John Dee’s Followers (147)

John Dee

Born

in Tower Ward, London, England, The United Kingdom

June 13, 1527

Died

July 13, 1608

Website

http://www.johndee.org/DEE.html

Genre

Philosophy, Nonfiction, Science

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John Dee was a noted mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy.

Dee straddled the worlds of science and magic just as they were becoming distinguishable. One of the most learned men of his age, he had been invited to lecture on advanced algebra at the University of Paris while still in his early twenties. Dee was an ardent promoter of mathematics and a respected astronomer, as well as a leading expert in navigation, having trained many of those who would conduct England's voyages of discovery. In one of several tracts which Dee wrote in the 1580s encouraging British exploratory expediti John Dee was a noted mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy.

Dee straddled the worlds of science and magic just as they were becoming distinguishable. One of the most learned men of his age, he had been invited to lecture on advanced algebra at the University of Paris while still in his early twenties. Dee was an ardent promoter of mathematics and a respected astronomer, as well as a leading expert in navigation, having trained many of those who would conduct England's voyages of discovery. In one of several tracts which Dee wrote in the 1580s encouraging British exploratory expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage, he appears to have coined the term "British Empire."

Simultaneously with these efforts, Dee immersed himself in the worlds of magic, astrology, and Hermetic philosophy. He devoted much time and effort in the last thirty years or so of his life to attempting to commune with angels in order to learn the universal language of creation and bring about the pre-apocalyptic unity of mankind. A student of the Renaissance Neo-Platonism of Marsilio Ficino, Dee did not draw distinctions between his mathematical research and his investigations into Hermetic magic, angel summoning and divination. Instead, he considered all of his activities to constitute different facets of the same quest: the search for a transcendent understanding of the divine forms which underlie the visible world, which Dee called "pure verities".

Dee's high status as a scholar also allowed him to play a role in Elizabethan politics. He served as an occasional advisor and tutor to Elizabeth I and nurtured relationships with her ministers, Francis Walsingham and William Cecil. Dee also tutored and enjoyed patronage relationships with Sir Philip Sidney, his uncle, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, and Edward Dyer. He also enjoyed patronage from Sir Christopher Hatton.

In his lifetime, Dee amassed the largest library in England and one of the largest in Europe.

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Average rating: 4.08 · 1,133 ratings · 105 reviews · 60 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Hieroglyphic Monad by John Dee, J.W. Hamilton-Jones (Translator), Diane di Prima (Preface) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 235 ratings — published 1564 — 82 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Private Diary of Dr. John Dee and The Catalog of His Library of Manuscripts by John Dee, James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (Editor) 3.96 avg rating — 98 ratings — published 1968 — 111 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Enochian Evocation of Dr. John Dee 4.19 avg rating — 75 ratings — published 1983 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	True & Faithful Relation of Dr. John Dee & Some Spirits by John Dee, Herman Slater (Editor), Clay Holden (Contributor) 4.37 avg rating — 65 ratings — published 1659 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Diaries of John Dee by John Dee, Edward Fenton (Editor) 4.10 avg rating — 52 ratings — published 1998	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Heptarchia Mystica of John Dee 3.94 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 1986 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dr. John Dee's Spiritual Diaries: 1583-1608 by John Dee, Stephen Skinner (Editor) 4.48 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2011 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Enochian Keys 4.18 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2008 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	John Dee: Essential Readings by John Dee, Gerald Suster (Editor) 3.96 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 1986 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Rosie Crucian Secrets: Their Excellent Method Of Making Medicines Of Metals also their Lawes and Mysteries by John Dee, E.J. Langford Garstin (Editor), Ithell Colquhoun (Contributor) 4.18 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 1985 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by John Dee (?)

“Who does not understand should either learn, or be silent.”
― John Dee, The Hieroglyphic Monad

tags: alchemy, philosophy

39 likes

“By this we demonstrate here that the Quaternary is concealed within the Ternary. O God! pardon me if I have sinned against Thy Majesty in revealing such a great mystery in my writings which all may read, but I believe that only those who are truly worthy will understand.”
― John Dee, The Hieroglyphic Monad

tags: mathematics

2 likes

“I have from my youth up, desired and prayed unto God for pure and sound wisdom and understanding of truths natural and artificial, so that God's wisdom, goodness, and power bestowed in the frame of the world might be brought in some bountiful measure under the talent of my capacity... So for many years and in many places, far and near, I have sought and studied many books in sundry languages, and have conferred with sundry men, and have laboured with my own reasonable discourse, to find some inkling, gleam, or beam of those radical truths. But after all my endeavours I could find no other way to attain such wisdom but by the Extraordinary Gift, and not by any vulgar school, doctrine, or human invention”
― John Dee

1 likes

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John Dee’s Followers (147)

John Dee

Combine EditionsJohn Dee’s books

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
John Dee’s books