles from false authorities, having been
brought up, nourished, and imbibed with sayings handed down from their
predecessors. Such people do not want to understand anything that could make
them improve their behaviour, and refuse to suppose that anything could be
different from what they say it is. It is boring to live and to contend with
such people, and difficult to extirpate them from their persistent obstinacy. The
only way is to lead them along gradually by applauding them from time to time,
when perchance they speak the truth. If they were truly rational human beings,
would they not want to know the truth?
Nevertheless, they suppose that they already know enough, if not
everything, and invariably see others as ignorant.
Now let
us come back to our previous thread of thought, and say that where sensual
knowledge fails, the imagination takes over by reaching beyond the senses, and
when the imagination fails, the intellect takes over and reaches above the
imagination by attaining truths through rational discourse. A normal eye open
before an object at the right distance and with adequate lighting, must see it
and cannot help seeing it if no other color or object interferes. Much more so,
the intellect naturally well disposed in a naturally well-disposed human body,
in the presence of its object, namely a self-evident statement or some
demonstration based on principles that are obvious to all, cannot fail to
understand its truth.
The
truth of true statements presented to the intellect depends on the truth of
objects existing outside the intellect or soul, and a thing that exists in the
intellect is not the object itself, but a likeness or a species of that object.
If the species is truly governed by the object, the intellect truly attains the
object by directing the true species or likeness to its appropriate object. In
this manner, it attains objects much better than a mirror reflecting them, if
the mirror is straight, clean, and flat and of the right colors. Therefore, a
statement that states the truth about an object in this way can be rightly said
to express the truth regarding the object, at least to the extent that it one
can make a statement about a thing by referring to the likeness that represents
it.
From all
this, it is obvious that a stone or a thing is not in the intellect, even
though it is an object of the intellect. It is only a species or likeness
abstracted by the active intellect. Obviously, this species is something
removed from the truth of the externally existing object. Thus, it is clear
that intellectual truth depends on real truth. This is why any statement about
a real thing is deemed true if it affirms this reality, and false if it negates
it. It is also clear that our own affirmations do not add anything new to the
reality of an object, nor can they modify it.
From all
this, it is clearly obvious that a real object contains more real truth than
does everything that the intellect can draw from it. Reasoning can vary, as it
can freely affirm, deny, proclaim or express things differently from what is in
the mind, which is commonly known as lying, and the thing or the object does
not change but permanently remains in its true reality. The truth of the real thing surpasses and
transcends the truth that the intellect understands about it as much as a
likeness differs from the thing that it represents. For the intellect does not
reach to the real object. In addition, the real object does not reach the
intellect, but only the species through which the intellect understands it.
There is yet another degree of distance. Now
the intellect uses the species that it holds within itself as a sign or
likeness of the objects or of the things objectified by it. A sign held in the
human mind cannot be expressed or pronounced without passing through a further
sign of this impression or likeness that exists in the soul, namely through a
meaningful vocal expression, which designates the mental concept. Thus, the
voice is a second sign following upon the first. The likeness of a thing first emanates from
the thing itself. Then, the active intellect attracts it and reproduces it
until the sign is ultimately imprinted in the passive intellect. Next, from the
passive intellect, the sign of the mental concept and not the concept itself,
is reproduced and transmitted by the voice that carries and expresses it, and
it stands as far away from the sign first received in the passive intellect, as
far as any likeness stands from the real thing it simulates.
The ear
receives a meaning through a vocal sign that is subsequently imprinted upon the
mind or the passive intellect of the listener. This sign is imprinted twice.
First, it is imprinted in the speaker from the immediate likeness or species of
the external object. Secondly, the listener receives it through some sign that
conveys the meaning of the concept that the speaker has in mind.
This mental concept was previously the
immediate species or likeness of the external object, and now the listener
detects the original species or sign through a subsequent sign that does not
come straight from the object, but from a species previously derived from it.
