THIS GREAT ART, general and final, was begun by the Blessed Raymond at Lyon upon the Rhône original: "Lugduni super Rhodanum"—The city of Lyon, France, situated on the Rhône river. in the month of November, in the year of the Lord 1305. And it was finished by him in the city of Pisa, in the monastery of Saint Dominic, to the praise and honor of God, in the month of March, in the year of the Lord 1308 of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. May it be commended to Him and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother. AMEN.

TO THE BLESSED RAYMOND

LULL. A SHORT PRAYER. original: Oratiuncula—A small prayer or brief oratorical address.

To you, Raymond, bearing the palm of martyrdom, Raymond Llull (c. 1232–1316) was a philosopher and missionary who, according to tradition, was martyred in North Africa.
I fly for refuge; shatter the dog-like teeth A common medieval metaphor for the "barking" of critics, detractors, or heretics. aimed at you;
And may your knowledge, now opened to every mortal,
truly flow down into the whole world as a clear fountain
of doctrine; may it be revealed, for it has lain hidden too much, concealed from the world.

¶ Inscription of the Great Art published by the Blessed Raymond Lull.

¶ God, with your supreme perfection: the final general art begins.