RAYMUND LULL - cafis.org Lull.pdf · the questions of interest to all Christians springing from the rise and extension of Islam. Loving the Mohammedans and knowing their religion

RAYMUND LULLFirst Missionary to the Moslems

By

SAJIUEL lit ZWEMER. D.D•• F. R. G. S.

AUTHOR OF

U Arabia, The Cradle of lalam," .. Topsy-Turvy Land," etc:.

fURI I: WAGNAW COJIPANYNew York aud loDdou

electronic file created by cafis.org

STATUE OF RAYMUND LULL AT PALMA, MAJORCA.


Copyright, !<pI.

by

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY

Registered at Stationers' Hall. London. Eqland

[Pritrted in tM United Stak, of~~]

PublWled November, 19'»



Contents

INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT E. SPUIl.

PREPACK, .•

PA.GE

· ix• xxi

CHA.PTERI. Europe and the Saracens in the Thirteenth

. Century, I

II. Raymund Lull's Birthplace and Early Life, 19

III. The Vision and Call to Service, • 32

IV. Preparation for the Conflict, • . 47V. At Montpellier. Paris, and Rome. • 63

VI. His First Missionary Journey to Tunis. . 80VII. Other Missionary Journeys, • . 97

VIII. Raymund Lull as Philosopher and Author. 113

IX. His Last Missionary Journey and His Mar-tyrdom. • 132

X. "Who being Dead yet Speaketh. It. • 147

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

A. Books written by Raymund Lull, •B. Books about Raymund Lull, .

v

• • 157· 169



List of Illustrations

Statue of Raymund Lull at Palma, Majorca,Fron#s(Jiece

FACING PAGE

A Tenth~Century Map of the World. (The Cotton. or Anglo·Saxot;l Map Restored), 6

General View of Palma, Majorca, • :l0

Church of San Francisco, Palma, Majorca, • 24

Cloisters of the Church of San Francisco, • 40

Facsimile of Page from Lull's Latin Works,. • 60

The.Old Canal between Goletta and Tunis,. . 88

A Venetian Galley of the Thirteenth Century.(From an Old Print), . /. 98

The Harbor of Bugia, • 104

The Town and Tower of Bugia, • 112

The Prologue of John's Gospel in Catalan, . II2-The Old Gateway of Bugia (Eleventh Century), • 140

Tomb of Raymund Lull in Church of San Francis~

co, Palma, Majorca, • 144vii



INTRODUCTION

IT would be difficult to find another socompetent as Dr. Zwemer to write a life ofthe first great missionary to the Mohammedans. For twelve years he has beenworking with his associates of the ArabianMission of the Reformed Church on theeastern coast of the Arabian peninsulaand in the Turkish region northwest of thePersian Gulf. To an almost perfect com~mand of Arabic, an accurate knowledge ofthe Koran, untiring zeal and indomitablecourage, he has added an absorbing lovefor the Mohammedans, and a desire tomake known to them in truth that Saviorwhom in their belief their prophet annulsand supersedes.

ix


IntrobUetlon

As I passed down the Persian Gulf inthe spring of 18<}7, the captains of thesteamers, without qualification, spoke outin praise of the "lion-hearted" missionary,as they called him, who would sit on thehatches with the Arab travelers and confound them out of their own scriptures.In the interval of itinerating journeys intothe interior of EI Hasa and Oman Dr.Zwemer has found time to produce a volume on Arabia (published in I<}oo), whichis the standard authority on the peninsula,and one of the best books available onthe questions of interest to all Christiansspringing from the rise and extension ofIslam. Loving the Mohammedans andknowing their religion thoroughly, andworking constantly for an enlargement' ofthe missionary force attempting the evangelization of the Moslem world, Dr. Zwemer has qualifications for understanding the life of Raymund Lull" and for

x


describing it sympathetically, which fewpossess in the same measure.

And there has been great need that anadequate life of Raymund Lull should bewritten for English readers of this modernday. He was the great~st missionary whohas ever gone out to the. Moslem world.He was one of the outstanding figures ofthe Catholic Church in the thirteenth century. He was a Christian of the modernspirit of Catholicity-neither Roman norProtestant-a man of spiritual judgment, ofdivine love. He saw the futility of authority in matters of religion at the time thatother men were busy with the most devil..ish expression of belief in authority everconceived-the Inquisition. He lovedChrist with a passionate love, and saw thatthe only true missionary method was themethod of love. To leave his life in obscurity would involve an incalculable lossto the Church of our time. We need to

xi


lnt~uctfon

revive the memory of itt to relearn its secrets, and to confirm the highest Christiantendencies of our day by the recollectionof their noble· illustration in the life ofLull. Of all the men of his century ofwhom we know, Raymund Lull was mostpossessed by the love and life of Christ,and most eager, accordingly, to share hispossession with the world. The worldsadly needed it; the Church scarcely less.It sets forth the greatness of Lull's character the more strikingly to see how sharplyhe rose above the world and Church of hisday, anticipating by many centuries moralstandards, intellectual conceptions, and missionary ambitions, to which we have grownonly slowly since the Reformation.

The movement of our· thought, theological and philosophical, is now stronglytoward biological conceptions. It is a gainthat it should be so. We see that life isthe supreme thing, and that we must state

xii


Introbuctton

our notions in its tenns. The missionarywork will gain greatly by this new modeof thinking. Its purpose is to give life.I ts method is to do by the contact of life.Raymund Lull proved this. He went outto give a divine life which he already possessed in his own soul. Somerville, in"St. Paul's Conception of Christ/' pointsout that it was "in the consciousness' ofwhat the glorified Christ was to Paul in hispersonal life that we are to look for thegenesis of his theology." It was in hisinner experience of the glorified Christ thatwe are to look for the secret and source ofRaymund Lull's doctrine and life: what hethought, what he was, what he suffered.And this must be true of all true missionaries. They do not go out to Asia andAfrica to say, "This is the doctrine of theChristian Church," or "Your science isbad. Look through this microscope andsee for yourselves and abandon such error,"

xiii


Intr0l'uetion

or "Compare your condition with that ofAmerica and see how much more sociallybeneficial Christianity is than Hinduism,or Confucianism, or fetichism, or Islam:'Doubtless all this has its place: the argument from the coherence of Christianitywith the facts of the universe, the argument from fruit. But it is also all secondary. The primary thing is personal testimony. "This I have felt. This Christ hasdone for me. I preach whom I know.That which was from the beginning, thatwhich I have heard, that which I have seenwith my eyes, that which I beheld and myhands handled, concerning the Word of life(and the life was manifested, and I haveseen, and bear witness, and declare untoyou the life, the eternal life, which waswith the Father and was manifested untome), that which I have seen and heard declare I unto you also, that ye also may havefellowship with me; yea, and my fellowship

xiv


Introl)uctfon

is with the Father and with His Son, JesusChrist." The man who can not say this maybe able to change the opinions of those towhom he goes, to improve their social condition, to free them from many foolisherrors and enslaving superstitions, but after all this:, the one thing which, if done,would of itself have attended to thesethings and a thousand others, may be stillunaccomplished-namely, the gift of life.The missionary who would do Paul's workor Lull's must be able to preach a livingChrist, tested in experience, saved from allpantheistic error by the Incarnation andthe roots thus sunk in history, and by theResurrection and the personality thus pr-eserved in God above, but a Christ here andknown, lived and· ready to be given by lifeto death, that death may become life.

It would be easy to draw other parallelsthan this between Paul and Lull: their·conversions, their subsequent times of sep-

xv


IntroDuction

aration, their visions, their untiring toil,their passion for Christ, their sufferingsand shipwrecks, their intellectual activityand power, their martyrdoms, the rule ofChrist supreme thus in death, supremealso in life, its thought, its purpose, itstaste, its use, its friends, its sacrifice. Butthe essence of all such comparison-thereal essence of all true missionary character-is the' possession by the life ofChrist as life, and the ability thus to give,not a new doctrine only, not a new truthto men, but a new life. The work of mi~

sions is just this: the going out from theChurch over the world of a body of menand women knowing Christ, and, therefore,having life in themselves; their quiet resi..dence among the dead peoples; and theresurrection from among these peoples offirst one, then a few, then more and 'more,who feel the life and receive it and live.

Lull sought in every way to fit himselfxvi


lntro~uetton

for contact with men so that he mightreach them in the deepest intimacies oftheir life, and be able thus to plant theseed of the diVine life which he bore.Therefore he learned Arabic, became amaster of the Moslem philosophy, studiedgeography and the heart of man. And,therefore, he became also a student of corow

parative religion, as we would call him today. There was a great difference betweenhis -view, however, and that of a largeschool of modern students of comparative"religion. Lull had no idea that Christianity was not a complete and sufficient religion. He did not study other religionswith the purpose of providing from themideals which Christianity was supposed tolack. Nor did he propose to reduce out ofall religions a common fund of general principles more or less to be found in all andregard these as the ultimate religion. Hestudied other religions to find out how bet·

xvii


IntrOOuet1on:

ter to reach the hearts of their adherentswith the Gospel, itself perfect. and complete, lacking nothing, needing nothingfrom any other doctrine. With him therewas a difference between Christianity andother religions, not in degree only t but inkind. It possesses what they lack, whichis desirable. It lacks what they possess,which is unworthy. It alone satisfies. Italone is life. They are systems of societyor politics, religions of books, methods,organizations. It and it alone is life,eternal life. Lull studied other religions,not to discover what they have to give toChristianity, for they have nothing, but tofind how he might give to those who followthem the true life, which is life, and whichno man shall ever find until he finds it inChrist.

Blessed as the influence of. Lull shouldbe upon the Christian life and experienceof all who feel it in reading this sketch, it

xviii


Introl)uetfon

will fall short of its full purpose if they arenot led to desire to make amends for theneglect of the centuries. It is six centuriessince Lull fell at Bugia. Is that martyr·dom never to have its fruitage? Shall wenot now at last wake from the sleep of thegenerations and give the Savior His placeabove the Prophet, and the creScent itsplace beneath the cross?

ROBERT E. SPEER.

1:ix


To the Reader

f# .bo taultetb not, Uuetb not; wbo men~etb

faults ts commenbeb: tme ~ttntet batb faulteO a(fttle: it mal? be tbe autbot o"etlllstgbte~ mote. ttbvpatne ('ReaOer) ts tbe least; tben ene not tbou mostbll mtsconstrutng Of sbarpe censurtng; least tboube mote oncbarttable, tben eftber of tbem batb beenbeebIesse: GOb amenb anO gutoe "" alL"

-~obat'tes on Y;ythes, Camb. 1613.

xx


PREFACE

THE subject of this biography is acknowledged by all writers on the history" ofmissions to be the one connecting link betwee;n the apostles of Northern Europe andthe leaders who followed the Refonnation.Eugene Stock, the editorial secretary of theChurch Missionary Society, declares U thereis no more heroic figure in the history ofChristendom than that of Raymund Lull,the first and perhaps the greatest missionary to Mohammedans."

No complete biography of Lull exists inthe English language; and since the twentieth century is to be preeminently a century of missions to Moslems, we should

XXI


~teface

rescue the memory of the pioneer fromoblivion.

His philosophical speculations and hismany books have vanished away, for heknew only in part. But his self·sacrificinglove never faileth and its memory can notperish. His biography emphasizes his ownmotto:

" He who lives oy the Lift can not die."

It is this part of Lull's life that has a message for us ta.day, and calls us to winback the Mohammedan world to Christ.

SAMUEL M. ZWEMER.

BAHREIN, ARABIA, March, tgoz.

xxii


lltograpJJp of l\a~munb ilull

CHAPTER I

EUROPE AND THE SARACENS INTHE THIRTEENTH CENTURY

(A.D. 1200-1300)

II Altho the history of an age is going on all at once; it cannot be written all at once. Missionaries are proceeding ontheir errands of love, theologians(are constructing their systems, persecutors are slayini the believers, prelates are seek·ing the supremacy. kings are checking the advance of thechurchman-all this and an infinitude of detail is going On

in the very same periC1d "r time."-SMdd's II Histtw)' Djbtlttrine," ,

WE can not understand a man unless weknow his environment. Biography is athread, but history is a web in which timeis broad as well as long. To unravel. the

1


JUogrspbl1 of 'Ral1munl' 1ull

thread without breaking it we must loosenthe web. To understand Raymund Lull,we must put ourselves back seven hundredyears and see Europe and the Saracens asthey were before the dawn of the Renaissance and the daybreak of the Reformation.Altho the shadow of the dark ages still fellheavily upon it, the thirteenth century wasan eventful epoch, at least for Europe. Thecolossal power of the empire was waning,and' separate states were springing up inItalyand Germany. The growth of civilliberty, altho only in its infancy, was alreadybringing fruit in the enlargement of ideasand the founding of universities. In England, Norman and Saxon were at last onepeople; the Magna Charta was signed, andthe first Parliament summoned. Aboutthe time when Lull was born,-the Tatarsinvaded Russia and sacked Moscow; Saracens and Christians were disputing not onlythe possession of the Holy Land, but the

a


Europe anI:) tbe Saracens'

rulership of the world. Altho in the Eastthe long struggle for the Holy City hadended in the discomfiture of the Christians',the spirit of the Crusades lived on. Thesame century that saw the fall of Acre alsowitnessed the fall of Bagdad and the extinction of the califate. In Spain, Ferdinand of Castile was winning city after cityfrom the Moors, who were entrenchingtheir last stronghold, Granada. The year1240 marks the rise of the Ottoman Turks;Lull was then five years old. Before hewas twenty, Louis IX. had failed in hiscrusade and been taken prisoner by theSultan of Egypt; emperors had deposedpopes and popes emperors; and the Inquisition had begun.in Spain to torture Jewsand heretics. At Cologne the foundationsof the great cathedral.were being laid, andat Paris men were experimenting with the'new giant, gunpowder.

AU Europe was 'heated with the strong3


wine of political change and social expectations. In the same century sudden andsubversive revolutions were taking place inAsia. The Mongolian hordes under Genghis Khan poured out, like long-pent waters, over all the countries of the East. Thecalifate of Bagdad fell forever before thefurious onslaught of H ulaku Khan. TheSeljuk empire soon advanced its Moslemrule into the mountain ranges of Anatolia,and Turks were disputing with Mongolsthe sovereign~of " the roof of the world."

The beneficial effects of the Crusadeswere already being felt in the breaking upof those two colossal fabrics of the MiddleAges, the Church and tp.e Empire, whichruled both as ideas and as realities. Thefeudal system was disappearing. The invention and application of paper, the mar·merts compass, and' gunpowder heraldedthe eras of printing, exploration, and con·quest in the century that followed. I t'was

4


Europe anb tbe Saracens

not dark as midnight, altho not yet dawn.The cocks were crowing. In 1249 the. University of Oxford was founded. In 1265Dante was born at Florence. The pursuitof truth by philosophers was still a gameof wordy dialectics, but Thomas Aquinasand Bonaventura and Albertus Magnusleft a legacy of thought as well. The twoformer died the same year that RaymundLull wrote his "Ars Demonstrava." Itwas in the thirteenth century that physicalscience struggled into feeble life in the cellsof Gerbert and Roger Bacon. But thesemen were accounted magicians by the vulgar and heretics by the clergy, and were rewarded with the dungeon. Marco Polo theVenetian, the most famous of all travelers,belongs to the thirteenth century, and didfor Asia what Columbus did for America~

His work was a link in the providentialchain which at last dragged the New WorIdto light. But both Marco Polo and Roger

5


Bacon lived ahead of their age. Gibbonsays with truth that, Ie If the ninth and tenthcenturies were the times of darkness, thethirteenth and fourteenth were the age ofabsurdity and fable." Thought was stillin terror through dread of the doom declared on heretics and rebels.

The maps of the thirteenth centuryshow no appreciation of Marco Polo'sdiscoveries. The world as Raymund Lullknew it was the world of medieval legendand classic lore. The earth's sudace wasrepresented as a circular disk surrounded bythe ocean. The central point was the HolyLand or Jerusalern, according to the prophecy of Ezekiel. Paradise occupied the extreme east and Gog and Magog were onthe north. The pillars of Hercules markedthe boundary of farthest west, and thenomenclature of even SouthemEurope wasloose and scanty. It is interesting to notethat the first great improvement of these

6


A TENTH-CENTURY MAP OF THE WORLD.

A restored copy of the Cotton or Anglo-Saxon map,current in the time of Raymund Lull.


~urope an~ tbe Saracens

'maps took place in Catalonia, the provinceof Spain where Lull's ancestors lived. Theremarkable Catalan map of 1375 in theParis Library is the first world-map thatthrows aside all pseudo-theological theoriesand incorporates India and China as partof the world. Nearly all the maps of theMiddle Ages are inferior to those in ourillustration. Clever artists concealed theirignorance and gave life to the disk of theworld by pictures of turreted towns, walledcities, and roaring lions in imaginary forests.Swift has satirized their modem descendants as-

" Geographers who in Afrlc's mapsWith savage pictures fill their gaps;And o'er unhabitable downsPlace elephants for want of towns.••

Regarding the general attitude of themasses toward intellectual progress, awriter- justly remarks: II There were by no

*J. A. Symonds: "The Renaissance'" Encye. Brito. u ••

383·7


:BfoGrapbp of 'Rapmunb 2,ull

means lacking elements of native vigorready to burst forth. But the courage thatis born of knowledge, the calm strength~gotten by a positive attitude of mind, faceto face with the dominant overshadowingsphinx of theology, were lacking. Wemay fairly say that natural and untaughtpeople had more of the just intuition thatwas needed than learned folk trained inthe schools. . Man and the actual universekept on reasserting their rights and claimsin one way or another; but they were always being thrust back again into Cimmerian regions of abstractions, fictions,visions, spectral hopes and fears, in themidst of which the intellect somnambulis-

.~ . ,

tically moved upon an unknown way."The morality of the Middle Ages pre

sents startling contrasts. Over against eachother, and not only in the same land hutoften in the same individual, we witnesssublime faith and degrading superstition,

8


lSuroJ)e an~ tbe 5araceu

angelic purity and signs of gross sensuality.It was an age of self-denying charity to suffering Christians, and of barbarous crueltyto infidels, Jews, and heretics. The wealthypaid immense sums to redeem Christianslaves captured by the Saracens; and theChurch took immense sums to persecutethose who erred from the faith. When theCrusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon (whorefused to wear a crown of gold where hisSavior had worn a crown of thorns) camein sight of Jerusalem, they kissed the earthand advanced on their knees in penitentialprayer; but after the capture of the citythey massacred seventy thousand Moslems,burned the Jews in their synagogs, andwaded in blood to the Holy Sepulcher tooffer up thanks I The general state ofmorals even among popes and the clergywas low. Gregory VII. and Innocent III.were great popes and mighty refonners ofa corrupt priesthood, but they were exce~

9


:BfograpbV of 'Ravmunb 1ulI

tions in the long list. One of the popeswas deposed on charges of incest, perjury,murder, and blasphemy. Many were inpower through simony. Concubinage andunnatural vices were rife in Rome amongthe clergy. Innocent IV., who becamepope the very year Lull was born, was anoutrageous tyrant. Nicholas III. and Martin IV., who were popes toward the closeof the thirteenth century, rivaled each otherin infamy. The pontificate of the formerwas so marked by rapacity and nepotismthat he was consigned by Dante to his Inferno. . The latter was the murderous instigator of the terrible " Sicilian Vespers."

