Chapter Two. The Quaternary Phase

Not only did the Art go through two quite different phases, but within each phase it underwent many changes and developments. The quaternary period is divisible into two cycles, each with its foundational work followed by others offering commentaries and applications. The first cycle is based on the opening work of the Art, the Ars compendiosa inveniendi veritatem, the second on the Ars demonstrative, and these are followed by a third stage of transitional works with innovations preparing many features of the next phase. In his little dictionary of philosophical terms called the Taula d'esta Art, Ramon Llull defines "condition" as "the mixing of principles, with some conditioned by others according to their definitions and properties". In the quaternary phase there are as yet no definitions or explicitly presented properties of the basic terms of the Art, but this conditioning by means of their mixture is used throughout the Art.Keywords: quaternary period; Ramon Llull; Taula d'esta art