The
speaker's voice carries this second sign all the way to the listener's ear, and
the listener attracts the meaning conveyed by the voice and knows that this
meaning comes from an object through the distance of two intervening steps, as
explained. However, the listener refers and directs the meaning of the voice to
the real object from which it first arose. If this meaning was properly
expressed by the voice conveying its intimate sense, it is sufficient to
provide for a good understanding of the signified object.
Now we cannot understand things any better than
this, as we cannot always carry them around with us or point them out with
gestures. We can only designate them with meaningful vocal expressions, and
these are merely signs of further signs previously imprinted on the passive
intellect.
The
expression of meaning therefore presupposes understanding, and understanding
presupposes being. Understanding depends on real things, and the conveying of
meanings depends on the intellect and its act of understanding. Therefore it is
most necessary to express mental concepts with the vocal signs that convey the
most intimate reality of the object in the most intimate and vehement manner.
Now we can see the need for a good knowledge of
meanings when naming things and using vocabularies to clear up doubtful
questions both substantial and accidental. Accidents do play a large role in
identifying things, and terminological disputes are avoidable. This is why
anyone ignorant of the meanings of words, can easily go astray in logic. The
cause of error lies in the fallacies that are latent in words.
Consequently, even though not all voices sound
the same, nonetheless, when their meanings are understood, the meanings do not
stray from the things that they signify.
Following these useful comments, let us now
come back to the Figure that is at the root of our digression, and let us
consider the order of the universe. First, as we descend from the top in
orderly fashion, let us see how creatures descend from God in an immediate way,
following their greater likeness to God. Then, let us descend from greater
likenesses to lesser ones and from more subtle, pure and lucid likenesses to
ones that are less subtle, pure and lucid, and thus proceed through a process
of involution through the spiritual planes, until finally we arrive at a nature
that is simply of another order, namely physical nature.
The
involution of created spiritual substance takes place in the rational soul,
which stands at the lowest horizon of intelligences, as the dregs of spiritual
being with respect to the angels above it. For it is in touch with physical
nature, without being physical in itself, but only endowed with an aptitude for
entering into composition with a body as one of two parts of a compound, thus producing
a third entity. Thus, the rational soul is on the one hand, at the bottom of
the scale of intelligences and on the other hand, it stands immediately above,
and in continuous contact with the body of heaven, or the universal astral
body. Here, the rational soul is in contact with the prime universal body,
which is subtler than any heavenly body.
From
this ninth heaven, and from the prime mobile sphere, the spheres descend in
their successive involutionary order. Nevertheless, they all consist of one and
the same celestial or astral nature, homogeneous through the whole natural body
of heaven down to the sphere of the Moon, which is lumpier and gross than the
spheres above it. Looking closely at the Moon's body, we see that it is not
uniform, as stains and blemishes cover it. For the lunar sphere is tinged with
the likeness of the spheres immediately below it, namely the elements with
their perturbations and impurities, their generation and decay, all signified
by the waxing and waning of moonlight.
Next, in
descending order comes the sphere of things subject to generation and decay,
the confused disturbance and chaos of the elements, which likewise follows an
order based on the nature of each element. Now fire is the element possessing
the highest level of form, subtlety, rarity, actuality, and purity, and the
least amount of physical matter, and it belongs in the first closest region to
the heavens, as the element that comes nearest to reaching celestial nature.
Fire is luminous, and extremely light, which gives it a natural tendency to
rise toward the clarity and light of heaven; thus, it belongs to the uppermost
sphere closest to the heavens where it is joined to the concavity of the lunar
sphere.
After
fire, in descending order comes air that is grosser and less pure than fire. Thus,
it belongs below fire, and as it is lighter, purer and subtler than water, it
rises above water. Moreover, water is more subtle, pure and beautiful than
earth, so it is above earth; and as water is more gross, compact and material
than air, it is placed beneath air. Earth is the dregs and the ultimate
involution of the other elements. As such, earth is the most gross, thick, and
impure of them all. Now the elements can be considered as the dregs of astral
bodies. Astral bodies can be considered, comparatively, as the dregs of the
intelligences. The intelligences are clean, pure creatures, sublimated above
every kind of uncleanness. As
intelligences descend through involution, their dregs are found in the rational
spirit that does not exist as an end in itself, has no purpose on its own and
reposes only in man, for whom it is ultimately meant.