Martensen says that U the ethics of thisperiod often exhibit a mixture of the moralsof Christianity with those of Aristotle."And· this is natural if we remember thatThomas Aquinas represents the height ofmedieval morals as well as of dogmatics.Sins were divided into carnal and spiritual,

10


l5uro\le atl~ tbe Saracens

venial and mortal. The way to· perfectionwas through the monastic vows of poverty,celibacy, and obedience.

The poetry of the period reflects thesame startling contrast between piety andsensuality, composed as it was of the tenderest hymns of devotion and bacchanalianrevels. The seven great hymns of themedieval Church have challenged and defied the skill of the best translators andimitators. The wonderful pathos of the"Stabat Mater Dolorosa" and the terriblepower of "Dies Irre" appear even in theirpoorest translations. In spite of its objectionable doctrinal features, what Protestantcan read Dr. Cole's admirable translationof the" Stabat Mater" without being deeplyaffected?

Yet the same age had its "CarminaBurana," written, by Goliardi and others,in which Venus and Bacchus go hand-inhand and the sensual element predominates.

II


JJtograpbV of 'Ra!munO X,ull,."We do not need to be reminded thatBeatrice~s adorer had a wife and children~

or that Laura's poet owned a son anddaughter by a concubine." Nor wereDante and Petrarch exceptions among medieval poets in this respect. It was a darkworld. '

The thirteenth century was also an ageof superstition, an age of ghosts and visionsand miracles and fanaticism. The U Flagellants" wandered from city to city callingon the people to repent. Girded withropes, in scant clothing or entirely naked,they scourged themselves in the openstreets. The sect spread like contagionfrom Italy to Poland, propagating extravagant doctrines and often causing seditionand murder. Catherine of Sienna andFrancis of Assisi in the fervor of their lovesaw visions. The latter bore the stigmataand died of the wounds of Christ, whichare said to have impressed themselves on

13


Zurope anb tbe $aracens

his hands anp side through an imaginationdrunk with the contemplation and love ofthe crucified Redeemer. The author ofthe two most beautiful hymns of the medi~

eval period went to fanatical extremes inself-sought torture to atone for his own sinsand for the good of others. Peter Nolasco in 1228 saw a vision of the Virgin.Mary, and devoted all his property fromthat day to the purchasing of freedomfor Christian captives from their Moorishmasters. He founded the order of theMercedarians, whose members even gavethemselves into slavery to save a fellowChristian from becoming an apostate toIslam. During the twelfth and thirteenthcenturies the monastic orders increased innumbers and influence. They formed thestanding army of the papacy and were generally promoters of learning, science, andart. The Franciscans were one of thestrongest orders, altho one of the latest.

13


J3tograpbp of. 'RapmunD 1ull

In 1264 this order had eight thousandcloisters and two hundred thousand monks.Some of. these monks were saints, somescientists, and some sensualists; alongsideof unmeasured superstition and ignorancein the mass of the priesthood we meet withgenius of intellect and wonderful displaysof self-forgetting love in the few.

Yet the most sacred solemnities wereparodied. On H Fools' Festival," whichwas held in France on New Year's day,mock popes, bishops, and abbots were introduced and all their holy actions mimicked in a blasphemous manner.

Practical mysticism, which concerneditself not with philosophy but with personal salvation, was common in the thirteenth century, especially among thewomen of the Rhine provinces. St. Hildegard, Mechthild, and Gertrude the Greatare striking examples. There were also attempts at a refonnation of the Church and

14


Eutope anI) tbe Satacens----------------the abuses of the clergy. The Albigensesand the Waldenses were in many waysforerunners of Protestantism. Numerousother sects less pure in doctrine and moralsarose at this time and spread everywherefrom Eastern Spain to Northern Germany.All of them were agreed in opposing ecclesiastical authority, and often that of the state.

Such was the political, intellectual, moral,and religious condition of Europe in thedays of Raymund LulL

The Mohammedan world was also in astate of fennent. The Crusades taughtthe Saracen at once the strength and theweakness of medieval Christianity. Thebattle-field of Tolosa, strewed with twohundred thousand slain Mosl~ms, was thedeath-knell of Islam in Spain. Saracenrule and culture at Granada were only theafter-glow of a sunset, glorious but transient. What dominions the Saracens lost.in the west.they regained in Syria and the

15


East. In 1250 the Mameluke sultans began to reign in Egypt, and under BeybarsI. Moslem Egypt reached the zenith of itsfame. Islam was a power in the thirteenthcentury not so much by its conquests withthe sword as by its conquests with thepen. Moslem philosophy, as interpretedby Alkindi, Alfarabi, Avicenna, and AI..gazel, but most of all the philosophy ofAverroes, was taught in all the universities. Aristotle spoke Arabic before he wasretranslated into the languages of Europe.CI The Saracens:' says Myers, "were during'the Middle Ages almost the sale repositories of the scientific ·knowledge of theworld. While the Western nations weretoo ignorant to know the value of thetreasures of antiquity, the Saracens preserved them by translating into Arabic thescientific works of the Greeks." Part of thislearning came to Europe through the Crusaders, but it came earlier and more largely

16


Europe anl) tbe Saracens

througn the Arabian schools of Spain. Noother country in Europe was in such closetouch with Islam for good and ill as thekingdoms of Castile, Navarre, and Aragonin the north of what we now, call Spain.There the conflict was one of mind as wellas of the sword. There for three centurieswaged a crusade for truth as well as a con~

flict on the battle~field between Christianand Moslem. In this conflict RaymundLull's ancestors played their part. Duringall the years of Lull's life the Moslem power held out at Granada against the unitedSpanish kingdoms. Not until 1492 was theSaracen expelled from Southern Europe.

Regarding missions in the thirteenthcentury, little can. be said. There were afew choice souls whom the Spirit of Godenlightened to see the spiritual needs ofthe Saracen and Mongol and to preach tothem the Gospel. In 1256 William de Rubruquis was sent by Louis IX., partly as a

17


1Uograpbl1 of 'Ramnunl) 1ull

diplomat, partly as a missionary, to theGreat Khan. In 1219 Francis of Assisiwith mad courage went into the Sultan'spresence at Damietta and proclaimed theway of salvation, offering to undergo theordeal of fire to prove the truth of theGospel. The Dominican general Raimundde Pennaforti, who died in 1273, also devoted himself to missions for the Saracens,but with no success.

The only missionary spirit of the twelfthand thirteenth centuries was that of the Crusaders. They took up the sword and perished by the sword. But" Raymund Lullwas raised up as if to prove in one startlingcase, to which the eyes of all Christendomwere turned for many a .day, what the Crusades might have become and might havedone for the world, had they been fought forthe cross with the weapons of Him whose lastwords from it were forgiveness and peace.H

•

*George Smith: .. A Short History of MissioDS."18


CHAPTER II

RAYMUND LULL'S BIRTHPLACEAND EARLY LIFE

(A.D. 1235-1265)

.. I think that I better understand the proud, hardy, frugalSpaniard and his manly defiance of hardships since 1 haveseen the country he inhabits. • . . The country, the habits,the very looks of the people, have something of the Arabiancharacter/'-Washington Irving's" The Alhambra."

RAYMUND LULL was born of an illustrious family at Palma in the island of Majorcaof the Balearic group in 1235" His fatherhad been born at Barcelona and belongedto a distinguished Catalonian family.When the island of Majorca was takenfrom the Saracens by James I., king of

• Some authorities give the date 1234, and one 1236, butmost agree on the year 1235. See Baring-Gould: "Lives ofthe Saints," vol. vi., p. 489.


1Uograpbp of 'Rapmunb SuII

Aragon, Lull's father served in the army ofconquest. For his distinguished serviceshe was rewarded with a gift of land in theconquered territory, and the estates' grewin value under the new government.

Southern, Europe between the Atlanticand the Adriatic is almost a duplicate inclimate and scenery of Northern Africa.When the Moors crossed over into Spainand occupied the islands of the WesternMediterranean they felt at home. Not onlyin the names of rivers and mountains andon the architecture of Spain did they leavethe impress of their conquest, but on themanners of the people, their literature, andtheir social life.

Catalonia, the eastern province of Spain,which was the home of Lull's ancestorsand for a time of Lull himself, is aboutone hundred and thirty miles broad andone hundred and eighty-five miles long,with a coast of two hundred and forty

20


A GENERAL VIEW OF PALMA, ON THE ISLAND OF MAJORCA, SPAIN.


J3trtbplace anl) Earll} 1ffe

.miles. It :las mountain ranges on thenorth, three considerable rivers, and woodland as well as meadow. The climate ishealthy in spite of frequent mists and rains,sudden changes of temperature, and greatmidday heat. Mountains and climate andhistory have left their impress on its people. The Catalonians are distinct in originfrom the other inhabitants of' Spain, anddiffer from them to this day in dialect,dress, and character. About 470 A.D., thispart of the peninsula was occupied by theGoths, whence it was called Gothalonia, andlater Catalonia. It was taken possessionof by the Berbers in 712, who in turn weredispossessed by the Spaniards and thetroops of Charlemagne. In 1 137 Cataloniawas annexed to Aragon. The Cataloniansare therefore a mixed race. They have always been distinguished for frugality, wit,and industry; they have much nationalpride and a strong revolutionary spirit

21


:Etograpbl1 ot 1lal1munb 2,ull

The Catalan language and its large litera..ture are quite distinct from that of theother Spanish provinces. The poeticalworks of Lull are among the oldest ex..amples of Catalan extant.

The Balearic Islands have always belonged to the province of Catalonia as re..gards their people and their language. Ona clear day the islands are plainly visiblefrom the monastery of Monserrat, and bysea from Barcelona it is only one hundredand forty miles to Palma. Between thesetwo harbors there has always been and isnow a busy traffic. Majorca has an area offourteen hundred and thirty square miles,a delightful climate, beautiful scenery, anda splendid harbor-Palma. Some of itsvalleys, such as Valdemosa and Soller,are celebrated for picturesque luxuriance.The northern mountain slopes are ter..raced; the olive, the vine, and the almond..tree are plenteous everywhere in the plains.

23


1Urtbplace an~ Earlp 1tft

,According to the description of moderntravelers it is an earthly paradise. Duringthe summer there is scarcity of water, but,following a system handed down from theArabs, the autumn rains are collected inlarge reservoirs. On the payment of acertain rate each landholder has his fieldsflooded.

Palma, Lull's birthplace and burial-place,is a pretty town with narrow streets and asort of medieval look except where modern trade has crowded out "the old-world,Moorish character of the buildings."

The cathedral is still a conspicuousbuilding, and was commenced in 1 230 anddedicated to the Virgin by the same KingJames who gave Lull's father estates nearPalma. Portions of the original buildingstill remain, and the visitor can enter theroyal chapel (built in 1232) with assurancethat if Lull did not worship here he at leastsaw the outside of the building frequently.

23


J3iograpbp of 'Rapmunl) ~ull

Palma probably owes its name and harborto Metellus Balearicus, who in 123 B.C.

settled three thousand Roman and Spanishcolonists on the island, and whose expedition is symbolized on the Roman coins bya palm branch. He also gave his name tothe island group, and the Balearic slingersare famous in Cresar's " Commentaries."

Palma is to-day a busy little port,anddirect commerce is carried on with Valencia, Barcelona, Marseilles, Cuba, PortoRico, and even South American ports.The present population is about sixtythousand. Formerly, Palma was a greatcenter for shipbuilding, and there is littledoubt that in Lull's time this industry alsogave importance to the town. As early asthe fourteenth century a mole, to a lengthof three hundred and eighty-seven yards,was constructed to improve the harbor ofPalma. This picturesque. town was thebirthplace of our hero, and to-day its in-

24


CHURCH OF SAN FRANCISCO AT PALMA, MAJORCA.


JJtrtbplace anl) Earlp ~tfe•

habitants are still proud to lead you to thechurch of San Francisco where he liesburied. As late as 1886 a new edition ofLull's works was printed and published atPalma by Rossel6.

The significance or the derivation ofLull's family name is lost in obscurity.His personal name Raymund (in SpanishRamon or Raymundo) is Teutonic and signifies " wise protection" or " pure in speech."It was borne by two distinguished counts ofToulouse: one of them, RaYmund IV., wasa Crusader (1045-1105), and the other (1156

1222) befriended the Albigenses against thePope. It is possible that Lull received hisfirst name from one of these martial heroeswhose exploits were well known in Catalonia.

Of Lull's infancy and early youth nothing is known for certain. He was accustomed to medieval luxury from his birth,as his parents had a large estate and his

25


:ltograpbv or 1tapmunb ~ull

father was distinguished for military serv~

ices. Lull married at an early age, and,being fond of the pleasures of court life,left Palma and passed over with his brideto Spain, where he was made seneschal atthe court of King James I L of Aragon.Thus his early manhood was spent ingaiety and even profligacy. All the enthu~

siasm and warmth of his character foundexercise only in the pleasures of the court,and, by his own testimony, he lived a lifeof utter immorality in this corrupt age.Wine, women, and song were then, as oftensince, the chief pleasures of kings andprinces. Notwithstanding his marriageand the blessing of children, Lull soughtthe reputation of a gallant and was mixedup in .more than one intrigue. For thissort of life his office gave him every temptation and plenty of opportunity.

A seneschal (literally, an old servant)·*From Latin sent + scalcus. or Gothic sinngs + sla/j.

26


:lJtrtbplace ant> Earll? 2,tfe

was the chief official in the household of amedieval prince or noble and had the superintendence of feasts and ceremonies. Thesemust have been frequent and luxurious atthe court of James II., for Aragon, previous to the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella,enjoyed the most liberal government ofEurope. According to one authority, "thegenius and maxims of the co.urt were purely republican.Jt The kings were elective,while the real exercise of power was in thehands of the Cortes, an assembly consisting of the nobility, the equestrian order, therepresentatives of cities, and the clergy. Asuccession of twenty sovereigns reignedfrom the year 1035 to 1516. At such acourt and amid such an assemblage, probably in the capital town of Zaragoza (Saragossa), Lull spent several years of his life.He was early addicted to music and playedthe cithern with skilL But he was yetmore celebrated as a court poet. Accord-

37


J3fograpbp of 1ta»mun~ 1ull

ing to his own confession's, however, thetheme of his poetical effusions was notseldom the joys of lawless love. "I see, 0Lord," he says in his Contemplations, "thattrees bring forth every year flowers andfruit, each after their kind, whence mankind derive pleasure and profit. But thusit was not with me, sinful man that I am;for thirty years I brought forth no fruit inthis world, I cumbered the ground, nay, wasnoxious and hurtful to my friends and neighbors. Therefore, since a mere tree, whichhas neither intellect nor reason, is morefruitful than I have been, I am exceedinglyashamed and count 'myself worthy of greatblame."· In another part of the same bookhe returns thanks to God for the great difference he sees between the works of his afterlife and those of his youth. "Then," he says,all his U actions were sinful and he enjoyedthe pleasures of sinful companionship."

*"Liber Contemplationis in Deo," ix.• 257, ed. 1140.28


J3trtbplace ant) Earlll 1tfe

Raymund Lull was gifted with greatmental accomplishments and enthusiasm.He had the soul ·of a poet, but at firsthis genius groveled in the mire of sensualpleasures, like that of other poets whosepassions were not under the control ofreligion. We do Lull injustice, however,if we judge his court life by the standardsof our Christian century. His whole environment was that of medieval darkness,and he was a gay knight at the banquets ofJames I I. before he became a scholasticphilosopher and a missionary. As knighthe knew warfare and horsemanship so wellthat among his books there are several·treatises on these sciences,· first writtenin Catalan, and afterward put into Latin.Undoubtedly these were written, as wasmost of his poetry, before he was thirtyyears old. He was the most popular poetof his age in Spain, and his influence on

* For a list of these works see Helfferich, p. 14, Dote.29


J3tograpbl1 of 'Ral1munl) 1ull

Catalonian poetry is acknowledged in suchtenns of praise by students of Spanish literature that he might be called the founder ofthe Catalonian school of poets. The philological importance of Lull's Catalonianwritings, especially his poems, was shownby Adolph Helfferich in his book on ~ Lulland the Origin of Catalan Literature." Inthis volume specimens of his poetry andproverbs are given. A writer in the HEn_cyclopedia Britannica" speaks of one of hispoems, HLo Desconort H (Despair) as eminently fine and composite in its diction.This poem, if it was written before hisconversion, as is probable, would alreadyshow that Lull himself was dissatisfied atheart with his life of worldly pleasure. Already, perhaps, there arose within him amighty struggle between the spirit and theflesh. Sensual pleasures never satisfy, andhis lower and higher natures strove onewith the other.


:Btrtbplace anb EarI~ 2,ffe

It seems that at about his thirty~second

year he returned to Palma, altho there islittle certainty of date among his biographers. A t any rate it was at the place of hisbirth that Lull was born again. It was inthe Franciscan church, and not at the courtof Aragon, that he received his final calland made his decision to forsake all andbecome a preacher of righteousness. Theprodigal son came to himself amid theswine, and his feet were already towardhome when he saw his Father, and hisFather ran out to meet him. The story ofSt. Augustine under the fig-tree at Milanwas reenacted at Palma.

31


CHAPTER III

THE VISION AND CALL TOSERVICE

(A.D. I266-J267)

U I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, • • • and youryoung men shall see visions. "-Joel ii. 2$.

WHEN St. Paul told King Agrippa thestory of his life, the key of it lay in thewords, f' I was not disobedient to theheavenly vision." The angel had come tohim and called him straight away from hiscareer as arch-persecutor. All that he haddone or meant to do was now of the past.He arose from the ground and took up hislife again as one who could not be disobedient to his vision. It was a vision ofChrist that made Paul a missionary. Andhis was not the last instance of the ful-

32


· 'ttbe lDtsfon ant) <tall to !5ert'tce

fiIment of Joel's great prophecy. Thetwentieth century, even, dares not mock atthe supernatural; and materialistic philosophy can not explain the phenomena ofthe spirit world. The Christians of thethirteenth century believed in visions andsaw visions. Altho an age of visions is aptto be a visionary age, this was not altogethertrue of the thirteenth century. The visionsof Francis of Assisi, of Catherine the Saint,of Peter Nolasco, and of others in this age,had a tremendous effect on their lives andinfluence. We may doubt the vision, butwe can not doubt its result in the lives ofthose who profess to have seen it. Call itreligious hallucination or pious imaginationif you will, but even then it has power.Ruskin says that "such imagination isgiven us that we may be able to visionforth the ministry of angels beside us andsee the chariots of fire on the mountainsthat gird us round.H In that age of MarioJ..

33 .


