MIND TRAINING TECHNIQUE

Translator's note: the twelve statements and the twenty four questions are the basic part of the evacuation, applied in practice to solving questions about any topic. The multiple evacuations shown here are exercises for developing a prompt recall of all the combined meanings of any letter with one other letter in any camera, as each letter means one principle and definition from the First Figure, one principle and definition from the Second Figure with the three species of the angle, and one question (or rule) with its species. When the work of drilling these elaborate evacuations has been done, the principles have been fortified in your mind, and you can see it all "in a flash", without having to go through all of these steps each time you want to use the Third Figure for solving a question.

Moreover, the aptitudes acquired through learning to evacuate the Third Figure, can be immediately applied to the Fourth Figure and the Table. Evacuating the Third Figure is the most basic of all the techniques of this Art. By mastering this technique through repeated practice, the student acquires the necessary skill to operate freely with the Fourth Figure and the Table. This is something similar to a musician repeating scales, modes and chord progressions until they become automatic, and the artist can improvise freely  within determined parameters.

Finally, as you will see  at the end of Fr. Marcal's comments given below, the practice of evacuating Figure Three raises the mind to a subtler level, more in contact with angelic intelligences. This is why Fr. Marcal further refers to Blessed Raymond's writings about mirrors, speculation ("speculum" means "mirror" in Latin), and angelic dialogue, a source of higher intuition. Now let us read Blessed Raymond's description of the evacuation process in Ars Brevis, followed by Fr. Marcal's comments. A further link at the bottom of the page goes to texts that deal with angelic communication, angels moving physical things, and angelic enjoyment.

From Ars Brevis

In the third figure, the intellect evacuates cameras, because it draws from them as much as it can, by receiving from each camera the things signified by its letters, so as to apply these meanings to the question at hand. And thus it applies itself to investigation and discovery. And we will give an example of this in one camera, and whatever is said about it, also applies to the other cameras.

From camera BC, the intellect draws twelve statements, by saying words like these:
Goodness is great, goodness is different, goodness is concordant.
Greatness is good, greatness is different, greatness is concordant.
Difference is good, difference is great, difference is concordant.
Concordance is good, concordance is great, concordance is different.
 As these twelve statements are made, by switching the roles of subject and predicate back and forth, the camera is evacuated of these statements.

Next, the intellect evacuates it with twelve media, and these are called media, because they stand between the subject and the predicate, with which they are in general or in specific concordance. And with these media, the intellect adopts a stance conducive to discussion and determination, as for instance when we say: "All that is magnified by greatness is great; but goodness is magnified by greatness, therefore goodness is great". And it does likewise with the other principles and combinations in the camera.

Having done this evacuation, the intellect evacuates this camera with twenty four questions, as there are two questions implied in each of its statements. And this is done as follows:
 Goodness is great: Is goodness great? What is great goodness?
 Goodness is different: Is goodness different? What is different goodness?
 Goodness is concordant.: Is goodness concordant? What is concordant goodness?
 Greatness is good: Is greatness good? What is good greatness?
 Greatness is different: Is greatness different? What is different greatness?
 Greatness is concordant: Is greatness concordant? What is concordant greatness?
 Difference is good: Is difference good? What is good difference?
 Difference is great: Is difference great? What is great difference?
 Difference is concordant: Is difference concordant? What is concordant difference?
 Concordance is good: Is concordance good? What is good concordance?
 Concordance is great: Is concordance great? What is great concordance?
 Concordance is different: Is concordance different? What is different concordance?

 Having done this evacuation of questions, the intellect next evacuates the camera with the definitions of goodness, and of greatness, and with the three species of difference and of concordance; as they are shown in the second figure.

 Next, it evacuates the camera with the three species of rule B, and with four species of rule C. And having performed this evacuation, the intellect solves the above questions, as it goes on evacuating and following the conditions of the camera, in its affirmations and negations. And thus the intellect expels doubts from the camera, and  rests in it in a satisfied and affirmative state of mind. And then it really knows that it has reached a very high level of general and artificial intelligence, through the great scientific habit that it has developed.

Father Francisco Marcal's commentary

FIRST: note that there are six general evacuations of the third figure:
the first is done with twelve statements,
the second uses twelve media for proving these statements,
the third one puts twenty four questions,
the fourth consists in sixteen definitions,
the fifth contains three species of each angle of the second figure, and as these three species are are taken four times each, for each of the four signs produced by applying the two letters of the camera to the first and second figures, this gives twelve parts. And thus in each camera, there are 24 species in one way and 48 species in another way, as we will show in the example below.
Finally, the sixth evacuation, is done with the species of the rules of the current camera.