As we
said above, God the Holy One projects away from Himself the effects that He
derives from Himself, by putting a distance between Himself, and the things
least similar to Him. He situated a place for the damned in the nether abyss of
earth, amid the collective uncleanness of all creatures, in a place that is at
the greatest distance from God in all directions. Then He called His creatures
back to Himself from the lowest element and from the place found furthest away
from Him because He created them and brought them all into being for Himself
through the generous grace of His love. So that His operations do not proceed
in vain, He set a gradual ascending order among creatures, whereby they can ultimately
attain the end of perfection ordered for them, and repose in this end. Thus, God
has bestowed on creatures virtues that indicate their orderly ascent to their
creator, for they were created by the creator in a descending order, as stated
above.
Therefore, let every creature rejoice and exult
in Him, as creatures cannot possibly be ordered to a greater and more perfect
purpose. Let all rational creatures rejoice and exult most of all, because they
can understand and know this truth; and most of all man, as he is the medium
through which this orderly ascent back to Godhead takes place, and as such, man
is the focal point of all creation.
The return to the Origin takes place within a
sphere full of disturbances, confusion, chaos, contrariety and corruption. In
comparison to other, higher creatures, it may seem like a divine condemnation;
but such is not the case. Rather, it is a just action on God's part. In his
infinite wisdom, God, the supreme operator created the worlds for himself to
manifest his presence through his works and reveal through them the purpose and
final perfection of his divine work, which is meant without doubt for rational
creatures. He created confusion, so that order could better and more perfectly
shine forth in contrast. He placed order among similar and dissimilar things in
the world, to create a medium for acts of cognition, clear awareness and the
removal of doubt. The reason why He introduced this most excellent operation
and many other super excellent and supremely dignified operations into this
place of exile, decay and confusion, was to compensate for the exalted and
lofty position of the higher creatures. Now He created all creatures equally
with the same love, He destined every one of them to one end, and in this end,
the entirety of His effect, which is the world, comes to perfection.
What a marvellous, supernatural and infinite
operation it was, to create a great work out of nothingness, like the sensible
world with its intelligences. In addition, to make two things that are so
naturally remote, and naturally so distant from each other, like spiritual
nature which is God’s greater likeness, and physical nature below it, which is
entirely, essentially and naturally diverse and separated from spiritual
nature. Also, to create within physical nature, two things so essentially
different in nature, as are the perpetual celestial cycles, and the corruptible
things made of elements?
Even more marvellous was the conjunction or
union of two such distant and diverse natural extremes, as the body, which is
entirely subject do decay, and spirit, which can neither be neither generated
nor corrupted. They join in such an entirely perfect composition, that they result
in one, singular and natural substantial being, which is neither of the two
said things, but something essentially different. Nevertheless, both remain
intensively what they are in themselves, without any corruption of their own
natures either in composition or in simplicity, all this in the present valley
of tears!
The most marvellous of all, was to see infinite
being assume finite being in such a manner as to make a single substantial
being without any composition. Both retain their past, present and future
identity; through this operation, God became everything while making everything
over to himself, as He made the creator into a creature, and the creature into
the creator! Is it any wonder that rational man should most ardently and
fervently desire to know this?
I do not intend to deal here with all the
things that I just mentioned, or to delve into their causes, so as to leave
some room for wonderment and thirst for knowledge. However, I do intend to
delve into the source and origin of all knowable causes, as there can be no
science if the principles are ignored. As the principles of knowledge are
identical to the principles of being, and being precedes knowing, we can first
gaze upon the world as it is in its goodness and its greatness, and admire its
order and beauty. As we admire the world in this, and many other ways that we
cannot grasp or comprehend through the senses and the imagination, we are moved
by reason to say that the world is not its own cause. If the world had existed
before coming into existence, it would have existed even before existing, and
it would have existed even while it did not exist, and thus it would have both
existed, and not existed at the same time, which is plainly impossible.
