TO THE READER.

The Author is consulted regarding the Lullian Art.

Because many have occupied themselves with experiments in this Art—not without a loss of time and frustrated effort—including most esteemed Princes of great authority and men illustrious in every branch of literature (among whom the most wise Emperor Ferdinand III Ferdinand III (1608–1657), Holy Roman Emperor and a patron of the arts and sciences. deservedly holds the first place), they have not disdained to earnestly entreat my judgment on the Lullian doctrine through these specific inquiries: Whether the said Art can provide the utility and desired fruit that Lull Ramon Llull (c. 1232–1316), a Majorcan philosopher known for his "Great Art," a logical system intended to combine all knowledge through combinatorial diagrams. promises in the acquisition of the sciences? Whether, if they spent some time learning it, I would judge it worth the effort? And whether another more prompt and ready method for operation could be found? To satisfy their laudable curiosity according to my modest ability, and to bring some light to an Art that was almost given up for dead, I immediately set upon Lull’s "Great Art," turning over every detail from start to finish, noting each point, combining each with the next with the highest mental reflection. But to confess the truth of the matter, I found the path so hindered by rocks, so entangled with thorns and thistles, and so rough with ruts and thickets, that I was very nearly ready to cast away both my pen and my spirit out of despair for the labor; Difficulty in the Lullian Art. for on one hand, the scarcity of terms reducible to principles deterred me; on the other, the exceedingly meager arrangement of an Alphabet composed of only nine letters struck me with fear of fruitless labor. Here, the truly labyrinthine entrances to the inner chambers of the Art made me wonderfully doubtful and hesitant; there, a mass of propositions involved in unusual terms, gathered together rashly without method or light, strangely tormented the impulse of my wavering mind. Nevertheless, a constant perseverance of mind—that steady companion—conquered the intricacies of this hidden study; an ardent desire for unknown learning mitigated the inexhaustible labors; and a truly burning affection, implanted in me by nature for promoting those studies nearly abandoned due to impenetrable difficulty, overcame all obstacles. Thus, through repeated reading and an intimate weighing of every detail, a higher light finally shone upon me, and I noticed what was commonly reported: that beneath the Lullian principles, as if beneath some rough Silenus A reference to the "Sileni of Alcibiades," an ancient metaphor for something that appears ugly or crude on the outside but contains divine treasures within., lay hidden vast treasures of the sciences, by the weighing of which the Republic of Letters might be wonderfully enriched. Only the method and practical application seemed to lack an easy and probable adaptation of the principles to all arts and sciences, without which I found no hope remaining for learning the Art.

What the Author has provided in this work.

Therefore, having cast a new ground-plan Ichnographia: a Greek-derived term for a floor plan or map, here meaning a structural outline of the system. of the Art onto paper, I entered upon the design of a new work, in which, all difficulties and impediments having been removed, I might exhibit a clear, easy, and ready method, which this work...