J3tograpbv of 'Ravmun~ 2,ull

atry and angel·worship and imitation ofsaints, it was not such a vision that arrestedLull, but a vision of Jesus Himself. Thestory, as told in a Life· written with hisconsent during his lifetime, is as follows:

One evening the seneschal was sittingon a couch, with his cithern on his knees,composing a song in praise of a noble mar·ried lady who had fascinated him but whowas insensible to his passion. Suddenly,in the midst of the erotic song, he saw onhis right hand the Savior hanging on Hiscross, the blood trickling from His handsand feet and brow, look reproachfullyat him. Raymund, conscience· struck,started up; he could sing no more; he laidaside his cithern and, deeply moved, retiredto bed. Eight days after, he again at·tempted to finish the song and again took

• S. Baring-Gould: "Lives of the Saints," vol. vi., p. 489Maclear: •• History of Christian Missions in the· MiddleAges," pp. 355, 356•

34


ltbell)tston anl) <tall to $erl'tce

. up the plea of an unrequited lover. Butnow again., as before, the image of DivineLove incarnate appeared-the agonizedform of the Man of Sorrows. The dyingeyes of the Savior were fixed on himmournfully, pleadingly:

•• See from His head, His hands, His feetSorrow and love flow mingling down :

Did ere such love and sorrow meet,Or thorns compose so rich a crown? "

Lull cast his lute aside, and threw himselfon his bed, a prey to remorse. He hadseen the highest and deepest unrequitedlove. But the thought that

II Love so amazing, so divine,Demands my soul, my life, my all,"

had not yet reached him. The effect ofthe vision was so transitory that he wasnot ready to yield until it again repeateditself" Then L u11 could not resist the

."Tertio et quarto successivo diebus interpositis aliquibus,Salvator, in forma semper qua primitus, apparet."-" ActaSanctorum, .. p. 66<}.

35


J3tograpbl1 of 'Ral1mun~ 1ull

thought that this was a special message forhimself to conquer his lower passions andto devote himself entirely to Christ's service. He felt engraved on his heart, as itwere, the great spectacle of divine Selfsacrifice. Henceforth he had only onepassion, to love and serve Christ. Butthere arose the doubt, How can I, defiledwith impurity, rise and enter on a holierlife? Night after night, ~e are told, helay awake, a prey to despondency anddoubt. He wept like Mary Magdalen,.rememhering how much and how deeplyhe had sinned. At length the thought occurred: Christ is meek and full of compassion; He invites all to come to Him; Hewill not cast me out. With that thoughtcame consolation. Because he was forgivenso much he loved the more, and concludedthat he would forsake the world and giveup all for his Savior. How he was confirmed in this resolve we shall see shortly.

36


1tbe It'tston anl) CIall to Setl'tce

By way of parenthesis it is necessary togive another account of Lull's conversionwhich the author of " Acta Sanctorum" relates, and says he deems" improbable butnot impossible." According to this storyLull was one day passing the window ofthe house of Signora Ambrosia, the married lady whose love he vainly sought togain. He caught a glimpse of her ivorythroat and bosom. On the spot he composed and sang a song to her beauty. Thelady sent for him and showed him thebosom he so much admired, eaten withhideous cancers! She then besought himto lead a better life. On his return homeChrist appeared to him and said, "Raymund, follow Me." He gave up his courtposition, sold all his property, and withdrewto the retirement of a cell on Mount Roda.This was about the year 1266. When hehad spent ·nine years in retirement hecame to the conclusion that he was called

37


:Btograpb12 of 'R812munl) 1u11

of God to preach the Gospel to the Mohammedans,·

Some biographers know nothing of thisnine years' retirement in a cell at MountRoda near Barcelona, altho all of themagree that his conversion took place inJuly, 1266. The visions and spiritual conflicts and experiences at Mount Rodagained for Lull the title of "Doctor Illuminatus," the scholar enlightened fromheaven. And if we look at the life thatwas the result of these visions, we can notdeny that, in this dark age, heaven did indeed enlighten Lull to know the love ofGod and to do the will of God as no otherin his day and generation.

Let us go back to the story of his conversion as told by Lull himself in that work,"On Divine Contemplation," which may

• Sec article by Rev. Edwin Wallace, of Oxford University, in the Encyclopedia Britannica, where Mount Roda iswrongly spelled Randa.


1tbe 1I)tston anb <tall to $efl)tce

be put side by side with Bunyan's" GraceAbounding" and Augustihe's (C Confessions" as the biography of a penitent soul.

After the visions he came to the conclusion that he could devote his energies tono higher work than that of proclaimingthe Message of the Cross to the Saracens.His thoughts would naturally take thisdirection. The islands of Majorca and·Minorca had only recently been in thehands of the Saracens. His father hadwielded the sword of the king of Aragonagainst these enemies of the Gospel; whyshould not the son now take up the swordof the Spirit against them? If the carnalweapons of the crusading knights hadfailed to conquer Jerusalem, was it nottime to sound the bugle for a spiritual crusade for the conversion of the Saracen?Such were the thoughts that filled hismind. But then, he says, a difficulty arose.How could he, a layman, in an age when

39


J3fograpbv of 'Ral1munl) 1ull

the Church and the clergy were supreme,enter on such a work? Thereupon it occurred to him that at least a beginningmight be made by composing a volumewhich should demonstrate the truth ofChristianity and convince the warriors ofthe Crescent of their errors. This book t

however, would not ,be understood by themunless it were in Arabict and of this language he was ignorant; other difficultiespresented themselves and almost drovehim to despair. Full of such thoughts, heone day repaired to a neighboring churchand poured forth his whole soul to God,beseeching Him if He did inspire thesethoughts to enable him to carry them out.-

This was in the month of July. But, ai-

* "Vita Prima," p. 662. .. Dominum Jesum Christum devote, Beus largiter exoravit, quatenus haec praedicta tua quaeipse misericorditer inspiraverat cordi suo, ad ellectum sibiplacitum perducere dignaretur. II Several authorities put aperiod of short backsliding between his conversion and theaccount of the sermon by the friar that follows in our text.

40


THE CLOISTERS OF THE CHURCH OF SAN

FRANCISCO.


ttbe ll)tston anb (tall to $ettttce

tho old desires· and the old life were pass-ing away, all things had not yet becomenew. For three months his great designwas laid aside and he struggled with oldpassions for the mastery. On the fourthof October, the festival of St. Francis ofAssisi, Lull went to the 'Franciscan churchat Palma and heard from the lips of thefriar~preacher t~e tale of the "Spouse ofPoverty." He learned how this son of Pietro Bernadone di Mericoni, once foremostin deeds of war and a gay \yorldling, wastaken prisoner atPerugia and brought bydisease to the very gates of death; howhe saw visions of the Christ and of theworld to come; how, when he emergedfrom his dungeon, he exchanged his gayapparel for the garb of the mendicant,visiting the sick, tending the leprous, andpreaching the Gospel; how in 1219, beforethe walls of Damietta, this missionarymonk crossed over to the infidels and wit-

41


J3tograpbp of 'Rapmunl) ~uIl

nessed for Christ before the Sultan, declaring, "I am not sent of man, but of God,to show thee the way of salvation."

The words of the preacher rekindled thefires of love half-smothered in the heart ofLull. He now made up his mind once andforever. He sold all his property, whichwas considerable, gave the money to thepoor, and reserved only a scanty allowancefor his wife and children. This was thevow of his consecration in his own words:" To Thee, Lord God, do I now offer myselfand my wife and my children and all that Ipossess; and since I approach Thee humblywith this gift and sacrifice, may it pleaseThee to condescend to accept all what Igive and offer up now for Thee, that I andmy wife and my children may be Thy humble slaves."· It was a covenant of complete surrender, -and the repeated referenceto his wife and children shows that Ray-

* .. Liber Contemplationis in Deo," xci., 27.42


1tbe lI1tston anb <taU to Servtce

mund Lull's wandering passions had foundrest at last. It was afam£ly covenant; andby this token we know that Lull had forever said farewell to his former companionsand his life of sin.

He assumed the coarse garb of a mendicant, made pilgrimages to various churchesin the island, and prayed for grace and assistance, in the work he had resolved to undertake. The mantle of apostolic succession fell from Francis of Assisi, forty yearsdead, upon the layman of Palma, now inhis thirtieth year. From the mendicantorders of the Middle Ages, their preceptsand their example, Lull in part drew hispassionate, ascetic, and unselfish devotion.Most of his biographers assert that he became a Franciscan, but that is doubtful,especially since some of the earliest biographers were themselves of that order andwould naturally seek glory in his memory.-

*See Noble: "The Redemption of Africa," vol. i., p. 110.

43


·:l3fograpbp of 'Iftapmunb 2,ull

Eymeric, a Catalonian Dominican in 1334and the inquisitor of Aragon after 1356,expressly states that Lull was a lay mer~

chant and a heretic. In 1371 the same Ey..meric pointed out five hundred heresies inLull's works, and in consequence GregoryXI. forbade some of the books. TheFranciscans, Antonio Wadding and others,afterward warmly defended Lull and hiswritings, but the Jesuits have always beenhostile to his memory. Therefore theRoman Catholic Church long hesitatedwhether to condemn Lull as a heretic or torecognize him as a martyr and a saint.He was never canonized by any pope, butin Spain and Majorca all good Catholicsregard him as a saintly Franciscan. In aletter I have received from the presentbishop of Majorca he speaks of RaymundLull as "an extraordinary man with apostolic virtues, and worthy of all admiration."

Frederic Perry Noble, in speaking of44


1tbe ll)tston anb (tall to Set\?tce

Lull's conversion, says: "His new birth,be it noted, sprang from a passion forJesus. Lull's faith was not sacramental,but personal and vital, more Catholic thanRoman." Even as the Catalonians firstarose in protest and revolution against thetyranny of the state in the Middle Ages,so their countryman is distinguished fordaring to act apart from the tyranny of theChurch and to inaugurate the rights of lay~

men. The inner life of Lull finds its keyin the story of his conversion. IncarnateLove overcame carnal love, and all of thepassion and the poetry of Lull's geniusbowed in submission to the cross. Thevision of his youth explains the motto ofhis old age: CI He who loves not lives not;he who lives by the Life can not die:'The image of the suffering Savior remainedfor fifty years the mainspring of his being.Love for the personal Christ filled his heart,molded his mind, inspired his pen, and

45


J3tograpbp of 1RapmunD 1ull

made his soul long for the crown of martyrdom. Long years afterward, when hesought for a reasonable proof of that greatest mystery of revelation and the greateststumbling-block for Moslems-the doctrineof the Trinity-he once more recalled thevision. His proof for the Trinity was thelove of God in Christ as revealed to us bythe Holy Spirit.


CHAPTER IV

PREPARATION FOR THE CONFLICT

(A.D. 1267-1274)

U Sive ergo Mahometicus error hlEretico nomine deturpeturjdve gentili aut pagano infametur; agendum contra eum est,scribendum est. to-Petrus VenffaDilis. t 1157.

.. Aggredior vas, non ut nostri SlEpe faciunt, annis, sedverbis, non vi sed ratione, non odio sed amore."-IDid.

By his bold decision to attack Islam withthe weapons of Christian philosophy, andin his lifelong conflict with this giganticheresy, Lull proved himself the Athanasiusof the thirteenth century. The Mohammedan missionary problem at the dawn ofthe twentieth century is not greater thanit was then. True, Islam was not so extensive, but it was equally aggressive, and,

47


if possible, more arrogant. The Mohammedan world was more of a unit, and fromBagdad to Morocco Moslems felt that theCrusades had been a defeat for Christendom. One-half of Spain was under Moslem rule. In all Northern Africa Saracenpower was in the ascendant. Many conversions to Islam took place in Georgia,and thousands of the Christian Copts inEgypt were saying farewell to the religionof their fathers and embracing the faith ofthe Mameluke conquerors. It was justat this time that Islam began to spreadamong the Mongols. In India, Moslempreachers were extending the faith inAjmir and the Punjab. The Malayarchipelago first heard of Mohammedabout the time when Lull was born.lIE Beybars I., the first and greatest of the Marneluke Sultans, sat on the throne of Egypt.

• Arnold: .. Pfeaching of Islam:' synchronological table,P.389, 1896•


~reparat(on for tbe aontltct

A man of grand achievements, unceasingactivity, and stern orthodoxy, he used everyendeavor to extend and strengthen thereligion of the state.· Islam had politicalpower and prestige. She was mistress ofphilosophy and science. In the beginningof the thirteenth century the scientificworks of Aristotle were translated fromthe Arabic into Latin. Roger Bacon andAlbertus Magnus were so learned that theclergy accused them of being in leaguewith the Saracens!

Such was the Mohammedan world whichLull dared to defy, and planned to attackwith the new weapons of love and learninginstead of the Crusaders' weapons of fanaticism and the sword. The Christianworld did not love Moslems in the thirteenth century, nor did they understandtheir religion. Marco Polo, a contempo-

t Muir: "The Mameluke Dynasty of Egypt:} p. 31, London. 1896.

49


J3fograpbl1 of 'Rapmunl) 2,ull"

rary of Lull, wrote: "Marvel not that theSaracens hate the Christians; for the ac·cursed law which Mohammed gave themcommands them to do all the mischiefin their power to all other descriptionsof people, and especially to Christians;to strip such of their goods and do themall manner of evil. In such fashion theSaracens act throughout the world.tt

•

Dante voices the common opinion of thisage when he puts Mohammed in the deep.est hell of his Inferno and describes his fatein such dreadful language as offends politeears. t But even worse things were said ofthe Arabian prophet in prose by other ofLulI's contemporaries. Gross ignoranceand great hatred were joined in nearly allwho made any attempt to describe Moham·medanism.

• " Marco Polo's Travels," Colonel Yule's editioD, vol. i.,p.69.t" Hell," canto xxviii., 20-39, in Dante's" Vision," Cary's

edition.so


~reparatton for tbe (tonfltct

Alanus de Insulis (1114-1200) was one ofthe first to write a book on Islam in Latin,and the titIe shows his ignorance: "Contra paganos seu Mahometanos." He classes Moslems with Jews and Waldenses !Western Europe, according to Keller, wasignorant even of the century in whichMohammed was born; and Hildebert, thearchbishop of Tours, wrote a poem onMohammed in which he is represented asan apostate from the Christian Church!Petrus Venerabilis, whose pregnant wordsstand at the head of this chapter, was thefirst to translate the. Koran and to studyIslam with sympathy and scholarship. Hemade a plea for translating portions of theScripture into the language of the Sara.,.cens, and affirmed that the Koran itselfhad weapons with which to attack the cita..del of Islam. But. alas! he added the pleaof the scholar at his books: "I myself haveno time to enter into the conflict." He

51


J3fograpbv of 'R4pmuni) S,ull

first distinguished the true and the falsein the teaching of Mohammed, and withkeen judgment pointed out the pagan andChristian elements in Islam.- PetrusVenerabilis took up the pen of controversyand approached the Moslem, as ·he says," Not with arms but with words, not byforce but by reason, not in hatred but inlove u; and in so far he was the first tobreathe the true missionary spirit towardthe Saracens. But he did not go out tothem. It was reserved for the Spanishknight to take up the challenge and go outsingle-handed against the Saracens, "notby force but by reason, not in hatred butin love.." It was Raymund Lull whowrote: "I see many kn£ghts go£ng to tMHoly Land beyond the seas and thinkz"ngthat they can acqu'lre it by force of arms ,.but z'ntM end all are destroyed before they

* A. Keller's .. Geisteskampf des Christentums gegen denIslam bis zur Zeit der KreuzzUge," pp. 41.43. Leipsic, 18g6.

52


Preparation for tbe <tontltct

attaln that whlch they tht"nk to have.Whence t"t seems to me tltat the conquest ofthe Holy Land ought not to be attemptedexcept £n the way in wht"ch Thou and Thineapostles acqu£red it, namely, by love andprayers, and the pouring out of tears andofblood."

Lull was ready to pour out this sacrificeon the altar. The vision remained withhim, and his love to God demanded exercise in showing forth that love to men.

He was not in doubt that God had chosenhim to preach to the Saracens and winthem to Christ. He only hesitated as tothe best method to pursue. All the pasthistory of his native land and the struggleyet going on in Spain emphasized for himthe greatness of the task before him.

The knight of Christ felt that he couldnot venture into the arena unless he hadgood annor. The son of the soldier whohad fought the Moors on many a bloody

S3


:Efograpb» of 'Ra»munt) 1ull

battle-field felt that the Saracens wereworthy foemen. The educated seneschalknew that the Arabian schools of Cordovawere the center of European learning, andthat it was not so easy to convince a.Saracen as a barbarian of Northern Europe.

At one time, we read, Lull thought ofrepairing to Paris, and there by close anddiligent scientific study to train himself forcontroversy with Moslems. At Paris inthe thirteenth century was the most famous

.university of Christendom. And under St.Louis, Robert de Sorbon, a common priest,founded in 1253 an unpretending theological college which afterward becamethe celebrated faculty of the Sorbonnewith authority wellnigh as great as that ofRome.

But the advice of his kinsman, the Dominican Raymund de Pennaforte, dissuaded him, and he decided to remain atMajorca and pursue his studies and prepa-

54


J)reparatton for tbe <tontltct

.ration privately. First he laid plans for athorough mastery of the Arabic language.To secure a teacher was not an easy matter, as Majorca had years ago passed fromSaracen into Christian hands, and as noearnest Moslem would teach the Koranlanguage to one whose professed purposewas to assail Islam with the weapons ofphilosophy.

He therefore decided to purchase a Saracen slave, and with this teacher his biographers tell us that Lull was occupied inArabic study for a period of more thann£ne years. Could anything prove moreclearly that Lull was the greatest as well asthe first missionary to Moslems?

After this long, and we may believe successf1JI, apprenticeship with the Saracenslave, a tragic incident interrupted hisstudies. Lull had learned the language ofthe Moslem, but the Moslem slave had notyet learned the love of Christ; nor had his

5S


pupil. In the midst of their studies, onone occasion the Saracen blasphemedChrist. How, we are not told; but thosewho work among Moslems know whatcruel, vulgar words can come from Moslemlips against the Son of God. When Lullheard the blasphemy, he struck his slaveviolently on the face in his strong indignation. The Moslem, stung to the quick,drew a weapon, attempted Lull's life, andwounded him severely. He was seized andimprisoned. Perhaps fearing the deathpenalty for attempted murder, the Saracenslave committed suicide. It was a sad beginning for Lull in his work of preparation.Patience had not yet had its perfect work.Lull felt more than ever before, H He thatloves not lives not." The vision of thethorn<rowned Head came back to him;he could not forget his covenant.

Altho he retired for eight days to amountain to engage in prayer and medita

S6


'Preparation for tbe <tonllict

tion, he did not falter, but persevered inhis resolution. Even as in the case ofHenry Martyn 'with his munshi, Sabat,who made life a burden to him, so Lull'sexperience with his Saracen slave was aschool of faith and patience.

Besides his Arabic studies, Lull spentthese nine years in spiritual meditation, inwhat he calls contemplating God.

.. The awakened gazeTurned wholly from the earth, on things of heavenHe dwelt both day and night. The thought of GodFilled him with infinite joy; his craving soulDwelt on Him as a feast; as did the soulOf rapt Francesco in his holy cellIn blest Assisi ; and he knew the pain,The deep despondence of the saint, the doubt,The consciousness of dark offense,. the joyOf full assurance last, when heaven itselfStands open to the ecstasy of faith."

While thus employed the idea occurredto him of composing a work which shouldcontain a strict and formal demonstrationof all the Christian doctrines, of such co-

51


J3tograpb)2 of 'R8)2munb 1uU

gency that the Moslems could not fail toacknowledge its logic and in consequenceembrace the truth. Perhaps the idea wassuggested to him by Raymund de Pennaforte, for he it was who, a few years previous, had persuaded Thomas Aquinas tocompose his work in four volumes, "Onthe Catholic Faith, or Summary againstthe Gentiles."·

In Lull's introduction to his" NecessariaDemonstratio Articulorum Fidei H he refers to the time when the idea of a controversial book for Moslems first took possession of him, and asks "the clergy and thewise men of the laity to examine his arguments against the Saracens in commendingthe Christian faith." He pleads earnestlythat any weak points in his attempt to convince the Moslem be pointed out to himbefore the book is sent on its errand.

