Among the European students of these interesting secrets a foremost
place is to be assigned to Raymond Lulli and Arnold of Villeneuve.
Lulli was undoubtedly a man endowed in a very eminent degree with the
powers of intellect. He was a native of the island of Majorca, and was
born in the year 1234. He is said to have passed his early years in
profligacy and dissipation, but to have been reclaimed by the accident
of falling in love with a young woman afflicted with a cancer. This
circumstance induced him to apply himself intently to the study of
chemistry and medicine, with a view to discover a cure for her
complaint, in which he succeeded. He afterwards entered into the
community of Franciscan friars.
Edward the First was one of the most extraordinary princes that ever
sat on a throne. He revived the study of the Roman civil law with such
success as to have merited the title of the English Justinian. He was
no less distinguished as the patron of arts and letters. He invited to
England Guido dalla Colonna, the author of the Troy Book, and Raymond
Lulli. This latter was believed in his time to have prosecuted his
studies with such success as to have discovered the _elixir vitae_,
by means of which he could keep off the assaults of old age, at least
for centuries, and the philosopher's stone. He is affirmed by these
means to have supplied to Edward the First six millions of money, to
enable him to carry on war against the Turks.
But he was not only indefatigable in the pursuit of natural science.
He was also seized with an invincible desire to convert the Mahometans
to the Christian faith. For this purpose he entered earnestly upon the
study of the Oriental languages. He endeavoured to prevail on different
princes of Europe to concur in his plan, and to erect colleges for the
purpose, but without success. He at length set out alone upon his
enterprise, but met with small encouragement. He penetrated into
Africa and Asia. He made few converts, and was with difficulty suffered
to depart, under a solemn injunction that he should not return. But
Lulli chose to obey God rather than man, and ventured a second time.
The Mahometans became exasperated with his obstinacy, and are said to
have stoned him to death at the age of eighty years. His body was
however transported to his native place; and miracles are reported to
have been worked at his tomb. [182]
Raymond Lulli is beside famous for what he was pleased to style his
Great Art. The ordinary accounts however that are given of this art
assume a style of burlesque, rather than of philosophy. He is said to
have boasted that by means of it he could enable any one to argue
logically on any subject for a whole day together, independently of
any previous study of the subject in debate. To the details of the
process Swift seems to have been indebted for one of the humorous
projects described by him in his voyage to Laputa. Lulli recommended
that certain general terms of logic, metaphysics, ethics or theology
should first be collected. These were to be inscribed separately upon
square pieces of parchment. They were then to be placed on a frame so
constructed that by turning a handle they might revolve freely, and
form endless combinations. One term would stand for a subject, and
another for a predicate. The student was then diligently to inspect
the different combinations that fortuitously arose, and exercising the
subtlety of his faculties to select such as he should find best
calculated for his purposes. He would thus carry on the process of his
debate; and an extraordinary felicity would occasionally arise,
suggesting the most ingenious hints, and leading on to the most
important discoveries. [183]--If a man with the eminent faculties
which Lulli otherwise appeared to have possessed really laid down the
rules of such an art, all he intended by it must have been to satirize
the gravity with which the learned doctors of his time carried on
their grave disputations in mood and figure, having regard only to the
severity of the rule by which they debated, and holding themselves
totally indifferent whether they made any real advances in the
discovery of truth.