Therefore, we say that the world has a cause,
and a maker. Optimally, should an effect that is so good, great, durable and powerful,
endowed with such wisdom and instinct, such will and appetite, such virtue,
truth, delight and glory, not have a maker who has always been, and is now
supremely good, great and durable, powerful, wise, willing, virtuous, true and
glorious, eminently above and beyond the effect produced by him?
Did Aristotle, the philosopher, in the
beginning of “The Heavens and the World” not clearly state that all things are
threefold, and divide into three dimensions?
All Pythagoreans likewise say that all reality is encompassed by three
dimensions, namely the end, the middle and the beginning; and this number
applies to all things, and signifies the threefoldness of all things. And the
Philosopher immediately goes on to say: "And so, having taken these three
from nature as (so to speak) laws of it, we make further use of the number
three in the worship of one God, our
Creator, Who eminently possesses all the properties of all created
things".
Therefore, as any effect as such must
necessarily be finite, since it precedes nothing else, but proceeds from
something else, so any effect is either nothing at all, or something that
follows upon something else. Therefore it must necessarily follow, that the
being which stands above effects and finiteness, must itself be infinite,
otherwise it would not stand above finite being. Therefore, whatever stands
above and beyond finite being, must be either infinite, or nothing at all.
Therefore, infinite goodness stands eminently above created goodness, through
its infinite magnitude, duration, power, wisdom, will, virtue, truth and glory.
This is really the original location, in which
and from which Raymond Lull first began to contemplate, as we see in his
Biography, and seek out the true causes of all knowable truths. By divine
grace, suddenly, through an unknown shepherd who told him many great and
wonderful things about the Creator and his creatures, the Lord fully
enlightened his intellect. From then on, he never stopped inquiring and
writing, so that God might act through him as an instrument. By God’s action,
and with the God-given art as an instrument, he hoped to extirpate the errors,
opinions and falsehoods that have always existed, and still exist in this
rational world, by the grace of God and with pure and simple truth applied with
the Art.
How sad it is that everything nowadays deemed
most true and necessary is also most deeply ignored, and most remotely hidden
away from the wise of this world! How many periods of history have passed in
their ceaseless search, and nonetheless truth is still more and more a matter
of opinion, without anyone daring to stand up and determine, or assert the
truth, or say anything more than: "Here is what others think of it",
and this is where it stops. These errors exist for a cause: namely the
ignorance of causes and of the principles of causality. To be called wise, or
knowledgeable, you must be able to use your intellectual virtue with assurance
on your own for attaining difficult subjects and their causes. We can consider
that we really know something once we are sure of its causes. Knowing something
is nothing more or less than knowing the causes of its effect, in a way that
cannot possibly be otherwise.
Proclus put it so well in the beginning of his
Book on Causes. "The prime cause has greater influence on its effect, and
is more of a cause than the immediate or secondary cause. Because any cause of
another cause, is also the cause of what is further caused, we can say that
'whatever operation is performed by a second cause, is performed by the first
cause to an even higher degree'. For the
first cause operates from a more elevated and sublime level. When the second
cause is removed from what it has caused, the prime cause is not removed,
because the prime cause adheres to a thing more greatly and more vehemently,
than does the immediate cause; and the effect of a cause cannot be caused
without the participation of the prime cause. This is because while the second
cause is not producing any effect in an object, the higher prime cause
influences the object with its virtue adhering vehemently to it and serving
it". In addition, he gives the example of rational man: the first cause
produces being, the second cause: life and the third cause: reason. He says,
"If reason is removed from a man, what is left is no longer a man, but
merely a living, breathing and sentient being. And if life is taken away, then
although no longer alive, the thing still has being, and being is not removed
from it, since a cause is not removed by removing the effect it has
caused."