* Maclear: .. History of Missions," p. 358, where authorities are cited.

58


'Creparatton for tbe <tontltct

With such power did this one idea takepossession of his mind that at last he regarded it in the light of a divine revelation,and, having traced the outline of such awork, he called it the U Ars Major siveGeneralis." This universal system of logicand philosophy was to be the weapon ofGod against all error, and more especiallyagainst the errors of Islam.

Lull was now in his forty-first year. Allhis intellectual powers were matured. Heretired to the spot near Palma where theidea had first burst upon him, and remainedthere for four months, writing the bookand praying for divine blessing on its arguments. According to one biographer,· itwas at this time that Lull held interviewswith a certain mysterious shepherd, U quemipse nunquam viderat alias, neque de ipsoaudiverat quenquam loqui." Is it possiblethat this refers only to the Great Shepherd

* .. Vita Prima," in II Acta Sanctorum," 663.59


:Etograpbl1 of 'Rapmunt) 1"11

and to Lull's spiritual experiences, far awayfrom his friends and family, in some lonelyspot near Palma?

The " Ars Major" was finally completedin the year 1275. Lull had an interviewwith the king of Majorca, and under hispatronage the first book of his new"Method" was published. Lull also be~

gan to lecture upon it in public. This re.markable treatise, while in one sense intended for the special work of convincingMoslems, was to include" a universal a~t

of acquisition, demonstration, confutation," .and was meant" to cover the whole field ofknowledge and to supersede the inadequatemethods of previous schoolmen." For themethod of Lull's philosophy we will waituntil we reach the chapter specially devoted to an account of his teaching and hisbooks. A few words, however, regardingthe purpose of the Lullian method are inplace.

60


FACSIMILE OF PAGE FROM LULL'S LATIN WORKS.


Preparatton 'f~ tbe C:ontltct

In the age ofscholasticisffi, when allsorts of puerile questions were seriouslydebated in the schools, and philosophy wasanything but practical, it was Lull whoproposed to use the great weapon of thisage, dialectics, in the service of the Gospeland for the practical end of converting theSaracens. Let us admit that he was ascholastic, but he was also a missionary.His scholastic philosophy is ennobled byits fiery zeal for the propagation of theGospel, and by the love for Christ whichpurifies all its dross in the flame of passionfor souls.

We may smile at Lull's dialectic, and hisU circles and tables for finding out the different ways in which categories apply tothings"; but no one can help admiringthe spirit that inspired the method. U Inhis assertion of the place of reason in religion, in his demand that a rational Christianity should be presented to heathendom,

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13fotJrapbp of 1Rapmun~ 1ull

Lull goes far beyond the ideas and the aspirations of the century in which he lived." !II

In judging the character of Lull's methodand his long period of preparation, onething must not be forgotten. The strengthof Islam in the age of scholasticism was itsphilosophy. Having thoroughly enteredinto the spirit of Arabian philosophicalwritings and seen its errors, there was nothing left for a man of Lull's intellect but tomeet these Saracen philosophers on theirown ground. A vicenna, Algazel, andAverroes sat on the throne of Moslemlearning and ruled Moslem thought. Lulrsobject was to undermine their influenceand so reach the Moslem heart with themessage of salvation. For such a conflictand in such an age his weapons were wellchosen.

* .. Encyclopedia Britannica," vol. xv., p. 64.


CHAPTER V

AT MONTPELLIER, PARIS, ANDROME

(A.D. 1275-1298)

.. I have but one passion and it is He - He only.'tZinundorf.

.. In his assertion of the function of reason in religion andhis demand that a rational Christianity be placed before Islam,this Don Quixote of his times belongs to our day."-Frede".;&Perry Nob/e.

IT is difficult to follow the story of Lull'slife in exact chronological order becausethe sources at our disposal do not alwaysagree in their dates. However, by grouping the events of his life, order comes outof confusion. Lull's lifework was three·fold: he devised a philosophical or educa·tional system for persuading non-Christiansof the truth of Christianity; he established

63


J3tograpbl1 of 1Ral1mun~ 1ull

missionary colleges; and he himself wentand preached to the Moslems, sealing hiswitness with martyrdom. The story of hislife is best told and best remembered if wefollow this clue to its many years of lovingservice. Lull himself, when he was aboutsixty years old, reviews his life in thesewords: "I had a wife and children; I wastolerably rich;· I led a secular life. Allthese things I cheerfully resigned for thesake of promoting the common good anddiffusing abroad the holy faith. I learnedArabic. I have several times gone abroadto preach the Gospel to the Saracens. Ihave for the sake of the faith been cast intoprison and scourged. I have laboredfortyfive years to gain over the shepherds of thechurch and the prz'nces of Europe to thecommon good of Christendom. Now I amold and poor, but still I am intent on thesame object. I will persevere in it tilldeath, if the Lord permits it."

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!\t montpellfer, ~arts, anD 'Rome

The sentence italicized is the subjectof this chapter: the story of Lull's effortto found missionary schools and to per!suade popes and princes that the true Crusade was to be with the pen and not withthe sword. It was a grand idea, and itwas startlingly novel in the age of Lull. Itwas an idea that, next to his favorite schemeof philosophy, possessed his whole soul.Both ideas were thoroughly missionary andthey interacted the one on the other.

No sooner had Lull completed his" ArsMajor," and lectured on it in public, thanhe set to work to persuade the king, JamesIL, who had heard of his zeal, to found andendow a monastery in Majorca whereFranciscan monks should be instructed inthe Arabic language and trained to become able disputants among the Moslems.The king welcomed the idea, and in theyear 1276 such a monastery was openedand thirteen monks began to study Lull's

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1Uograpb12 of 'Ra12mun~ 1u11

nlethod and imbibe Lull's spirit. Heaimed not at a mere school of theology orphilosophy: his ideal training for the foreign field was ahead of many theologicalcolleges of our century. It included in itscurriculum the geography of missions andthe language of the Saracens! " Knowledge of the regions of the world," he wrote,"is strongly necessary for the republic ofbelievers and the conversion of unbelievers,and for withstanding infidels and Antichrist. The man unacquainted with geog·raphy is not only ignorant where he walks,but whither he leads. Whether he attempts the conversion of infidels or worksfor other interests of the Church, it is indispensable that he know the religions andthe environments of all nations." This ishigh-water mark for the dark ages! Thepioneer for Africa, six centuries beforeLivingstone, felt what the latter expressedmore concisely but not more forcibly:

66


tit montpeutert J>artst an~ 'Rome

"The end of the geographical feat is thebeginning of the missionary enterprise.H

A uthorities disagree whether this missionary training-school of Lull was openedunder the patronage of the king, at Palma,or at Montpellier. From the fact that in1297 Lull received letters at Montpellierfrom the general of the Franciscans recommending him to the superiors of all Franciscan houses, it seems that he must haveformed connections with the brotherhoodthere at an early period.

MontpeIIier, now a town of considerableimportance in the south of France nearthe Gulf of Lyons, dates its prosperity fromthe beginning of the twelfth century. In1204 it became a dependency of the houseof Aragon through marriage, and remainedso until 1350. Several Church councilswere held there during the thirteenth century, and in 1292 Pope Nicholas IV., probably at the suggestion of Lull, founded a

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Efograpbp of 1Rapmun~ ~uII

university at Montpellier. Its medicalschool was famous in the Middle Ages, andhad in its faculty learned Jews who wereeducated in the Moorish schools of Spain.

At Montpellier Lull spent three or fouryears in study and in teaching. Here,most probably, he wrote his medical works,and some of his books appealing for helpto open other missionary schools. In oneplace he thus pleads with words of fire forconsecration to this cause: "I find scarcelyanyone, 0 Lord, who out of love to Theeis ready to suffer martyrdom as Thou hastsuffered for us. It appears to me agreeable to reason, if an ordinance to that effectcould be obtained, that the monks shouldlearn various languages that they might beable to go out and surrender their lives inlove to Thee. . . . 0 Lord of glory, if thatblessed day should ever be in which Imight see Thy holy monks so influencedby zeal to glorify Thee as to go to foreign

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Bt ~ontpeUfer, 'Carfs, an~ 'Rome

lands in order to testify of Thy holy ministry, of Thy blessed incarnation, and ofThy bitter sufferings, that would be aglorious day, a day in which that glow ofdevotion would return with which the holyapostles met death for their Lord JesusChrist." *

Lull longed with all his soul for a newPentecost and for world-wide missions.Montpellier was too small to be his parish,altho he was but a layman. His ambitionwas, in his own words, "to gain over theshepherds of the Church and the princes ofEurope" to become missionary enthusiastslike himself. Where should he place hisfulcrum to exert leverage to this end saveat the very center of Christendom? Popeshad inaugurated and promoted the crusadesof blood; they held the keys of spiritualand temporal power; their command inthe Middle Ages was as a voice from

* 4. Liber Contemplationis in Deo," ex., 28. Tom. ix., 246.69


J3iograpbl1 of 'Rapmunl) ~ull

heaven; their favor was the dew of blessing. Moreover t Lull's success with theking of Aragon led him to hope that thechief shepherd of Christendom mightevince a similar interest in his plans.

He therefore undertook a journey toRome in I286t hoping to obtain from Honorius IV. the approbation of his treatiseand aid in founding missionary schools invarious parts of Europe. Honorius wasdistinguished during his brief pontificatefor zeal and love of learning. He clearedthe Papal States of bands of robbers, andattempted t in favor of learning, to founda school of Oriental languages at Paris.Had he lived it i~ possible that Lull wouldhave succeeded in his quest. Honoriusdied April 3, 1287.

Raymund Lull came to Rome, but foundthe papal chair vacant and all men busywith one thing, the election of a successor.He waited for calmer times, but impedi-

7°


!It montpeUtett ~attSt anb 'Rome

'ments were always thrown in his way. Hisplans met with some ridicule and with littleencouragement. The cardinals cared fortheir own ambitions more than- for the conversion of the world.

Nicholas IV. succeeded to the papalthrone, and his character was such thatwe do not wonder that Lull gave up theidea of persuading him to become a missionary. He was a man without faith; andhis monstrous disregard of treaties andoaths in the controversy with the king ofAragon, Alphonso, struck at the root of allhonor.- He believed in fighting the Saracens with the sword only, and sought actively but vainly to organize another Crusade. Not until ten years after did Lullagain venture to appeal to a pope.

Disappointed at Rome, Lull repaired toParis, and there lectured in the universityon his U Ars Generalis," composing other

* Milman: II History of Latin Christianity," vi., 175.71


J3tograpbl1 of 1Ral1mun~ 1uU

works on various sciences, but most of allpreparing his works of controversy andseeking to propagate his ideas of worldconquest. In one of his books he praysfervently that "monks of holy lz'ves andgreat wisdom should form institutions inorder to learn varz'ous languages and to bea1Jle to preach to unbelievers." The timeswere not ripe..

A t length, tired of seeking aid for hisplans in which no one took interest, hedetermined to test the power of example.Altho in his fifty-sixth year, he determinedto set out alone and single-handed andpreach Christ in North Africa. Of thisfirst missionary voyage our next chaptercontains an account.

On his return from Tunis, 1292, Lullfound his way to Naples. Here a new influence was brought to bear on his character. He made the acquaintance of thealchemist and pious nobleman, Arnaud

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Bt lmontpelltert Partst ant) 'Rome

de Villeneuve. Whether Lull actuallyacquired skill in transmuting metals andwrote some of the many works on alchemythat are attributed to him, will perhapsnever be decided. I rather think this partof the story is medieval legend. But surelya man of Lull's affections imbibed a greatdeal of that spirit which brought down onArnold of Villeneuve the censure of theChurch for holding that "medicine andcharity were more pleasing to God thanreligious services." Arnold taught that themonks had corrupted the doctrine of Christ,and that saying masses is useless; andthat the papacy is a work of man. Hiswritings were condemned by the Inquisition, as were also the works of Lull. Perhaps these brothers in heresy were reallyProtestants at heart, and their friendshipwas like that of the friends of God.

For the next few years the scene ofLull's labors changed continually. He first

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JJfogravbp of 'Rapmunt) 1ull

went back to Paris, resumed· his teachingthere, and wrote his H Tabula Generalis"and H Ars Expositiva." In 1298 he succeeded in establishing at Paris, under theprotection of King Louis Philippe Ie Bel, acollege where his method was taught. Butall France was in a ferment at this timebecause of the war against the KnightsTemplars and the struggle with Pope Boniface VIII. There was little leisure tostudy philosophy and no inclination to become propagandists among the Saracens.

Lull's thoughts again turned to Rome.But, alas l Rome in the thirteenth centurywas the last place of all Europe in whichto find the spirit of self-sacrifice or the spiritof Christian missions. About the year1274 the cessation of Church miracles wasurged by an upholder of the crusade spiritas compelling the Church to resort to arms.Pope Clement IV. (1265-68) advised fighting Islam by force of arms. As a rule, the

74


Bt .montpellter, ~arts, anl) 'Rome

. popes clung to the crusade idea as the idealof missions.

Lull visited Rome the second time be~

tween 1294 and 1296. He had heard ofthe elevation of Celestine V. to the papalchairtand with some reason hoped that thisPope would favor his cause. Celestine wasa man of austeritYt the founder of an orderof friars, and zealous for the faith. On thefifteenth of July, 1294t he was elected, but,compelled by the machinations of his successor, resigned his office on December13 of the same year. He was cruelly imprisoned by the new Pope, Boniface VI I I.,and. died two years later. Boniface wasbold, avaricioust and domineering. Hisambitions centered in himself. He carriedhis schemes for self-aggrandizement to theverge of frenzy, and afterward became insane. Lull found neither sympathy norassistance in this quarter.

From 1299 to 1306, when he made his75


second great journey to North Africa, Lullpreached and taught in various places, aswe shall see later.

In 1310 the veteran hero, now seventyfive years old, attempted once more to influence the heart of Christendom and topersuade the pope to make the Churchtrue to its great mission.

Full of his old ardor, since he himselfwas unable to attempt the great plans ofspiritual conquest that consumed his v,eryheart, he conceived the idea of foundingan order of spiritual knights who should beready to preach to the Saracens and sorecover the tomb of Christ by a crusade oflove.· Pious noblemen and ladies of rankat Genoa offered to contribute for this object the sum of thirty thousand guilders.Much encouraged by this proof of interest,

-Not. as wrongly stated in some articles about Lull, a proposal to use force of arms. Cf. Noble. p. u6. and Maclear.p. 366, with footnote in latter from "Liber Contemplationisin Deo," exii.. II.


tit lmontpelltet, 'Pans, ant) 'Rome

Lull set out for Avignon to lay his schemebefore the pope, Clement V. He wasthe first pope who fixed his residenceat Avignon, thus beginning the so-called"Babylonian Captivity tI of the papacy.Contemporaneous writers accuse him oflicentiousness, nepotism, simony, and avarice. It is no wonder that, with such aman holding the keys of authority, Lullagain knocked at the door of "the vicarof Christ" all in vain.

Once more Lull returned to Paris, and,strong in mind altho feeble in frame, attacked the Arabian philosophy of Averroesand wrote in defense of the faith and thedoctrines of revelation.· A t Paris heheard that a general conference was to be

* See the bibliography and consult Renan's .. Averrhoes etI'Averrhoisme" for particulars of his method and success.The Averroists from the thirteenth century onward opposedreason to faith. Lull's great task was to show that they werenot irreconcilable, but mutually related and in harmony. Itwas, in fact, the battle of faith against agnosticism.

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:l3iograpbl1 of 'Ral?munl) 1ull..

summoned at Vienne, three hundred milesaway in the south of France, on October16, 1311. A general council might favorwhat popes had scarcely deigned to notice.So he retraced the long journey he hadjust taken. Nearly three hundred prelateswere present at the council. The combatof heresies, the abrogation of the order ofTemplars, proposals for new crusades, anddiscussions as to the legitimacy of BonifaceVIII. occupied the most attention. Nevertheless the council gave heed to at leastone of Lull's proposals, and passed a decree that professorships of the Oriental languages should be endowed in the universities of Paris, Salamanca, and Oxford, andin all cities where the papal court resided.

Thus, at last, he had lived to see oneportion of his lifelong pleadings broughtto fruition. Who is able to follow out theresult for missions of these first Orientallanguage chairs in European universities

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Dt montpellter, ~arts, anb 'Rome

even as far as saintly Martyn and Ion KeithFalconer, Arabic professor at Cambridge?For this great idea of missionary prepara~

tion in the schools Lull fought singl~

handed from early manhood to old age,until he stood on the threshold of success.He anticipated Loyola, Zinzendorf,andDuff in linking schools to missions; andhis fire of passion for this object equaled,if not surpassed their zeal.

79


CHAPTER VI

HIS FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEYTO TUNIS

(A.D. 1291-1292)

.. In that bright sunny landAcross the tideless sea, where long agoProud Carthage reared its walls, beauteous and fair,And large Phenician galleys laden deepWith richest stores, sailed bravely to and froWhere Gospel light in measure not unmixedWith superstitions vain, burned for a time,And spread her peaceful conquests far and wide,And gave her martyrs to the scorching fireThere dwells to-day a darkness to be felt;Each ray of that once rising, growing lightFaded and gone." -Anon.

~VVHEN Raymund Lull met with disappointment on his first visit to Rome, he returned for a short time to Paris, as we haveseen, and then determined to set out as amissionary indeed to propagate the faith

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,trst mtsstonarp30Urne» to 1tunts

among the Moslems of Africa. Lull wasat this time fifty-six years old, and travel inthose days was full of hardship by land andby sea. The very year in which Lull setout, news reached Europe of the fall ofAcre and the end of Christian power inPalestine. All Northern Africa was in thehands of the Saracens, and they were atonce elated at the capture of Acre anddriven to the height of fanaticism by thepersecution of the Moors in Spain. Itwasa bold step that Lull undertook. But hecounted not his life dear in the project,and was ready, so he thought, to ventureall on the issue. He expected to win bylove and persuasion; at least, in his ownwords, he would "experiment whether hehimself could not persuade some of themby conference with their wise men and bymanifesting to them, according to thedivinely given Method, the Incarnationof the Son of God and the three Persons

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1Uograpb» or 'Ra»munb 1u1l

of the Blessed Trinity in the Divine Unityof Essence.H

• Lull proposed a parliamentof religions, and desired to meet the baldmonotheism of Islam face to face with therevelation of the Father, the Son, and theHoly Spirit.

Lull left Paris for Genoa,. which was thenthe rival of Venice and contended withher for the supremacy of the Mediterranean. In the thirteenth century Genoawas at the height of its prosperity, and thesuperb palaces of that date still witness tothe genius of her artists and the wealth ofher merchant princes.

At Genoa the story of Lull's life was notunknown. Men had heard with wonder ofthe miraculous conversion of the gay anddissolute seneschal; and now it was whispered that he had devised a new and certain method for converting the "infidel"and was setting out all alone for the shores

* .. Vita Prima:' in II Acta Sanctorum, .. p. 633.82


'irst mtssionar» journe» to 1tunts

of Africa. The expectations of the peoplewere raised to a high pitch. A vessel wasfound ready to sail for Africa and Lull'spassage was engaged. The ship was lyingin the harbor; the missionary's books,even, had been conveyed on board. Allwas ready for the voyage and the venture.

