Short Art

God, with your grace, wisdom, and love. The Short Art begins, which is an image of the general art that is thus titled: God, with your supreme perfection, begins the Ultimate General Art.

¶ Concerning the prologue.

The reason why we make this short art is so that the Great Art may be more easily known, for by knowing this art, the aforementioned and also other arts can be easily known and learned. The subject of this art is to answer all questions, provided that it is known what is meant by the name. And this book is divided into thirteen parts, into which the Great Art is similarly divided. The first part is on the alphabet. The second on the figures. The third on the definitions. The fourth on the rules. The fifth on the table. The sixth on the evacuation of the third figure. The seventh on the multiplication of the fourth figure. The eighth on the mixing of principles and rules. The ninth on the nine subjects. The tenth on application. The eleventh on questions. The twelfth on habituation. The thirteenth on the method of teaching this art. And first, concerning the first, we say this:

We place the alphabet in this art so that through it we may be able to make figures and also to mix