Ramon Lull was born in Spain in 1232, the son of a nobleman. He married at age twenty-five. Six years later after asserting he had had a series of spiritual experiences, he set about to accomplish what he perceived to be his life mission. Lull would establish colleges where missionaries could train to convert the Arabic people. He wanted his students to clearly present the superiority of Christianity over any other way of thinking. They would need training in other languages and the best knowledge on a wide range of subjects. To this end, he developed what he called the "art of finding the truth." This method linked all knowledge together as a means to show that all could come to know the Creator by knowing the creation.

It is one of the ironies of history that a man such as Ramon Lull should be described as an alchemist...