366 ‘Say, O Fool, what is this world?’ He answered: ‘It is the prison-house of those that love and serve my Beloved.’ ‘And who is he that imprisons them?’ He answered: ‘Conscience, love, fear, renunciation and contrition, and the companionship of wilful men.’ ‘And who is he that frees them?’ ‘Mercy, pity and justice.’ ‘And where are they then sent?’ ‘To eternal bliss, and the joyful company of true lovers, where they shall laud, bless and glorify the Beloved everlastingly, to whom be ever given praise, honour and glory throughout all the world.’
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] El Desconort, ii.
[2] The date of Blanquerna, and hence of our classic, is put down at 1283.
[3] Lull is said to have been enticed to England (in the summer of 1305) by King Edward I, who believed him to have the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone. But this story has no sure foundation.
[4] Less than half of these works are theological. The remainder deal with the most diverse subjects, such as metaphysics, logic, ethics, physics, medicine, mathematics, and chemistry.
[5] Works of Lull himself.