But at this juncture a change came overhim. Lull says that he was" overwhelmedwith terror at the thought of what mightbefall him in the country whither he wasgoing. The idea of enduring torture orlifelong imprisonment presented itself withsuch force that he could not control hisemotions."· Such a strong reaction afterhis act of faith in. l~aving Paris must notsurprise us. Similar experiences are notrare in the lives of missionaries. HenryMartyn wrote in his journal as the shoresof Cornwall were disappearing: "Wauld Igo back? Oh, no. But how can I be suP"'

* .. Vita Prima," in .. Acta Sanctorum," p. 664.83


J3fograpb» of 'Ral?munb 1u11

ported? My faith fails. I find, by experience, I am as weak as water. 0 my dearfriends in England, when we spoke withexaltation of the missions to the heathen,what an imperfect idea did we form of thesufferings by which it must be accom~

plished l " Lull had to face a darker andmore uncertain future than did Martyn.His faith failed. His books were takenback on shore and the ship sailed withouthim.

However, no sooner did he receive ti~

dings of the vessel's departure than he wasseized with bitter remorse. His passionatelove for Christ could not bear the thoughtthat he had proved a traitor to the cause forwhich God had specially fitted and calledhim. He felt that he had given opportunity for those who scoff at Christ's religionto mock Him and His great mission. Sokeen was his sorrow that he was throwninto a violent fever. While yet suffering

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,frst.tl)lssfonarp SOurnel1 to 'ttunfs

from weakness of .body and prostration ofmind, he heard that another ship was readyin the harbor and loaded to sail for theport of Tunis. Weak tho he was, hebegged his friends to put his books onboard and asked them to permit him to attempt the voyage. He was taken to theship, but his friends, convinced that he couldnot outlive the voyage, insisted on his beingagain landed. Lull returned to his bed,but did not find rest or recuperation. Hisold passion consumed him; he felt thecontrition of Jonah and cried with Paul," W0 is me if I preach not." Anothership offering fit opportunity, he determinedat all risks to be put on board.

I t is heroic reading to follow Lull in hisautobiography as he tells how" from thismoment he was a new man." The vesselhad hardly lost sight of land before all feverleft him; his conscience no more rebukedhim for cowardice, peace of mind returned,

85


J3tograpbP of 'RapmunD 1ull

and he seemed to have regained perfecthealth. Lull reach~d Tunis at the end ofthe year 1291 or early in 1292.-

Why did the philosophic missionarychoose Tunis as his first point of attack onthe citadel of Islam? The answer is notfar to seek.

Tunis, the present capital of the countryof the same name, was founded by theCarthaginians, but first rose to importanceunder the Arab conquerors of North Africa,who gave it its present name; this comesfrom an Arabic root which signifies "toenjoy oneself." t Tunis was the usualport for those going from Kairwan (thatMecca of all North Africa) to Spain. In1236, when the Hafsites displaced the AImohade dynasty, Abu Zakariyah made ithis capital. When the fall of Bagdad left

* II Vita Prima," in II Acta Sanctorum,o, p. 664. Neander'sII Memorials," p. 527, and Maclear, p. 361..

tAl Mulltataf, February number, 1901, P•. 79.86


,frst mfsstonar» ~ourne» to 1tunts

Islam without a titular head (1258) theHafsites assumed the title of Prince ofthe Faithful and extended their rule fromTlemc;en to Tripoli. The dignity of theTunisian rulers was acknowledged even inCairo and Mecca, and so strong were theyin their government that, unaided, theyheld their own against repeated Frankishinvasions. The Seventh Crusade endeddisastrously before Tunis. Tunis was infact the western center of the Moslemworld in the thirteenth century. WhereSt. Louis failed as a king with his greatanny, Raymund Lull ventured on hisspiritual crusade single-handed.

Tunis is on an isthmus between two saltlakes and is connected with the port ofGoletta by an ancient canal. Two buildings still remain from the days of Lull: themosque of Abu Zakariyah in the citadel,and the great Mosque of the Olive Treein the center of the town. The ruins of

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:Etogtapbl1 Of· llal1munb 1ull

Carthage, famous center of early LatinChristianity, lie a few miles north of Goletta. Even now Tunis has a populationof more than 125,000; it was much largerat the period of which we write.

Lull must have arrived at Goletta andthence proceeded to Tunis. His first stepwas to invite the Moslem ulema or literatito a conference, just as did Ziegenbalg inSouth India and John Wilson at Bombay.He announced that he had studied thearguments on both sides of the questionand was willing to submit the evidencesfor Christianity and for Islam to a faircomparison. He even promised that, if hewas convinced, he would embrace Islam.The ·Moslem leaders willingly responded tothe challenge, and coming in great numbersto the conference set forth with much showof learning the miracle of the Koran andthe doctrine of God's unity. After long,tho fruitless discussion, Lull advanced the

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THE OLD CANAL BETWEEN GOLETTA AND TUNIS, NORTH AFRICA.


'frat mfaafonat» ~ournep to 1tunts

following propositions,· which are well calculated to strike the two weak points ofMohammedan monotheism: lack of love inthe be£ng of Allah, and lack ofharmony inHis attributes. "Every wise man mustacknowledge that to be the true reli.gion,which ascribed the greatest perfection tothe Supreme Being, and not only conveyedthe worthiest conception of all His attributes, His goodness, power, wisdom', andglory, but demonstrated the harmony andequality existing between them. Now the£rreligion was defective in acknowledgingonly two active principles in the Deity,His will and His wisdom, while it left Hisgoodness and greatness inoperative as thothey were indolent qualities and not calledforth into active exercise. But the Christian faith could not be charged with this

• See them in full in II Vita Prima," p. 665. and .. LiberContemplationis in Deo." liv., 25-28, etc. Maclear gives thesummary as quoted above. pp. 362. 363.

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J3fograpbl1 of 'Rapmunt) S,ull

defect. In its doctrine of the Trinity itconveys the highest conception of theDeity, as the Father, the Son, and theHoly Spirit in one simple essence and na~

ture. In the Incarnation of the Son itevinces the harmony that exists betweenGod's goodness and His greatness; and inthe person of Christ displays the true unionof the Creator and the creature; while inHis Passion which He underwent out ofHis great love for man, it sets forth thedivine harmony of infinite goodness andcondescension, even the condescension ofHim who f?,r us men, and our salvation,and restitution to our primeval state ofperfection, underwent those sufferings andlived and died for man."

This style of argument, whatever elsemay be thought of it, is orthodox andevangelical to the core. It surprises onecontinually to see how little medieval theology and how very few Romish ideas there

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,-irst mtssionar12 3-ournel1 to 'ttunts

are in Lull's writings. The offense of thecross is met everywhere iLl Lull's argument with Moslems. He never built arickety bridge out of planks of compromise. His early Parliament of Religionswas not built on the Chicago platform.The result proved it when persecution followed. There were some who acceptedthe truth • and others who turned fanatics.One Imam pointed out to the Sultan thedanger likely to beset the law of Mohammedif such a zealous teacher were allowedfreely to expose the errors of Islam, andsuggested that Lull be imprisoned and putto death. He was cast into a dungeon,and was only saved from a worse fate bythe intercession of a less prejudiced leader.This man praised his intellectual abilityand reminded the ruler that a Moslem who

* .. Disposcerat viros lamasa': reputationis et alios quamplurimos ad baptismum quos toto animo affectabat deduceread perfectum lumen fidei orthodoxre."-" Vita. S. Lulli."

9 1


J3tograpb~ of 'ltanmunb ~ull

imitated the self-devotion of the prisonerin preaching Islam would be highly honored. The spectacle of a learned and agedChristian philosopher freely disputing thetruth of the Koran in the midst of Tuniswas indeed a striking example of moralcourage in the dark ages. "This," saysDr. Smith, "was no careless Crusadercheered by martial glory or worldly pleasure. His was not even such a task as thatwhich had called forth all the courage ofthe men who first won over Goth andFrank, Saxon and Slav. Raymund Lullpreached Christ to a people with whomapostasy is death and who had made Christendom feel their prowess for centuries."Even his enemies were amazed at suchboldness of devotion.

The death-sentence was changed to banishment from the country. Well mightLull rejoice that escape was possible, sincethe death-penalty on Christians was often

92


,irst .mtsstonar» 3-ourne» to 'ttunts

applied with barbarous cruelty.- Yet Lullwas not ready to submit even to the sentence of banishment, and so leave his littlegroup of converts to themselves withoutinstruction or leadership.

The ship which had conveyed him toTunis was on the point of returning toGenoa; he was placed on board and warnedthat if he ever made his way into the country again he would assuredly be stoned todeath. Raymund Lull, however, felt that,with the apostles, it was not for him toobey their "threatening that he shouldspeak henceforth to no man in this Name."Perhaps also he felt that his cowardice atGenoa when setting out demanded atonement. A t any rate he managed to escapefrom the ship by strategy and to returnunawares to the harbor town of Goletta indefiance of the edict of banishment. For

*See instances given in Muir's .. Mameluke Dynasty."pp. 41 , 48, 75, etc.

93


three long months the zealous missionaryconcealed himself like a wharf-rat and witnessed quietly for his Master. Such wasthe character of his versatile genius thatwe read how at this time, even, he composed a new scientific work!

But since his favorite missionary methodof public discussion was entirely impossible, he finally embarked for Naples,where for several years he taught andlectured on his New Method. And later,as we have already seen, he revisitedRome.

It is evident from all of Lull's writings,as well as from the writings of his biographers, that his preaching to the Moslemswas not so much polemical as apologetic.He always speaks of their philosophy andlearning with respect. The very titles ofhis controversial writings prove the tactand love of his method. It was weak onlyin that it placed philosophy ahead of re-

94


rtrst tmtsstonarp 50urne» to 'tunts

velation, and therefore at times attemptedto explain what must ever remain a mystery of faith.

As a theologian, we should remember,Lull was not a schoolman, nor did he everreceive instruction from the great teachersof his time. He was a self-taught man.The speculative and the practical wereblended in his character and also in hissystem. "His speculative turn enteredeven into his enthusiasm for the cause ofmissions and his zeal as an apologist. Hiscontests with the school of Averroes, andwith the sect of that school which affirmedthe irreconcilable opposition between faithand knowledge, would naturally lead himto make the relation subsisting betweenthese two a matter of special investiga-t · " •Ion.

Lull did not go to Naples because hehad given up the battle. He went to bur-

* Neander: "Church History:' iv•• p.436.9S


J3fograpbp of 'Rapmunt) ~ulI

nish his weapons and to win recruits and toappeal to the popes to arm for a spiritualcrusade against the strongest enemy of thekingdom of Christ. When, as we haveseen in a previous chapter, these effortsproved nearly fruitless, he made other missionary journeys, and in 13°7 was again onthe shores of North Africa, fifteen yearsafter his first banishment.


CHAPTER VII

OTHER MISSIONARY JOURNEYS

(A.D. 1301-1309)

II In an age of violence and faithlessness he was the apostleof heavenly love."-George Sm;tk.

.. Yea, so have 1 strived to preach the Gospel not whereChrist was named, lest I should build upon another man'sfoundation. "-Paul.

FROM 1301 to 1309 Lull made severalmissionary journeys which are the moreremarkable if we consider that he was nowsixty-six years old and if we think of theconditions of travel in the Middle Ages.The Mediterranean was beset with piratesand the Catalan Grand Company werefighting the Byzantines, while Genoa andVenice waged a war of commercial rivalry.The Knights of St. John were fighting forRhodes and the rival popes were'quarreling.

97


Travel by sea was dangerous and by landwas full of hardship. In the Middle Agesthe use of carriages was prohibited as tend~

ing to render vassals less fit for military serv~

.ice. As late as the sixteenth centl:lry itwas accounted a reproach for men to ridein them, and only ladies of rank used suchconveyances. Men of all grades and professions rode on horses or mules, and sometimes the monks and women on she-asses.Highway robbers infested the forests, andthe danger from wild animals had not yetceased even in the south of Europe.. In spite of all obstacles, however, we read

that Lull" resolved to travel from place toplace and preach wherever he might haveopportunity." His purpose seems to havebeen to reach Jews and Christian hereticsas well as Saracens.· After laboring fot

* II Accessit ad regem Cypri affectu multo supplicans ei,quatenus quosdam infideles atque schisQUlticos videlicetJacobinos. Nestorinos. Maronites, ad suam praedicationetnnecnon disputationem coarctaret venire."-MtUlear,p.,16". II.

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A VENETIAN GALLEY OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

(Copied from an Old Print.)


"tber .mtsstonatl] 3-ournel1s

some time with the Jews in Majorca hesailed for Cyprus, landing at Famagosta,the chief port and fortress during the Genoese occupancy of the island. Cyprus atthat time had a large population of Jewsas well as of Christians and Moslems.Lull's preaching probably did not meetwith success, for he soon left the islandand, attended only by a single companion,crossed over to Syria and penetrated intoArmenia, striving to reclaim the variousOriental sects to the orthodox faith.

Armenia, in the thirteenth century, wasthe name of a small principality to thenorth of Cilicia, under a native dynasty.With Cyprus it formed the last bulwarkof Christianity against Islam in the East.For fear of being crushed by the Moslempowers the Armenians formed allianceswith the Mongolian hordes that overranAsia and shared in the hostility and vengeance of the Mamelukes. Among this

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brave remnant and bulwark of the faith thateven to our own day has resisted unto bloodthe aggressive spirit of Islam, Lull laboredfor more than a year. It was in Anneniathat he wrote his book entitled, fC Thethings which a man ought to believe concerning God." Written in Latin, it wasafterward translated for his Spanish countrymen into Catalan. lit

From Cyprus Lull returned once more toItaly and France, where from 1302 to 1305

he traveled about lecturing in the universities and writing more books. Before wespeak of his second journey to North Africa,a few words should set forth the characterof his love and labors for the despised Jew.

Scattered throughout every kingdomand island of Europe, the Jews had attained in many lands power and influenceboth because of their learning and theirwealth. In Spain under the Saracen

* See HeUJericb, p. 86, note, and No. 225 in Bibliography A.100


G'tber tmlsslonsrv 3'ourne12s

supremacy they enjoyed ample toleration,but, in proportion as the Moors weredriven out and the Christians becamepowerful, the Jews suffered. As early asIIo8a riot broke out in Toledo against theJews and the streets streamed with theirblood. All through the twelfth and thirteenth centuries dark stories were told ofthe hostility of the Jews. It was said thatthey poisoned wells, stole the consecratedwafers to pierce them with a needle, andcrucified infants at their Passover festivalsand used their entrails for magic and secret rites! In 1253 the Jews were expelledfrom France and in 1290 from England.Many were put to death by the Inquisition, and there were very few Christianswho dared to defend a Jew in court. Achild could not be missed without somefoul play being suspected on the part of aJew. In vain a few pious monks protested against such accusations and tried

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to befriend the outcast race. The wholespirit of the times was to class 1ews andMoslems as infidels and as worthy ofhatred and contempt. If possible, thehatred against the Jews was stronger inSpain than elsewhere. During the closingyears of Lull's life there were alreadykindled in Spain the fires of bitter, cruelpersecution which at last, under Torquemada, consumed the entire race of theJews in that country.-

In· the thirteenth century, in almost alllands, the 1ews were compelled to wear aninsulting badge, the so-called " Jew's hat,"a yellow, funnel-shaped covering on thehead, and a ring of red cloth on the breast.They were also compelled to herd togetherin the cities in the ghetto or Jewish quarter, which was often surrounded by a special waII.t

* Mac1ear, p. 381 et seq-.t Kurtz: "Church History," vol. ii., p. 23.

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This despised, race however, was notoutside the circle of Lull's love and interest. He wrote many books to prove tothem the truth of the Christian religion.*He showed them that their expected Messiah was none other than 1esus of Nazareth. His great mission to the Saracensin Africa did not blind him to the needs

,

of missions at home, and we read how,in 1305 and even earlier, he labored toconvince the Jews in Majorca of theirerrors. In an age when violence andfaithlessness were the only treatmentwhich Jews expected from CQristians,Raymund Lull was the apostle of loveto them also.

There is a story or legend to the effectthat, about this time, Lull paid a short visitto England and wrote a work on alchemy

• Of these works the following are extant: '1 Liber contraJudaeos," II Liber de Refonnatione Hcbraica:" and .. Liberde Adventu Messiz.""

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JJfograpbp or 'Ra12munl) 2,ull

at St. Catharine's Hospital in London.*But we have no good testimony for thisevent, and the legend probably arose fromconfounding Lull the missionary with another Lull who was celebrated for hisknowledge of alchemy. In the "ActaSanctorum" a special article is devoted toprove that Lull never taught or practisedthe arts of medieval alchemy.

We now come to his journey to NorthAfrica, on which he set out in 1307, probably from some port in France or fromGenoa. This time he did not go to Tunis,but to Bugia. Some say he visited Hippone and Algiers as well. A special interest attaches to the town of Bugia in thestory of Lull's life as it was here he preachedto Moslems in his old age and here was thescene of his death.

Bugia, or Bougiah, is a fortified seaport

*See Mac1ear, p. 367, note, who quotes authorities for thelegend.

1°4


THE HARBOR OF BUGIA, NORTH AFRICA.


~tbet mtsstonat! 3-ourneV9

in Algeria between Cape Carbon and WadySahil. Its most important buildings atpresent are the French Roman Catholicchurch, the hospital, the barracks, and theold Abdul Kadir fort, now useclas a prison.At present it has but a small population,yet conducts a considerable trade in wax,grain, oranges, oil, and wine.

Bugia is a town of great antiquity; it isthe Salda of the Romans and was firstbuilt by the Carthaginians. Genseric theVandal surrounded it with walls. In thetenth century it became the chief commer·cial city of all North Africa under the BeniHammad sultans. The Italian merchantsof the twelfth and thirteenth centuries hadnumerous buildings of their own in the city1

such as warehouses, baths, and churches.In the filteenth century Bugia became ahaunt for pirates; after that time it lost itsprosperity and importance.

Our photograph shows the ruins of the1°5


:ltograpb17 of 'Ral1mun~ 1ull

old gateway from the harbor, which datesfrom the eleventh century, and throughwhich Lull must have entered the town.*

Altho there were Christian merchants inBugia, they were a small minority, and wereable to secure commercial freedom .andfavor only by avoiding all religious controversyand keeping their light carefullyunder a bushel. One can read in the hig..tory of the Mameluke dynasty, which ruledEgypt at this period, how Christians wereregarded and treated by the Saracens. Sofar as possible the odious edict of GmarII. was reimposed and its intolerant rulesenforced.

The Mameluke sultan Nasir, tI a jealous,cruel, suspicious., and avaricious tyrant,"extended his power over Tunis and Bugiafrom 1308-1320. He was fanatical as wellas cruel, and one has only to read howChristian chutches were destroyed, Chrig..tians burned or mutilated, and their prop-

* See page 140.

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4'tber ~tsstonatl? 30Urneps

erty confiscated in the capital, to· knowwhat must have been the state of theprovinces.*

Raymund Lull no sooner came to Bugia.than he found his way to a public place,stood up boldly, and proclaimed in theArabic l~nguage that Christianity was theonly true faith, and expressed his willingness to prove this to the satisfaction of all.We know not what the exact nature of hisargument was on this occasion, but ittouched the character of Mohammed. Acommotion ensued and many hands werelifted to do him violence.

The mufti, or chief of the Moslem clergy,rescued him and expostulated with him onhis madness in thus exposing himself toperil.

