JOHN DEE 237 



to the imperfection of Nature not answerable to the preciseness of 

 demonstration." 



The preface is framed for such 

 who well can, (and also will) use their outward senses to the glory of God, the 

 benefite of their Country, and their own secret contentation, or honest prefer- 

 ment on this earthly Scaffold. To them I will orderly recite, describe and 

 declare a great number of Artes, from our two Mathematicall fountaines, de- 

 rived into the fields of Nature. Whereby such Sedes, and Rotes, as lye depe 

 hyd in the ground of Nature, are refreshed, quickened, and provoked to grow, 

 shote up, floure, and give frute, infinite, and incredible. ... At this time I 

 define an Arte to be a Methodicall complete doctrine, having abundancy of 

 sufficient, and peculiar matter to deale with, by the allowance of the Metaphys- 

 icall Philosopher: the knowledge whereof, to humaine state is necessarye. And 

 that I account, an Art Mathematicall derivative, which by Mathematicall dem- 

 onstrative Method, in Numbers, or Magnitudes, ordereth and confirmeth his 

 doctrine, as much and as perfectly, as the matter subject will admit. 



It seems certain that John Dee had also a conscious belief in the 

 value to science itself of the application of its principles. He invites 

 his reader to " consider the infinite desire of knowledge, and incredible 

 power of man's Search and Capacitye how, they jointly have waded 

 farder by mixtying of speculation and practise." Compare with this 

 a sentence by Ernst Haeckel written three centuries later : 



We must welcome as one of the most fortunate steps in the direction of a 

 solution of the great cosmic problems the fact that of recent years there is a 

 growing tendency to recognize the two paths which alone lead thereto — 

 experience and thought, or speculation to be of equal value, and mutually 

 complementary. 1 



John Dee's long life covers a dramatic period in the history of the 

 development of thought, and as the most widely known English scholar 

 of his generation his education and wanderings are interesting. It was 

 in 1526 that the books were burned in Oxford in the futile attempt to 

 stop the new learning. In the following year John Dee was born of 

 the ancient family of Dees of Eadnorshire. His father, Eowland Dee, 

 was by some accounts a vintner in London, by others he is described as 

 gentleman sewer to Henry VIII. Whatever his occupation, he was a 

 friend to the universities, and in 1542 sent his son to St. John's College, 

 Cambridge. Here he remained, first as student, then as foundation 

 fellow, until 1546. When in the same year Trinity College was founded 

 by patent of Henry VIII. , Dee was made one of the original fellows and 

 was, as he says, assigned there to be the "under reader of the Greek 

 tongue." At the same time he was occupied with mathematical and 

 astronomical studies and on " going down " gave to Trinity his astro- 

 nomical instruments. 



At that time the men of the universities seemed not to aspire to 

 know more than was to be learned from Plato and Aristotle. That 

 John Dee had a mental appetite beyond the ability of Cambridge to 

 satisfy appears from his account of his wanderings. 



1 " Riddle of the Universe," p. 18. 