SECONDLY, note that the examples of the first, second and third evacuations are already shown in the text on camera BC, and so examples only need to be given for the three remaining evacuations of this same camera, to get a clearer idea of the evacuation process.
The fourth evacuation of the same camera BC, verbally expresses four definitions of goodness, as derived from this camera. And we give them here:
The first definition: Goodness is that, whereby good does good.
The second definition: Great goodness is that, whereby great good does great good.
The third definition: Different goodness is that, whereby different good does different good.
The fourth definition: Concordant goodness is that, whereby concordant good does concordant good.
And thus, in the same way, in the same camera, four definitions of greatness, four definitions of difference, and four definitions of concordance can be made, giving altogether sixteen definitions in this, as well as in any other camera of the third figure.
 The fifth evacuation of camera BC can be done, as for instance with greatness, by saying:
Greatness is different sensually and sensually, sensually and intellectually, intellectually and intellectually.
Greatness is concordant sensually and sensually, sensually and intellectually, intellectually and intellectually.
And if you make similar statements in the same camera about goodness, difference and concordance, you will get 24 species, namely twelve differences, and twelve concordances. You will perform similar speculations in all the other cameras.
 Next, as you apply the following mode, you will be able to enumerate 48 species, by voicing phrases such as these, for instance, regarding greatness:
 The greatness of goodness; sensual and sensual, sensual and intellectual, intellectual and intellectual.
 The greatness of greatness, sensual and sensual, sensual and intellectual, intellectual and intellectual.
 The greatness of difference, sensual and sensual, sensual and intellectual, intellectual and intellectual.
 The greatness of concordance, sensual and sensual, sensual and intellectual, intellectual and intellectual.
 Thus, as we have enumerated twelve species in greatness, so we can likewise enumerate species in goodness, in difference and in concordance; and in this way, 48 species can be enumerated in camera BC.

 The sixth general evacuation of camera BC is done with the seven species of the rules contained in it, namely the three that belong to the letter B., and the four species belonging to the letter C. And as 12 is multiplied by 7, we have 84 questions, to which answers are found in the same camera. Here is an example: "Goodness is great". Seven questions can be formed from this statement.
First, in the form of doubt: "Is goodness great, or not"?
Second, in an  affirmative form: Is there any great goodness?
Third, in a negative form: Is there no great goodness?
Fourth, having already supposed that goodness exists, we put a fourth question, using the rule of "what": "What is great goodness in itself?"
Fifth: What does great goodness have in itself?
Sixth: What is great goodness in other things?
Seventh: What does great goodness have in other things?
Therefore, as two questions in all are formed from each statement, as we evacuate the species of the same questions, seven questions are formed. And this gives 12 times 7.

 Finally, to make the evacuation and multiplication process more fertile, you can refine the subtlety of your understanding of each statement on the abstract and concrete levels, signifying composition and simplicity, with the mutual interpenetration of the principles, first merging into each other, and then emerging in a fertilized state, as first you deal with each of the meanings in the camera in twenty distinct modes, as for instance, by saying the following things about goodness:
The goodness of goodness
the goodness of greatness,
the goodness of difference,
the goodness of concordance.
The goodness of good, great, different and concordant goodness.
The goodness of good, great, different and concordant greatness.
The goodness of good, great, different and concordant difference.
The goodness of good, great, different and concordant concordance.

Then, secondly, 16 other mixtures, or combinations can be formed as follows
Goodness that is good, great, different and concordant through goodness.
Goodness that is good, great, different and concordant through greatness.
Goodness that is good, great, different and concordant through difference.
Goodness that is good, great, different and concordant through concordance.
.
Third, 16 further combinations can be formed as follows:
The good, great, different and concordant goodness of goodness.
The good, great, different and concordant goodness of greatness.
The good, great, different and concordant goodness of difference.
The good, great, different and concordant goodness of concordance.
 Many other formulas can be devised for making mixtures,
but these 52 are sufficient for signifying the fertility of nature represented in two mutually reflecting mirrors, while both mirrors multiply the species between them, as the Doctor advises, in Question 54 of the Book of Sentences, on angelic conversation. And the things we said about goodness can likewise be said about each and every combination of terms that can be expressed with this kind of discourse.