"Death," Lull replied, "has no terrorswhatever for a sincere servant of Christwho is laboring to bring souls to a knowl-

*Sir William Muir: .. The Mameluke Dynasty," pp. 67-87.107


J3tograpb12 of 'Ra12munb 2,ull

edge of the truth.H After this the mufti,who must have been well versed in Arabianphilosophy, challenged Lull for proofs ofthe superiority of Christ's religion overthat of Mohammed.

One of Lull's arguments, given in hiscontroversial books, consists in presentingto the Saracens the Ten Commandmentsas the perfect law of God, and then showing from their own books that Mohammed violated every one of these divineprecepts. Another favorite argument ofLull with Moslems was to portray theseven cardinal virtues and the seven deadlysins, only to show subsequently how bareIslam was of the former and how fullof the latter [ Such arguments are tobe used with care even in the twentiethcentury; we can imagine their effect onthe Moslems in the north of Africa inLull's day.

Persecution followed. He was flung108


G'tber mtsstonarl? 3-ourne»s

into a dungeon and for half a year remaineda close prisoner, befriended only by somemerchants of Genoa and Spain, who tookpity on the aged champion of their common faith.

Meanwhile riches, wives, high place, andpower were offered the Christian philosopher if only he would abjure his faithand turn Moslem. This was Lull's reply,from the depth of his dungeon, to all theirenticements: "Ye have for me wives andall sorts of worldly pleasure if I accept thelaw of Mohammed? Alas r ye offer a poorprize, as all your earthly goods can notpurchase eternal glory. I, however, promise you, if ye will forsake your false anddevilish law, which was spread by swordand force alone, and if -ye accept my belief,Eternal Life, for the Christian faith waspropagated by preaching and by the bloodof holy martyrs. Therefore I advise youto become Christians even now, and so

109


:Etograpbl1 Of 'Ral1munb 1u1l

obtain everlasting glory and escape thepains of hell."· Such words, from the lipsof a man seventy~three years old, in perfectcommand of the Arabic tongue, learned inthe wisdom of the Arabian philosophy, andfrom whose eyes flashed earnest zeal forthe truth, must have come with tremen~

dous force.While he tarried in prison, Lull proposed

that both parties should write a defense oftheir faith. He was busy fulfilling his partof the agreement when a sudden commandof the governor of Bugia directed that hebe deported. Whether the reason of thiscommand was the results that followedLull's preaching, we know not. His biog~

raphers indicate that Lull was visited inprison by Moslems who again and againurged him to apostatize. " During his imprisonment they plied him for six months

• Keller: .. Geisteskampf u. z. w.," pp. 59,60. Mac1ear.P·365.

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4'tber mtsstonarv 3-ournel1s

with all the sensual temptations of Islam." *

This must have been a bitter experiencefor the missionary in recalling the sins ofhis youth and the vision of his early man..hood.

.. But I amid the torture and the tauntingI have had Thee !

Thy hand was holding my hand fast and faster,Thy voice was close to me ;

And glorious eyes said, •Follow Me, thy Master.Smile. as I smile tby faithfulness to see. • ..

Raymund Lull left Bugia practically aprisoner, since the Moslems did not wishto have repeated the incident that followedhis embarking at Tunis..During the voyage, however, a storm arose and the vesselwas almost wrecked off the Italian coastnear Pisa. Here he was rescued and received with all respect by those who hadheard of his fame as a philosopher and

* .. Promittebant ei uxores, bonores, domuIn. et pecuniamcopiosam."-" Vita Prima," chap. iv.

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..missionary. From Pisa, Lull went by wayof Genoa to Paris; of his work there andat the Council of Vienne we have alreadygiven an account.

The prologue of John's Gospel in Catalan, the language of Lull;

LO EVANGELI DE JESU-CHRIST8BQon

SANT JOAN.

CAP. 1. 5 Y la 1I1lm respt~lleteis ell ...~ fttnl4 JI divittitat del Vall: Sit tenebras, y lu t~nebrasno 1a com

_mtIriW IUtilJl<mi de Jorm .BGJlm- prenguerell.f#<IlOClICi6 elm primer.~lu. 6 Hi hagu6 un home envl'at de

EN 10 principi era 10 Verb,_ ,10 Deu que !;'anomenll.va Joao.Verb era ab Den.llo Verb 7 Est'vingn6 d .emr de teati

era {ku. . moni, pera testifiear de II' llnm, ,2 Ell era ell 10 prinefpi pb Den. it de que tots crcgnes8en per mea Per ell foren fetas totas las co- di d'ell•

.... y 8608 ell ningnn& cosa fou 8 No. era ell lao IInm, lin6 ,..feta de 10 qne ba estat fet. viaC pen donar testimoui de b

4. En ell era I.. vida" Ill. vida Ilnm.•n.1a UUal dela homes. . 9 AlI'udl era Ill. verdadera Dam

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THE TOWER AND TOWN OF BUGIA, NORTH AFRICA.


CHAPTER VIII

RAYMUND LULL AS PHILOSOPHERAND AUTHOR

•• He was at once a philosophical systematizer and ananalytic chemist,·a skilful· mariner and a successful propagator of Christianity,"-Humboldt's •• Cosmos," ii., 629•

.. Of making many books there is no end, and much studyis a weariness of the flesh."-Ecclesiastes.

IT will be difficult in one short chapterto crowd an account of Lull's philosophy,which for two centuries after his death pel'plexed the genius of Europe, and to enumerate even a small number of the vastlibrary of books which have Lull for theirauthor. One does not know which to admire most-the versatile character of thegenius, or the prodigious industry of theauthor.

Raymund Lull was from his youth aII3


JJtograpbl1 of Ral1munD 1ulI

master of Catalan and wrote in it long before his conversion. Of his works in thatlanguage there exists no complete catalog. One of Lull's biographers statesthat the books written by Lull numberfour thousand I In the first published edition of his works (1721), two hundred andeighty-two titles are given; yet only fortyfive of these, when printed, took up tenlarge folio volumes. To understand something of the scope and ambition of thisgenius-intellect, one must read the partiallist of his books given in the bibliographyat the close of this volume. Lull was aphilosopher, a poet, a novelist, a writer ofproverbs, a keen logician, a deep theologian, and a fiery controversialist. Therewas not a science cultivated in his age towhich he did not add. The critical historian Winsor states that in 1295 Lull wrotea handbook on navigation which was notsuperseded by a better until after Colum-

II 4-


Pbtlosopber an~ Butbot

bus. Dr. George Smith credits Lull withthe independent invention of the mariner'scompass; and not without reason, for wefind repeated references to the magneticneedle in his devotional books.* He wrotea treatise on "the weight of the elements"and their shape; on the sense of smell; onastronomy, astrology, arithmetic, and geometry. One of his books is entitled, "Onthe squaring and triangulation of the circle." In medieval medicine, jurisprudence,and metaphysics he was equally at home.His seven volumes on medicine includeone book on the use of the mind in curingthe sick! And another on the effect ofclimate on diseases.

• See" Liber de Miraculis Cedi et Mundi," part vi., onIman. Calamita.

•'As the needle naturally turns to the north when it istouched by the magnet so it is fitting," etc.-" Liber Contemptationis in Deo."

In his treatise" Fenix des les Maravillas del Orbes," published in r::86, he again alludes to the use of the mariner'scompass. See Humboldt: .. Cosmos," ii" 630 n.

lIS


J3fograpbl? of 'Ral?mun~ 2,ull

He was a dogmatic theologian, and wrotesixty-three volumes of theological discussion, some of which are so abstruse as toproduce doubt whether their author earnedthe title of "Doctor Illuminatus,H givenhim by his contemporaries. Other titlesamong his theological writings there arewhich awaken curiosity, such as: "On theMost Triune Trinity u; "On the Form ofGod"; "On the Language of the Angels,"etc.

Among the sixty-two books of meditation and devotion which are preserved inthe lists of Lull's writings, there are noneon the saints, and only six treat of theVirgin Mary. This is one of the manyproofs in Lull's books that he was more ofa Catholic than a Romanist, and that heesteemed Christ more than all the saints ofthe papal calendar. One of his books ofdevotion is entitled, "On the One H undred Names of God," and was evidently

116


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prepared for the use of Moslems who wereseeking the light.-

Raymund Lull wrote or collected threebooks of proverbs, one of which containssix thousand popular sayings and maxims.Here are a few out of many beautiful gemsto be found in this collection:

.. Deum dilige, ut ipsum timeas."

.. Pax est participatio sine labore."

.. Deus exemplum dedit de sua unitate in natura. "

.. Fortitudo est vigor cordis contra maliciam."" Divitiae sunt copiositates voluntatis.",. Praedestinatio est scire Dei qui scit homines.".. Deus adeo magnum habet recolere quod nihil obliviscitur."

Among Lull's works there are twenty onlogic and metaphysics. One of the latterhas the title, "On the Greatness and theLittleness of Man." Among his sermonsand books on preaching there is only onecommentary. That, in accord with Lull's

*According to Moslem teaching, Allah has one hundredbeautiful names. The Moslem's rosary has one hundredbeads, and to count these names is a, devotional exercise.

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J3fograpbl2 of 'R411munb 1ull)

mission and character, is a commentary onthe prolog of John's Gospel.

Of making many controversial booksthere was no end in the days of Lull. Hiswritings in this department, however, arenot, as are those of his contemporaries,against heretics to condemn them, withtheir errors, to ecclesiastical perdition.Even the titles of his controversial writings

.show his irenic spirit and his desire to conw

vert rather than to convince. All throughhis books there runs the spirit of earnestdevotion; even his natural philosophy isfull of the world to come and its glories.A t the end of one of his books he burstsout with this prayer: "0 Lord, my help Itill this work is completed thy servant cannot go to the land of the Saracens to glorifyThyglOriou5 name, for I am 50 occupiedwith this book which I undertake for Thinehonor that I can think of nothing else.For this reason I beseech Thee for that

II8


~btlosopber anb Butbor

grace, that Thou wouldst stand by me thatI may soon finish it and speedily depart todie the death of a martyr out of love toThee, if it shall please Thee to count meworthy of it."

In 1296 he concluded a work on thelogic of Christianity with this seraph-songto the key o{ world-wide missions: "LetChristians consumed with burning love forthe cause of faith only consider that sincenothing has power to withstand truth, theycan by God's help and His might bringinfidels back to the faith; so that theprecious name of Jesus, which in mostregions is still unknown to most men, maybe proclaimed and adored." And again:cc As my book is finished on the vigils ofJohn the Baptist, who was the herald ofthe light, and pointed to Him who is thetrue light, may it please our Lord to kindlea new light of the world which may guideunbelievers to conversion, that with us they

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:Efograpbl1 of 'lRal2munl) 1uU

may meet Christ, to whom be honor andpraise world without end." This is not thelanguage of pious rhetoric, but the passion.ate outcry of a soul hungry for the comingof the Kingdom.

Lull was a popular author. He wrotenot only in learned Latin, but in the vernacular of his native land. Noble callshim the Moody of the thirteenth century.He tried to reach the masses. His influence on popular religious ideas in Spainwas so great, through his Catalan hymnsand proverbs and catechisms, that Helfferich compares him to Luther and callshim a reformer before the Refonnation.llf

He made the study of theology popularby putting its commonplaces into verse, sothat the laity could learn by heart the summary of the Catholic faith and meet Mos-

* .. Der Protestantismus in Spanienzur Zeit der Reformation." Prot. Monatsblatter v. H. Gelzer, 1856, S. 133-168.Also his" Raymund Lull, u. z. w. ," pp. 152-154.

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lems and Jews with ready-made arguments.Scholasticism was for the clergy; the"Lullian method" was intended for thelaity as well. Raymund Lull had becomediscontented with the methods of scientificinquiry commonly in use, and so set himselfto construct his "Ars Major," or GreaterArt, which by a series of mechanical contrivances and a system of mnemonics wasadapted to answer any question on anytopic. This new philosophy is the keynote of most of Lull's treatises. All hisphilosophical works are but different explanations and phases of the" Ars Major."In his other books he seldom fails tocall attention to this universal key ofknowledge which the great art supplies.

What is the method of Lull's philosophy? The most complete account and themost luminous explanation of its abstruseperplexities is given by Prantl in his" His-

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:Etograpbp .ot 'Rapmun~ 1ull

tory of Logic" (vol. iii., 145-177). This isa summary of it:

The reasonableness and demonstrabilityof Christianity is the real basis of his greatmethod. Nothing, Lull held, interferedmore with the spread of Christian truththa,n the attempt of its advocates to represent its doctrines as undemonstrablemysteries. The very difference betweenChrist and Antichrist lies in the fact thatthe former can prove His truth by miracles,etc., while the latter can not. The glory ofChristianity, Lull argues, is that it does notmaintain the undemonstrable, but simplythe supersensuous. It is not against reason, but above unsanctified reason. Thedemonstration, however, which Lull seeksis not that of ordinary logic. He says thatwe require a method which will reason notonly from effect to cause, or from cause toeffect, but per lEquiparantiam, that is,byshowz"ng that contrary attributes can enst

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together in one sub/eet. This method mustbe real, and not altogether formal or subjective. It must deal with the things themselves, and not merely with second intentions.

Lull's great art goes beyond logic andmetaphysic: it provides a universal artof discovery, and contains the formulre towhich every demonstration in every science can be reduced-being, in fact, a sortof cyclopedia of categories and syllogisms.Lull's" Ars Major" is a tabulation of thedifferent points of view from which propQositions may be framed about objects. It isa mnemonic, or, rather, a mechanical contrivance for ascertaining all possible categories that apply to any possible proposi.tion. Just as by knowing the typicalterminations or conjugations of Arabicgrammar, for example, we can inflect andconjugate any word; so, LuIl reasons, by aknowledge of the different types of exist-

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:l31ogtapbl1 of 'Ral?mun~ 1ull

ence and their possible relations and combinations we should possess knowledge ofthe whole of nature and of all truth asasystem.

"The great art, accordingly, begins bylaying down an alphabet according towhich the nine letters from B to K standfor the different kinds of substances andattributes. Thus in the series of substancesB stands for God, C, angel, D, heaven, E,man, and so on; in the series of absoluteattributes B represents goodness, D, dura~tion, C, greatness; or, again, in the ninequestions of scholastic philosophy B standsfor utrum, C, forqu£d, D, for de quo, etc."By manipulating these letters in stich away as will show the relationship of different objects and predicates you exercise the"new art." This manipulation is effectedby the help of certain so-called "figures"or geometrical arrangements. Their construction differs in various books of Lull's

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philosophy, but their general character ,isthe same. Circles and other figures aredivided into sections by lines or colors, andthen marked by Lull's symbolicallette1;'S soas to show all the possible combinations ofwhich the letters are capable. For example" one arrangement represents thepossible combinations of the attributes ofGod; another, the possible conditions ofthe soul, and so on. These figures arefurther fenced about by various definitionsand rules, and their use is further specifiedby various "evacuations" and U multiplti:a!ions" which show us how to exhaust allthe possible combinations and sets of questions which the terms of our propositionadmit. When so "multzplz'ed," the" fourthfigure" is, in Lull's language, that by whichother sciences can be most readily andaptly acquired; and it may accordinglybe taken as no unfair specimen of Lull '5

method. This" fourth figure" is simply125


J3iograpbl1 of 'Ra12munb 1ull

an arrangement of three concentric circleseach divided into nine sections, B, C, D,etc., and so constructed of pasteboard thatwhen the upper and smaller circle remainsfixed the two lower and outer revolvearound it. Taking the letters in the senseof the series we are then able, by revolvingthe outer circles, to find out the possiblerelationships between different conceptionsand elucidate the agreement or disagreement that exists between them. Meanwhile the middle circle, in similar fashion,gives ,us the intermediate terms by whichthey are to be connected or disconnected.

This Lullian method, of a wheel withina wheel, seems at "first as perplexing as thevisions of Ezekiel and as puerile as theautomatic book-machine in "Gulliver'sTravels." But it would be unfair to saythat Lull supposed" thinking could be reduced to a mere rotation of pasteboard cir..des," or that his art enabled men "to talk

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without judgment of that which we do notknow." Lull sought to give not a com·pendium of knowledge but a method of in·vestigation. He sought a more scientificmethod for philosophy than the dialecticof his contemporaries. In his conceptionof a universal method and his applicationof the vernacular languages to philosophyhe was the herald of Bacon himself. Inhis demand for a reasonaole religion he wasbeyond his age. And, in applying thissystem, weak tho it was, to the conversionof infidels, he proved himself the first missionary philosopher. He perceived thepossibilities (tho not the limitations> of comparative theology and the science of logicas weapons for the missionary.

Nothing will so clearly illustrate the versatile and brilliant character of Lull's genius as to turn from his "Ars Major tt tohis religious novel, "Blanquerna," the greatallegory of the Middle Ages, and the pred·

12 7


Eiograpbl1 of 'Ral1nlunb 1ull

ecessor of Bunyan's" Pilgrim'sProgress.u *In fact, Raymund Lull was the first European who wrote a religious story in thevernacular. The romances of the days ofchivalry were doubtless well known to himbefore his conversion, and what was morenatural than that the missionary knightshould write the romance of his new crusade of love against the Saracens? "Blanquerna U is an allegory in four books. Itssub-title states that it is " a mirror of moralsin all classes of society, and treats of matrimony, religion, prelates, the papacy, andthe hermit's life." It is the story of thepilgrimage of Enast, the hero, who marriesAloma, the daughter of a wealthy widow.Their only child, Blanquerna, desires to bea monk, but falls in love with a beautifuland pious maiden, Dona Cana by name.

* Helfferich, pp. 1 II~122. He holds that the allegory wasfirst written in Arabic and then put into Catalan. Severalmanuscripts of it are extant in the archives of Palma,etc. Itwas first printed in 1521.

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Both, however, decide to remain ascetics.Blanquerna enters a monastery and his fairsweetheart turns nun. The allegory relates the experiences of these characters intheir different surroundings-the pilgrim t

the monkt and the abbess. To borrowwords in another book from Lull himselft

H we see the pilgrim traveling away in distant lands to seek Thee t tho Thou art sonear that every mant if he would t mightfind Thee in his own house and chamber.The pilgrims are so deceived by false men t

whom they meet 'in taverns and churchest

that many of them when they return homeshow themselves to be far worse than theywere when they set out." Dona Cana, theabbess t disputes with her sister nuns theauthority of the priest to bind the conscience t and even draws in question someof the .doctrines of the Church! The various characters bear allegorical names.When Blanquernareaches Rome the Pope

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has a court-jester called U Raymund theFool," who is none other than Lull himself, and who tells the cardinals some raretruths. The four cardinals bear thenames, " We-give-thee-thanks," " LordGod-heavenly-King," "We-glorify-Thee,"and U Thou-only-art-Holy" ! Blanquernafinally becomes Pope and uses his authority in sending out a vast anny of monkmissionaries to convert Jews and Mohammedans.

In various parts of the book songs ofpraise and devotion occur, while the missionary idea is never absent. This remarkable allegory, as well as many other works ofLull, deserves to be rescued from oblivion.The arrival of Blanquerna before the doorof the Enchanted Castle, over whose gateway the Ten Commandments are written,and, within, the solemn conclave of graybeards who discourse on the vanity of theworld, are two scenes that show a genius

13°


J)btlosopber anl) Butbor

equal to that of John Bunyan. There areother resemblances between these two pilgrims rescued from the City of Destructionand describing their own experiences inallegory; but to present them here wouldmake this chapter too lengthy. Whowould know more of Lull the philosopherand the author is referred to the bibliography and to the writings themselves.

