III

It was only in Montpellier in 1304 that Llull finally sat down and wrote his first major work on preaching, the Liber de praedicatione.[13] Prior to this, Llull had already applied his Art to various different fields such as philosophy, metaphysics, law and medicine among others. The Liber de praedicatione was one of Llull's encyclopaedic works divided into two main sections, with the first section divided into a further three subsections and the second section into two subsections. The first part is dedicated to the explication of the general rules of the Art, because no further progress can be made without them. The second part is dedicated to the theory behind preaching utilising the tools and terminology of the Art to build up a comprehensive framework, including the introduction of nine new conditions for this work, and thereafter the presentation of one hundred sermons (in actual fact there are 108) which, said Llull, `we will present if God gives me life and grace'.[14]

Following this major work, Llull wrote another two works in Catalan dedicated to the Art of preaching. The first, the Ars major praedicationis - or as it has recently been edited as the Llibre de virtuts e de pecats - in 1313 (NEORL I: Palma, 1991) and the second, the Ars abbreviata praedicandi also in 1313 edited in ROL XVIII.[15] The latter was a shortened version of the former and should be seen as a summary of Llull's thought on preaching. In the epilogue to the work, Llull also entitled it, `an art of how to discover which law [i.e. religion] is true and which false, which is natural science and which supernatural'.[16]

It is perhaps unnecessary to mention that prior to 1304 Llull had been considering the art of preaching which he considered `the most important, the most difficult and the most noble office'.[17] It can be no coincidence, for example, that the letter granting Llull permission to speak in the synagogue in 1299 was given at the same time when Llull wrote works that dealt very briefly with sermons. For example, the Oracions de Ramon (1299), and the long poem Medicina de peccat (1300) both written in Barcelona, and shortly afterwards the Rhetorica nova which (although originally written in Catalan in 1301) only exists in its Latin redaction of 1303 from Genoa. These works also touch on what would become the main subject matter of Llull's later works on predication: the virtues and vices.

Prior to the Liber de praedicatione, Llull had on other occasions extolled the virtues of preaching as a method conducive to conversion. For example, in the Ars demonstrativa, Llull wrote that `preaching was a good method for the dissemination of the Art'. Just prior to this last statement, Llull had written, `that the people for whom the Art is intended are Gentiles, Jews, Christians, Saracens alike, and to all people no matter to what religion or sect they belong because the principles of the Art are so general that they can be used to judge clearly which people are on the true path and which are in error'.[18] Llull also had much to say concerning the preacher himself. In the same Ars demonstrativa, Llull indicated that the preacher should be a master of the techniques of the Art, otherwise, his preaching would be imperfect and the audience would fail to grasp the usefulness of the sermon. Moreover, the preacher had to be on a high moral level, prepared to face trials and tribulations, scorning the vanities of this world. Interestingly enough, if the preacher is of this stature and he discusses the intrinsic and extrinsic works of God in his sermon, he receives the influence and blessing of God in his sermon, and this will be felt by the people to whom Llull is preaching.[19] In the Ars generalis ultima Llull wrote that the preacher should not only be a theologian and a philosopher but also well versed in geometry, arithmetic and rhetoric as well. In the Ars brevis, (in the list of 100 forms) Llull writes that preaching is the form with which the preacher instructs people so they will conduct themselves well and avoid bad conduct.[20]

Abraham Soria Flores in his detailed Latin introduction to the Liber de praedicatione singled out some eleven Artes praedicandi that were known in Llull's time and concluded that while Llull was probably aware of at least some of these manuals, the style he adopted for his own Liber de praedicatione was singular and unique. Llull did not intend, as the other Artes praedicandi do, to impose any rigorous structure or norms, he just wanted to give examples of how a preacher can utilise the mechanisms of his Art when sermonising.[21] This has been reiterated by Fernando Domínguez in his introductions to the two later works on preaching mentioned above.[22] He also suggests that these works were `Llull's answer, both original and daring, to the problems of communication in medieval society, as well as a critique of the moral demands of the ecclesiastical hierarchy'.[23] Llull saw preaching as an intellectual exercise inclusive of everyone, Christian or not, whereas the other Ars praedicandi were devoted to explaining how to expound the authority of the Bible to a Christian audience. Llull wished to use the figures and rules of his Art to be able to preach to the unconverted as well as the converted.[24]

Between 1304 and 1312-13 there is a noticeable change in Llull's approach to preaching. The Liber de praedicatione was written in Latin and placed an emphasise on the use of a verse from the Bible to serve as the guiding line for the sermons, all the sermons begin with such a quote, thus following the accepted starting formula of the conventional Artes praedicandi.[25] It is interesting that a year later in 1305, Llull was already starting to diverge from this formula, as in the Liber praedicationis contra judaeos where not all the sermons start with a biblical quotation.[26] The later works, almost to emphasis the shift in approach, were originally written in Catalan and there is a distinct lack of biblical quotations or a guiding theme, instead there is more of a reliance on the terminology of the Art and its figures. Even though thematically, Llull's sermons might, like those of the mendicants, have a rational base, the emphasis is on the theme of love. This theme is the underpinning message of all of Llull's sermons which will lead a person to the virtues and away from the vices.[27] He writes, `In all sermons there pertains a theme from the Holy Scriptures. And thus, we have decided to make our themes from the general commandment that God commanded Moses, saying, "Love God your Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your thought and with all your strength" (Deut 6:5). This commandment is the most general of all the particular commandments and for this reason from this commandment we apprehend the themes of this book'.[28]

Fernando Domínguez also suggests, as mentioned previously, that these manuals were supposed to reduce the science of preaching to its most simple and general base, as demonstrated by the figure in the Ars abbreviata praedicandi, which is to talk about God one in three and his dignities, and to bring man to a life of virtue. This, therefore, makes this Art of preaching inclusive to all audiences, to unbelievers as well.[29] However, there is a substantial difference between the approach taken by Llull when preaching to a Christian audience and his works dealing with the presentation of his ideas for conversion purposes. These manuals of preaching that Llull wrote were intended mainly for a preacher addressing a Christian audience and were not intended to be used in conversion work or as sermons for conversion. While the sermons are general, in that most of them could have quite easily been used in a synagogue as a moral discourse for a Jewish audience (and indeed Jewish sermons themselves often took the form of a moral teaching), there is nothing in them per se that would cause a Jewish audience to convert. It would be a useful exercise to compare how Llull talks about the articles of faith and the Trinity in these manuals and the way he does so in, for example, the Liber praedicationis contra judaeos. In the former he does not discuss the Christian articles of faith and especially the Trinity, from a polemical standpoint. He is writing these sermons for a Christian addressing fellow Christians, not for unbelievers, directing their attention to the love of God and extolling them to adopt the virtues and distance themselves from the vices. In the Liber praedicationis contra judaeos written in 1305 and containing fifty-two speeches, one for every week of the year, Llull is intent on proving the veracity of the Christian faith, concentrating mainly on the Trinity and the Incarnation. The tone of the book is strongly polemical and is intended to provoke a strong reaction from the readers or audience. This book, written as a manual for missionaries and for practical purposes, was primarily directed, as the title suggests, against the Jews, although the arguments used could be applied for the Muslims as well.[30]