III


CHAPTER IX

HIS LAST MISSIONARY JOURNEYAND HIS MARTYRDOM

•• As a hungry man makes despatch and takes large morselson account of his great hunger, so Thy servant feels a greatdesire to die that he may glorify Thee. He hurries day andnight to complete his work in order that he may give up hisblood and his tears to be shed for Thee. "-Lull's "Li5erConkmplationis in fleo. "

.. Is not devotion always blind? That a furrow be fecundit must have blood and tears such as Augustine called theblood of the soul."-Sabatier.

THE scholastics of the Middle Agestaught that there were five methods of acquiring knowledge-observation, reading,listening, conversation, and meditation.But they left out the most importantmethod, namely, that by suffering. Lull'sphilosophy had taught him much, but itwas in the school of suffering that he grew

t32


s,ast 3-oume» anb martl1tbom

into a saint. Love, not learning, is thekey to his character. The philosopherwas absorbed in the missionary. The lastscene of LuIl 's checkered life is not atRome nor Paris nor Naples in the midst ofhis pupils, but in Africa, on the very shoresfrom which he was twice banished.

At the council of Vienne (as we saw inChapter V.) Lull had rejoiced to see someportion of the labors of his life brought tofruition. When the deliberations of thecouncil were ,over and the battle for instruction in Oriental languages in the universities of Europe had been won, it mighthave been thought that he would have beenwilling to enjoy the rest he had so well deserved. Raymund Lull was now seventynine years old, and the last few years of hislife must have told heavily even on sostrong a frame and so brave a spirit as hepossessed. His pupils and friends naturally desired that he should end his days

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:Bfograpbp of 'Rapmun~ ~ull

in "the peaceful pursuit of learning and thecomfort of companionship.

Such, however, was not Lull's wish. Hisambition was to die as a missionary andnot as a teacher of philosophy. Even hisfavorite "Ars Major H had to give way tothat ars maxima expressed in Lull's ownmotto, U He that lives by the life can notd· HIe.

This language reminds one of Paul'sSecond Epistle to Timothy, where theApostle tells us that he too was now U already being offered, and that the time ofhis departure was at hand:' In Lull's" Contemplations" we read: II As the needle nat~

urally turns to the north when it is touchedby the magnet, so is it fitting, 0 Lord,that Thy servant should turn to love andpraise and serve Thee; seeing that out oflove to him Thou wast willing to enduresuch grievous pangs and sufferings." Andagain: "Men are wont to die, 0 Lord,

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~ast3'ournell an~ martllr~om

from old age, the failure of natural warmthand excess of cold; but thus, if it be Thywill, Thy servant would not wish to die;he would prefer to die in the glow of love,even as Thou wast willing to die forh' ".1m.

Other passages in Lull's writings of thisperiod, such as the words at the head ofthis chapter, show that ·he longed· for thecrown of martyrdom. If we consider theage in which Lull lived and the race fromwhich he sprang, this is not surprising.Even before the thirteenth century, thousands of Christians died as martyrs to thefaith in Spain; many of them cruelly tortured by the Moors for blaspheming Mohammed.

Among the Franciscan order a maniafor martyrdom prevailed. Every friar who

* .. Liber Contemplationis." cuix,. 19: .. Vita Secan~"

cap. Iv.• and .. Liber Contemplationis." exu., ~7. Cf.Maclear, p. 367.

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was sent to a foreign shore craved· to winthe heavenly palm and wear the purplepassion-flower. The spirit of the Crusadeswas in possession of the Church and itsleaders, even after the sevenfold failure ofits attempts to win by the sword. Bernardof Clairvaux wrote to the Templars: "Thesoldier of Christ is safe when he slays,safer when he dies. When he slays itprofits Christ; when he dies it profits himself.1t

Much earlier than the end of the MiddleAges the doctrines of martyrdom had takenhold of the Church. Stories of the earlymartyrs were the popular literature to fanthe flame of enthusiasm. A martyr's deathwas supposed, on the authority of manyScripture passages,* to cancel all sins ofthe past life, to supply the place of baptism,

* Luke xii. 50; Mark x. 39 ; Matt. x. 39; Matt. v. 10-12.

Compare the teaching of Roman Catholic commentaries onthese passages.


.and to secure admittance at once to Paradise without a sojourn in Purgatory. Onehas only to read Dante, the graphic painterof society in the Middle Ages, to see thisillustrated. Above all, it was taught thatmartyrs had the beatific vision of the Savior(even as did St. Stephen), and that theirdying prayers were sure of hastening thecoming of Christ's kingdom.

But the violent passions so prevalent andthe universal hatred of Jews and infidelsmade men forget that" not the blood butthe cause makes the martyr."

Raymund Lull was ahead of his age inhis aims and in his methods, but he wasnot and could not be altogether uninfluenced by his environment. The spirit ofchivalry was not yet dead in the knightwho forty-eight years before had seen avision of the Crucified and had beenknighted by the pierced hands for a spiritual crusade. Like Heber he felt:

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J31ograpbl1 of 'Ral1murtt\ 1ull... The Son of God goes forth to war,

A kingly crown to gain;His blood-red banner streams afar

Who follows in His train?

,. Who best can drink His cup of wo.Triumphant over pain;

Who patient bears His cross belowHe follows in His train•

•• A glorious band, the chosen fewOn whom the Spirit came;

Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knewAnd mocked the cross and flame.

.. They climbed the steep ascent of heavenThrough peril, toil, and pain;

o God, to us may grace be givenTo fotlow in their train."

The dangers and difficulties that madeLull shrink back from his journey atGenoa in J 29 I only urged him forward toNorth Africa once more in 1314. Hislove had not grown cold, but burned thebrighter" with the failure of natural warmthand the weakness of old age." He longednot only for the martyr's crown, but alsoonce more to see his little band of believ-

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Ust 30urnel1 an~ .martl1rt\om

ers. Animated by these sentiments, hecrossed over to Bugia on August 14, andfor nearly a whole year labored secretlyamong a little circle of converts, whom onhis previous visits he had won over to theChristian faith., Both to these convert's, and to any otherswho had boldness to come and join themin religious conversation, Lull continued toexpatiate on the one theme of which henever seemed to tire, the inherent superiority of Christianity to Islam. He saw thatthe real strength of Islam is not in thesecond clause of its all too brief creed,but in its first clause. The Mohammedanconception of the unity and the attributesof God is a, great half-truth. Theirwholephilosophy of religion finds its pivot intheir wrong idea of absolute monism inthe Deity. We do not find Lull wastingarguments to disprove Mohammed's mission, but presenting facts to show that MOo

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:l3tograpb» of 'Ra»mUnD 1uU

hammed's conception of God was deficientand untrue. If for nothing else he deserves the honor, yet this great principleof apologetics in the controversy withIslam, as first stated by Lull, marks himthe great missionary to Moslems.. "If Moslems," he argued, "according to

their law affirm that God loved man because He created him, endowed him withnoble faculties, and pours His benefitsupon him.. then the Christians according. .

to their law affirm the same. But inas-much as the Christians believe more thanthis, aRd affirm that God so loved manthat He was willing to become man, to endure poverty, ignominy, torture, and deathfor his sake, which the Jews and Saracensdo not teach concerning Him; therefore isthe religion of the Christians, which thusreveals a Love beyond all other love,superior to that of those which reveals itonly in an inferior degree." Islam is a

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THE OLD GATEWAY OF BUGIA.

(Eleventh Century.)


loveless religioo. Raymund Lull bel\evedand proved that Love could conquer it.The Koran denies the Incarnation, and soremains ignorant of the true character notonly of the Godhead, but of God (Matt.xL 27).

At the time when Lull visited Bugia andwas imprisoned, the Moslems were alreadyreplying to his treatises and were winningconverts from among Christians. He says:(C The Saracens write books for the destruction of Christianity; I have myself seensuch when I was in prison•••. For oneSaracen who becomes a Christian, tenChristians and more become Mohammedans. It becomes those who are in powerto consider what the end will be of such astate of things. God will not be mocked." *

Lull did not think, apparently, that laCkof speedy results was an argument for

*Smith: ,. Short History of Christian Misalonl.,j; pp. 107.loS.


J3fograpbl7 of 'Ra»munb <1ull

abandoning the work of preaching to Moslems the unsearchable riches of Christ.

.. High failure, towering far o'er low success.Firm faith, unwarped by others' faithlessness,Which, like a day brightest at eventide,Seemed never half so deathless, till he died. II

For over ten months the aged missionarydwelt in hiding, talking and praying withhis converts and trying to influence thosewho were not yet persuaded. His oneweapon was the argument of God's lovein Christ, and his "shield of faith It wasthat of medieval art which so aptly symbolizes the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.So lovingly and so unceasingly did Lullurge the importance of this doctrine thatwe have put the scutum fide£ on the coverof this biography.*

Of the length, breadth, depth, and heightof the love of Christ, all Lull's devotional'writings are full.

* Copied from an old woodcut of the scutum }fad in thesouth transept of Thame Church, Oxfordshire.

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1ast !Journel1 anD martprDom

At length, weary of seclusion, and longing for martyrdom, he came forth into theopen market and presented himself to thepeople as the Same man whom they hadonce expelled from their town. It wasElijah showing himself to a mob of Ahabs fLull stood before them and threatenedthem· with divine wrath if they still persisted in their errors. He pleaded withlove, but spoke plainly the whole truth.The consequences can be easily anticipated.Filled with fanatic fury at his boldness, andunable to reply to his arguments, the populace seized him, and dragged him out ofthe town; there by the command, or atleast the connivance, of the king, he wasstoned on the 30th of June, 1315.

Whether Raymund Lull died on thatday or whether, still alive, he was rescuedby a few of his friends, is disputed by hisbiographers. According to the latter ideahis friends carried the wounded saint to

143


the beach and he was conveyed in a vesselto Majorca, his birthplace, only to die ere hereached Palma. According to other ac~,

counts, which seem to me to carry moreauthority, Lull did not survive the stoningby the mob, but died, like Stephen, outsidethe city. Also in this case, devout mencarried Lull to his burial and brought thebody to Palma, Majorca, where it was laidto rest in the church of San Francisco.

An elaborate tomb was afterward builtin this church as a memorial to Lull. Itsdate is uncertain, but it is probably of thefourteenth century. Above the elaboratelycarved panels of marble are the shields orcoat-of-arms of Raymund Lull; on eitherside are brackets of metal work to holdcandles. The upper horizontal panelshows Lull in repose, in the garb of aFranciscan, with a rosary on his girdle,and his hands in the attitude of prayer.

May we not believe that this was his144


TOMB OF RAYMUND LULL IN CHURCH OF SAN

FRANCISCO, PALMA, MAJORCA.


s,ast 50umev anb martprbom

·attitude when the ;angry mob caught upstones) and cmshfollowed crash againstthe body of the aged missionary? Perhaps not only the manner of his death buthis last prayer was like that of Stephen thefirst martyr.

It was the teaching of the medievalChurch that there are three kinds of martyrdom: The first both in will and in deed,which is the highest; the second, in willbut not in deed; the third~ in deed but notin will. St. Stephen and the whole armyof those who were martyred by fire orsword for their testimony are examples ofthe first kind of martyrdom. St. John theEvangelist and others like him who diedin exile or old age as witnesses to the truthbut without violence, are examples of thesecond kind. The Holy Innocents, slainby Herod, are an example of the thirdkind. Lull verily was a martyr in willand in deed. Not only at Bugia, when he

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mtograpbl1 of 'RapmunD s'uU

fell asleep, but for all the years of his longlife after his conversion, he was a witnessto the Truth, ever ready U to fill up thatwhich is behind of the afflictions of Christ"in his flesh U for His body's sake which isthe Church."

To be stoned to death while preachingthe love of Christ to Moslems-that wasthe fitting end for such a life. U Lull," saysNoble, U was the greatest of medieval missionaries, perhaps the grandest of all missionaries from Paul to Carey and Livingstone. His career suggests those of lonahthe prophet, Paul the missionary, andStephen the martyr. Tho his death wasvirtually self-murder, its heinousness islessened by his homesickness for heaven,his longing to be with Christ, and the sublimity of his character and career."


CHAPTER X

"WHO BEING DEAD YETSPEAKETH"

" He wlto /Qvu n()t lives not / Iu wlto lives by tlu Life cann()t die."-Raymund Lull.

.. One step farther. but some slight response from hischurch or his age. and Raymund Lull would have anticipatedWilliam Carey by exactly seven centuries."-George Smit4.

NEANDER does not hesitate to compareRaymund Lull with Anselm, whom he resembled in possessing the threefold talentsuncommon among men and so seldomfound in one character: namely, a powerfulintellect, a loving heart, and efficiency inpractical things. If we acknowledge thatLull possessed these three· divine gifts, weat once place him at the front as -the truetype of what a missionary to Moslemsshould be to-day.

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J3tograpb12 of 'Ra»munt:J S,ull

He, whom He1fferich calls "the mostremarkable 'figure of the Middle Ages,"being dead yet speaketh. The task whichhe first undertook is still before the Churchunaccomplished. The modern missionaryto Islam can see a reflection of his owntrials of faith, difficulties, temptations,hopes, and aspirations in the story of Lull.Only with his spirit of self·sacrifice and en·thusiasm can one gird for the conflict withthis Goliath of the Philistines, who forthirteen centuries has defied the armies ofthe Living God.

Lull's writings contain glorious watch·words for the spiritual crusade againstIslam in the twentieth century. How uptcxlate is this prayer which we find at thedose of one of his books: It Lord of heaven,Father of all times, when Thou didstsendThy Son to take upon Him human nature,He and His apostles lived in outward peacewith Jews, Pharisees, and other men; for

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u 1lUlbo :Being ]Deal' Jkt 5pedetb tt

never by outward violence did they captureor slay any of the unbelievers, or of thosewho persecuted them. Of this outwardpeace they availed themselves to bring theerring to the knowledge of the truth andto a communion of spirit with themselves.A nrJ so after Thy examjJle sltould ChristiansconrJuct thmselves toward Moslems,'Intt since that ardor of de1Iotz"on whichglowed tn apostles and holy men of old nolonger inspires us, love anddevotion throughalmost all thq world have grown cold, andtherefore do Christlans expend thi". 4/wtsfar more in tIu outward titan in lite spiritual conflict."

England's war in the Sudan cost morein men and money a hundred times thanall missions to Moslems in the past century I Yet the former was only to putdown a Moslem usurper by fire and sword;the, latter represents the effort of Christendom to .convert over two hundred mil-

149


1Uograpbp of 'Rapmun~ 1ull

lions of those who are in the darkness ofIslam.

There was a thousandfold more enthusiasm in the dark ages to wrest an emptysepulcher from the Saracens than there isin our day to bring them the knowledge ofa living Savior. Six hundred years afterRaymund Lull we are still "playing atmissions H as far as Mohammedanism isconcerned. For there are more mosquesin Jerusalem than there are missionaries inall Arabia; and more millions of Moslemsunreached in China than the number ofmissionary societies that work for Moslemsin the whole world!

In North Africa, where Lull witnessedto the truth, missions to Moslems were notbegun again until 1884. Now there isagain daybreak in Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis,Algiers, and Egypt. Yet how feeble arethe efforts in all Moslem lands comparedwith the glorious opportunities J How

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U 'Umbo :tieing lDeab let $peaftetb H

vast is the work still before us, six hundredyears after Lulll

According to recent and exhaustivestatistics, the population of the Moham·medan world is placed at 259,680,672.. Ofthese 11,515,402 are in Europe, 171,278,008are in Asia, 19,446 are in Australasia, 76,.818,253 are in Africa, and 49,563 are inNorth and South America. Three percent. of Europe's population is Moslem;Asia has 18 per cent., and Af.rica 37 percent. Out of every 100 souls in the world16 are followers of Mohammed. Islam'spower extends in many lands, from Cantonto Sierra Leone, and from Zanzibar to theCaspian Sea.

Islam is growing t<Xlay even faster insome lands than it did in the days of Lull.And yet in other lands, such as EuropeanTurkey, Caucasia, Syria, Palestine, and

* Dr. Hubert Jansen's" Verbreitung des Islams," Berlin,1897 ; a marvel of research and accuracy.

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J3toorapb~ of 'Rapmu~ ~uU

Turkestan, the number of Moslems is decreasing. In Lull's day the empire ,ofMoslem faith and Moslem politics nearlycoincided. Nowhere was there real liberty,and all the doors of access seemed barred.Now five~sixths of the Moslem world areaccessible to foreigners and missionaries;.but not one-sixtieth has ever been occupiedby missions. There are no missions to theMoslems of all Afghanistan. WesternTurkestant Western, Centralt and Southern Arabia, Southern Persia, and vast regions in North Central Africa.

Mission statistics of direct work for Moslems are an apology for apathy rather thanan index of enterprise. The Church forgot its heritage of Lull's great exampleand was ages behind time. To Persia,onethousand years after Islam t the first missionary came; Arabia waited twelve centuries; in China Islam has eleven hundredyears the start. This neglect appears the

Isa


"1lUlbo J3etng I)eab )let Sl'eahetb tt

.more inexcusable if we consider the greatopportunities of to-day. More than 125,000,000 Moslems are now under Christianrulers. The keys to every gateway in theMoslem world areto-day in the politicalgrasp of Christian Powers, with the exception of Mecca and Constantinople. Thinkonly, for example, of Gibraltar, Algiers,.Cairo, Tunis, Khartum, Batoum, Aden,and Muskat, not to speak of India and thefarther East. It is impossible to enforcethe laws relating to renegades froni Islamunder the flag of the "infideV~ One couldalmost visit Mecca as easily as Lull didTunis were the same spirit of martyrdomalive among us that.' inspired the pioneerof Palma. The journey from London toBagdad can now be accomplished with lesshardship' and in less time than it musthave taken Lull to go from Paris toBugia.

How much more promising too is the153


J3tograpb\? of 'Ra\?mun~ ~ull

condition of Islam to-day r The philosophical disintegration of the system beganvery early, but has grown more rapidly inthe past century than in all the twelve thatpreceded. The strength of Islam is to sitstill, to forbid thought, to gag reformers,to abominate progress. But the WahabisIf drew a bow at a venture" and smotetheir king "between the joints of the harness." Their exposure of the unorthodoxyof Turkish Mohammedanism set aU theworld thinking. Abd~ul-Wahab meant torefonn Islam by digging for the originalfoundations. The result was that theynow must prop up the house! In Indiathey are apologizing for Mohammed'smorals and subjecting the Koran to highercriticism. In Egypt prominent Moslemsadvocate abolishing the veil. In Persiathe Babimovement has undermined Islameverywhere. In Constantinople they aretrying to put new wine into the old skins

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4f 1lUlbo ]Jet"" lDea~ ~et 5pealtetb tt

by carefully diluting the wine; the NewTurkish party is making the rent of theold garment worse by its patchwork pol.hies.

In addition to all this, the Bible, nowspeaks the languages of Islam, and iseverywhere preparing the way for the con·quest of the cross. Even in the Moslemworld, and in spite of all hindrances, U it isdaybreak everywhere." The great lessonof Lull's life is that our weapons againstIslam should never be carnal. Love, andlove alone, will conquer. But it must bean alI·sacrificing, an aU·consuming Iove-alove that is faithful unto death.

"Taking him all in all," says Noble,"Lull's myriad gifts and graces make himthe evening and the morning star of mig.sions." He presaged the setting of medi·eval missions and heralded the dawn of theReformation. The story of his life andlabors for Moslems in the dark ages is a

155


challenge of faith to us who live in thelight of the twentieth century to followin the footsteps of Raymund Lull andwin the whole Mohammedan world forChrist.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Books Written by Raymund Lull

[One of Lull's biographers states that the works ofLull numbered four thousand. Many of these have~en lost. ' Of his writings in Latin, Catalonian, andArabic it is said that one thousand were extant in thefifteenth century'. Only two hundred and eighty-twowere known in 1721 to Salzinger of Mainz, and yet heincluded only forty-five of these in his collected editionof Lull's works in ten volumes. It is disputed whethervolumes seven and eight actually appeared. Some ofLull's unpublished works are to be found in the Imperial Library, the ,libraries of the Arsenal and St,. Genevieve at Paris, also in the libraries of Angers, Amiens,the Escurial, etc. Most of his books were written inLatin; some first in Catalonian and then translated byhis pupils. others only in the Catalonian or in Arabic.In the" Acta Sanctorum," vol. xxvii., page 640 et seq.,we find the following classified catalog of three hundred and twenty-one books by Raymund Lull.]

§ I. Books on General Arts,

I. Ars generalis.2. Ars brevis3. Ars generalis ultima.

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JUograpbp or 'Rapmunb 1ull

4. Ars demonstrativa veritatis.5. Ars altera demonstrativa veritatiS.6. Compendium artis demonstrativre.7. Lectura super artem demonstrativ~.

8. Liber correlativorum innatorum.9. Ars inventiva veritatis.

10. Tabula generalis ad omnes scientias applicabilis.II. Ars expositiva.12. Ars compendiosa inveniendi veritatem.13. Ars alia compendiosa~

14. Ars inquirendi particularia in universalibus.15. Liber propositionum secundum, etc.16. Liber de descensu intellectus.17. Ars penultima.18. Ars scienti~generalis.19. Lectura alia super artem inventivam veritatis.20. De conditionibus artis inventiv~.

21. Liber de declaratione scientire inventiv~.

22. Practica brevis super artem brevem.23. Liber de experientia reaJitatis artis.24. Liber de mixtione principiorum.25. Liber de formatione tabularum.26. Lectura super tabulam generalem.27. Practica brevis super ecamdem.28. Lectura super tertiani figtiram tabul~ generalis.29. Liber facHis scienti~.

30. De qurestionibus super eo motis.31. Liber de significatione.32. Liber Magnus demonstrationus.33. Liber de lumine.34. Liber de inquisitione veri et boni in omnia mate.

ria.35. Liber de punctis transcendentibus.

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36. Ars intellectus.37. De modo, naturali intelligendi in omni scientia.38. De·inventione intellectus.39. De refugio intellectus.40. Ars voluntatis.41. Ars amativa boni.42. Arsalia amativa (it begins Ad recognoscendum).43. Ars alia amativa (It begins Deus benedictus).44- Ars memorativa.45. De quresti~)Qibussuper ea motis.46. Ars alia memorativa.47. De principio, medio et fine.48. De differentia, concordantia, et contrarietate.49. De equalitate. majoritate. et minoritate.50. De fine ot majoritate.51. Arsconsilii.52. Liber alius de consilio.53. Liber de excusatione Raymundi.54- Liber ad intelligendum doctores antiquos.55. Ars infusa.56. Art de fer y soltar questions (Catalan).57. Fundamentum artis generalis.58. Supplicatio Raymundi ad Parienses.59. Liber ad memoriam confirmandam.60. Liber de potentia objecta et actu.61. Ars generalis rhythmica.

§ II. Books on Grammar and Rlle/oric.

62. Ars grammaticre speculativae completissima.63. Ars grammaticre brevis.64. Ars rhetoricre.65. Rhetorica Lulli.


:stograpb! ot 'RavmunD ~ull

§ Ill. Books on Logzi: and Dialectics.

66. Liber qui vocatur logica de Groze!! (versu vulgari).67. Logica parva,68. Logica nova.69. Dialecticam seu logicam novam.70. Liber de novo modo demonstrandi.71. Liber de fallaciis.72. Logica alia de quinque arboribus.73. Liber de subjecto et prredicato.74. Liber de conversione snbjecti et prredicati. etc.7S. Liber de syllogismis.76. Liber de novis fallaciis.77. Liber de modo naturali et syllogistico.,8. Liber de affirmatione et negatione et causa earum.79. Liber de quinque prredicabilibus.80. Liber qui dicitura fallacia Raymundi.

§ IV. Books on Pht'losojJhy.

81. Liber lamentationes duodecim princip. philosopb.82. Liber de principiis philosophire.83. Liber de ponderositate et levitate elementorum.84. Liber de anima rationali.85. Liber de reprobatione errorum Averrois.86. Liber contra ponentes reternitatem mundi.81. Liber de qurestionibus.88. Liber de actibus potentiarum. etc.89. Liber de anima vegetativa et sensitiva.90. Pbysica nova.91. De Natura.92. Ars philosophire.

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93. De consequentiis philosophire.94- Liber de generatione et corruptione.95. Liber degraduatione elementorum.96. Liber super figura elementari.97. Liber de qualitatibus, etc., elementorum.98. Liber de olfactu.99. Liber de possibili et impossibili.

100. Ars compendiosa principorium philosophW.101. Liber de intensitate et extensitate.

§ V. Books on MetapkJlsic$.

102. Metaphysica nova.103. Liber de ente reaH et rationis.104. De proprietatibus rerum.lOS,' Liber de homine.106. De magnitudine et parvitate hominis.

§ VI. Books on Various Arts and Sdences.

107. Ars politica.loS. Liber militire secularist109. Liber de militia clericali.110. Ars de Cavalleria.I II. Tractatus de astronomia.112. Ars astrologire.II3. Liber de planetis.II4. Geometria nova.II S. Geometria magna.II6. De quadrangulatura et triangulatura circttU.117. Ars cognoscendi Deum per gratiam.uS. Ars arithmetica.IIg. Ars divina.

161


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§ VII. Books on Medi,,"ne.

120. Ars de principiis et gradibus medicinre.121. Liber de regionibus infirmitatis et sanitatis.122. Liber de arte medicinre compendiosa.123. Liber de pulsibus et urinis.124. Liber de aquis et oleis.125. Liber de medicina theoriea et practica.126. Liber de instrumento intellectus in medicina.

§ VIII. Books on Juris/Jrudenc,.

127. Ars utriusque juris.128. Ars juris particularis.129. Ars principiorum juris.130. Ars de jure.

§ IX. Books of De'llolt"on and ContemjJlalu,lI.

131. Liber natalis pueri Jesu.132. Liber de decem modis contemplandi Deum.133. Liber de raptu.134- Liber contemplationis in Deo.135. Libe,. Blancherna (also written. Blanquerna).136. Liber de orationibus et contemplationibus.137. Liber de meditationibus, etc.138. Liber de laudibus B. Virginis Marire.139. Liber appelatus clericus sive pro clericis.140. Phantasticum (an autobiography).141. Liber de confessione.142. Liber de orationibus.143. :Philosophia amoris.144. Liber Proverbiorum.

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145. Liber de centum' nominibus Dei.146. Orationes per regulas artis, etc.147. Horre Deiparre Virginis, etc.148. Elegiacus Virginis planctus.149. Lamentatio, seu querimonia Raymundi.ISO. Carmina Raymundi consolatoria.151. Mille proverbia vulgaria.1$2. Versus vulgares ad regem Baleariurn.153. Tractatus vulgaris metricus septem articulos fidei

demonstrans.154. Liber continens confessionem.ISS. Primum volumen contemplationum.156. Secundum volumen contemplationum.157. Tertium volumen. contemplationum.158. Quartem volumen contemplationum.159. De centum signis Dei.160. De centum dignitatibus Dei.161. Liber de expositione rationis Dominicre.162. Liber alius de eodem.163. Liber de Ave Maria.164. Liber dictus, Parvum contemplatorium.165. Liber de prreceptis legis . . . et sacramentis, etc.166. Liber de virtutibus et peccatis.167. Liber de compendiosa contemplatione.168. LiberOrationum.169. Liber de Orationibus per decem regulas.170. Liber de viis Paradisi et viis Inferni.171. Liber de orationibus et contemplationibus.172. Liber dietus, Opus bonum.173. Liber de conscientia.114. Liber de gaudiis Virginis.175. Liber de septem horis officii Virginis.176. Liber alius ejusdem argumenti.

163 •


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177. Planctus dolorosus Dominre nostrre, etc.178. Ars philosophire desideratre (ad suumftlium).179. Ars contitendi."180. Libel' de doctrina puerili.181. Doctrina alia puerilis parva.182. Liber de prima et secunda intentionibus.183. Blancherna magnus.184. Liber de placida visione.18S. Liber de consolatione eremitica.186. Ars ut ad Deum cognoscendum, etc.187. Liber ducentorum carminum.188. Liber de vita divina.189. Liber de definitionibus Dei.190. Prhno libre e1 desconsuelo de Ramon (Catalan).J91. Liber hymnorum.192. Liber sex mille proverbiorum in omnia materia.

§ X. Books oj Sermons, or on Preaching.

193. Ars prredicabilis.194- Liber super quatuor sensus S. Scripturz.195. Ars prredicandi major.196. Ars prredicandi minor.197. Liber quinquaginta duorum sermODum, etc.198. Commentaria in primordiale Evang. Joannis.

§ XI. Books on Various Subjects (Lio,,; Qutidli66.tales).

199. Liber primre et secundre intentionis.200. Liber de miraculis cceli et mundi.201. Arbor scienthe.202. Liber qurestionum superartem, etc.

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203. Liber de tine.204- Consilium Raymundi.205. Liber de acquisitione terr~ sancUe.206. Liber de Anti-Christo.207. Liber de mirabilibus orbis.208. Liber de civitate mundi.2og. Liber variarum qu~stionum.

210. Liber de gradu superlativo.21 I. Liber de virtuto veniaIi et mortali

§ XII. Books 0/ Disputation and C""t,.O'VI".sy.

212. Liber de gentili et tribus sapientibus.213. Tractatus de articulis fidei.214- De Deo ignoto et de mundo ignoto.215. Liber de efficiente et effectu.216. Disputatio Raymundi at Averrois~ de quinque

qurestionibus.217. Liber contradictionas inter Raymund et Averrois-

tam, de mysterio trinitatis.218. Liber alius de eadem.219. Liber de forma Dei.220. Liber utrum fidelis possit solvere objectiones, etc.221. Liber disputationis intellectus et fidei.222. Liber appellatus apostrophe.223. Liber dedemonstrat~otieper requiparantiam.224. Liber de convenientia quam habent fides et intet-

tectus.225. Liber de iis qure homo de Deo debet credere.226. Liber de substantia et. accidente.227. Liber de Tinitate in Unitate.228. Disputatio Raymundi Lulli et Homerii Saraceui.2290 Disputatio quinque hominum sapientum.

165


:Bfograpbl1 of 1lapmunl) 1ulI

230. Liber de existentia et agentia Dei contra Averroem.231. Declaratio Raymundi Lulli, etc.232. De significatione fidei et intellectus.233. Ars theologi et philosophire contra Averroem.234. Liber de spiritu sancto contra Grrecos.235. Quod in Deo non sint plures quam tres personre.236. De non multitudine esse divini.237. Quid habeat homo credere.238. De ente simpliciter per se contra Averrois.239. De perversione entis removenda.240. De minori loco ad majorem ad probandam Trini.

tatem.241. De concordantia et contrarietate.242. De probatione unitatis Dei, Trinitatis, etc.243. De qurestione quadam valde alta et profunda.244. Disputatio .trium sapientum.245. Liber de reprobatione errorem Averrois.246. Liber de meliore lege.247. Liber contra Judreos.248. Liber de reformatione Hebraica.249. Liber de participatione Christianorum et Saracen·

orum.250. De adventu Messire contra JUdreos.251. Liber de vera credentia et falsa..252. Liber de probatione articulorum fidei.253. Disputatio Petri clenci et Raymund Phantastici.254- Liber dictus, Domine qure pars?255. De probatione fidei Catholicre.256. Tractatus de modo convertendi infideles.257. De duobus retibus finalibus.

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§ XIII. Books on Tlu%gy.

258. Liber qUlest. super quatuor libros sententiarum.259. Qurestiones magistri Thomle. etc.260. Liber de Deo.261. Liber de ente simpliciter absoltltO.262. Liber de esse Dei.263. Liber de principiis Theologim.264. Liber de consequentiis Theologire.265. De investigatione divinarum dignitatum.266. Liber de Trinitate.267. Liber de Trinitate trinissima.268. De inventione Trinitatis.269. De unitate et pluralitate Dei.270. De investigatione vestigiorum, etc.271. De divinis dignitatibus.272. De propriis rationibus divinis.273. De potestate divinarum rationum.274- De infinitate divinarum dignitatum.275. De actu majori. etc.276. De definitionibus Dei.277. De nomine Dei.278. De (-1) Dei.279. De natura Dei.280. De vita Dei.281. De est Dei.282. De esse Dei.283. De essentia et esse Dei.

. 284. De forma Dei.285. De inventione Dei.286. De memoria Dei.287. De unitate Dei.


J3fograpbl? of '8qmun~ s,un

288. De voluntate Dei absoluta et ordinaria.289. De potestate Dei.2go. De potestate pura.291. De potestate Dei infinita et ordinaria.292. De divina veritate.293. De bonitate pura.294- De productione divina.295. De scientia perfecta.296. De majori agentia Dei.297. De infinito Esse.298. De perfecto Esse.299. De ente infinito.300. De ente absoluto.301. De objecto infinito.302. De inveniendo Deo.303. Liber de Deo.304. De Deo majori et minori.305. De Deo et mundo et convenienta eorum in Jelu

Christo.306. Liber de Deo et Jesn Christo.307. De Incarnatione.308. Liber ad intelligendam Deum.309. Propter bene intelligere diligere et possificare.310. De prredestinatione et liOOro arbitrio.311. Liber alius de prredestinatione.312. Liber de natura angelica.313. Liber de locutione angelorum.3140 Liber de hierarchiis et ordinibus angelorum.315. De angelis bonis et malis.316. Liber de conceptu virginali.317. Liber alius conceptu virginali.318. Liber de creatione.319. Liber de justitia Dei.

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320. Liber de conceptione Virginis Marire.321. Liber de angeUs.

In addition to this long list of works on every con·ceivable science the author of the" Acta Sanctorum"gives a list of forty.ooe books on magic and alchemywronglyattributed to Lull or published under bis nameby others of his age.

The following of Lull's works were printed:

Collected works of Lull, 10 vols. Salzinger, Maw.1721-42•

Collected works of Lull [?]. Rossel6, Palma, 1886.Ars Magna generalis ultima. Majorca. 1647.Arbor Scientire. Barcelona, 1582.Liber QnrestionuD1 super quatuor. etc. Lyons, 1451.Qurestiones Magistri, etc. Lyons, 1451.De articulis fidei, etc. Majorca. 1578.Controversia cum Homerio Sarraceno. Valencia, 1510De demonstratione Trinitatis, etc. Valencia, 1510.Libri duodecem princip., etc. Strasbourg, 1517.Philosophire in Averrhoistas, etc. Paris, 1516.Phantasticus. Paris, 1499.

LuU's Catalonian poetry and proverbs can be foundin collections of Provence literature; see especially thelife of Lull by Adolf Helffericb.

B. Books about Raymund LullBouveUes: Epistol. in Vito R. Lull eremitre. Amiens.

ISH

Pax: Elogium Lulli. Alcala, 1519.169


J3tograpbp of 'Ra~munb 1ull

Segni: Vie de R. Lulle. Majorca, 1605.Colletet: Vie de R. Lulle. Paris, 1646.Perroqnet: Vie et Martyre du docteur illumin6 R. Lulle.

Vendome, 1667.Nicolas de HauteviIIe: Vie de R. LuIIe. 1666.Vernon: Hist. della saintete et de la doctrine de R.

Lulle. Paris, 1668.Anon.: Dissertaeion historiea del rulto in memoril del

OOato R. Lu1li. Majorca, 1700.Wadding: Annates Franciscan, t. iv.• p. 422, .732.Antonio; Bibl. Hisp. Vetus, vol. ii., p. 122. Madrid,

1788.Loev: De Vita R. Lulli specimen. Halle, 1830.DeIecluze: Vie de R. LuIle (in Revue des Deux Mondes,

November 15. 1840). Paris, 1840.* Helflerich: Raymund LuII nnd die Anfange d. Cata~

lonischen Literature. Berlin, 1858.* Neander: Church History, vol. iv. London, 1851.*Maclear: History of Christian Missions in the Middle

Ages. London, 1863.*Tiemersma: De Geschiedenis der Zending tot op den

tijd der Hervorming. Nijmegen, 1888.* Keller : Geisteskampf des Christentums gegen d. Is~

lam bis zur zeit der Kreuzziige. Leipzig. 18<}6.* Noble: The Redemption of Africa. vol. i. New

York, 1899.* [Encyclop. Brit., ninth edition, vol. xv., p. 63. Mc

Clintock and Strong's Cyclopedia, vol. v., p. SS8.Church Histories. Short History of Missions by Dr.

George Smith, etc.]

* Consulted in the preparation of this biography.17°


*"Acta S,.nctorum," vol. xxvii., pp. 581-676, 16951867·t

* Consulted in the preparation of this biography.t Translation of the titles of the chief articles on Ray

mund Lull in ,jActa SaIictorum." (On character andorigin of this stupendous work see McClintock andStrong, vol. i.,p. 57) :I. Brief notice of the Saint.2. The Cult sacred to Lull with ceremonies and mass.3. The remarkable mausoleum, epitaphs, etc.4. On those who wrote the Life of St. Raymund from

an earlier one after the year 1400. (Waddington'sis based on this, but it contains fables.)

5. Letters of Custererius proving authenticity of the old"Life."

6. On the lineage, birth. and wanderings of Lull up tothe end of the Thirteenth Century.

7. Works and journeys of Lull in the Fourteenth Century, with a chronology.

8. On the office of Seneschal which LUll held.9. Some difficulties met in the acts of Lull which must

be reconciled by authors in the future.10. On the money presented by R. Jacobus to the en

dowed missionary colleges which Lull founded andon leaves of the mastic tree marked with letters inMt. Randa (Roda).

II. St. Raymund is shown to have investigated nothingby chemical experiment, ~·.e., he was not an alchemist.

12. "Life Number One "-by an anonymous contemporary while Lull was still alive. From a manuscript.

17 1


J3iograpbvof 1tavmun~ 2,ull

13. "Life Number Two"-by Carolus Bovillus Samarobrinus. Edition Benedictus Gononus. Four chapters.

14. Eulogy of the divine Raymund Lull, Doctor l11uminatus and martyr, by Nicholas de Pax; fromComplutensian edition, 1519.

I S. Miracles selected from the ceremonies of canoniza·tion de~cribed in the Majorcan tongue and translated into Latin. Five chapters.

16. Historical dissertation on the orthodoxy and thebooks genuine and suppositious of St. Raymund byJoannis BaptistEe SollerH.

17. Conclusion of the acts of Lull giving examples ofhis heroic courage by J. B, S.


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