John Dee's Five Books of Mystery: Original Sourcebook of Enochian Magic

«Anno 1581: 1582 Mysteriorum Liber Primus Mortlaci *1* Præter alias meas extemporaneas preces, et eiaculationes ad Deum vehementiores: Hæc una, maximè usitata fuit Oratio mea Matutina, Vespertinaque: pro Sapientia.» — el diario abre con el encabezado del primer libro, el lugar —Mortlake— y la rúbrica de la oración de Dee: entre sus plegarias improvisadas, ésta era la más usada, la de mañana y tarde por la sabiduría.

«In nomine Dei Patris, Dei Filij, Dei Spiritus Sancti. Amen. Omnipotens, Sempiterne, vere, et viue Deus, in adiutorium meum intende: Domine Dominantium, Rex Regum, Jeouah Zebaoth, ad adiuuandum me festina: Gloria Deo, Patri, Filio, et spiritui Sancto: Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper et in sæcula sæculorum: Amen. Recte sapere, et intelligere doceto me, (Ô rerum omnium Creator,) Nam Sapientia tua, totum est, quod volo: Da verbum tuum in ore meo, (Ô rerum omnium Creator,) et sapientiam tuam in corde meo fige.» — el cuerpo de esa oración, en latín: invocación trinitaria, los nombres divinos Jeouah Zebaoth, y la petición central de Dee, que su única voluntad es la sabiduría de Dios.

«O Domine Jesu Christe (qui sapientia vera es, æterni et Omnipotentis tui Patris) humilimè tuam oro Diuinam Maiestatem, expeditum mihi ut mittere digneris, alicuius pij, Sapientis expertique Philosophi auxilium, ad illa plenissimè intelligenda perficiendaque, quæ maximi valoris erunt ad tuam laudem et gloriam amplificandam: Et si Mortalis nullus iam in terris viuat, qui ad hoc munus aptus sit: vel qui ex æterna tua providentia, ad istud mihi præstandum beneficium assignatus fuerit: Tunc equidem humilimè, ardentissimè et constantissimè a tua Diuina Maiestate requiro, ut ad me de cælis mittere digneris bonos tuos Spirituales Ministros; Angelosque, videlicet Michaëlem, Gabrielem, Raphaëlem ac Urielem» — la segunda mitad de la oración fija el orden de la petición: primero un filósofo sabio de carne y hueso, y solo si no vive ninguno en la tierra, los ángeles Miguel, Gabriel, Rafael y Uriel.

«Ab anno 1579. hoc ferè modo: Latinè, vel Anglicè; (ast circa annum 1569 alio et peculiari, particulari modo: interdum pro Raphaële, interdum pro Michaële) ad Deum præces fundere: mihi gratissimum fuit: Mirabilem in me faciat Deus Misericordiam suam.115 Amen John Dee his Note» — Dee data su propia práctica: así desde 1579, en latín o en inglés, y de otro modo hacia 1569, unas veces por Rafael y otras por Miguel; la línea final es el rótulo con que la edición marca la nota.

«O God Almighty, thow knowest, & art my director, and witnes herein, That I haue from my youth up, desyred & prayed unto thee for pure & sownd wisdome and understanding of some of thy truthes naturall and artificiall: such, as by which, thy wisdome, goodnes & powre bestowed in the frame of the word might be browght, in some bowntifull measure under the Talent124 of my Capacitie, to thy honor & glory, & the benefit of thy Servants, my brethern & Sistern, in, & by thy Christ our Saviour.» — abre la protesta de fe de 1582, escrita por Dee en inglés: lo que ha pedido desde joven es entender las verdades naturales y artificiales, y el fin declarado es la gloria de Dios y el provecho de los demás.

«And for as much as, many yeres, in many places, far & nere, in many bokes, & sundry languagis, I haue sowght, & studyed; and with sundry men conferred, and with my owne reasonable discourse labored, whereby to fynde or get some ynckling, glyms, or beame of such the forsaid radicall truthes: But, (to be brief) after all my forsaid endevor I could fynde no other way, to such true wisdome atteyning, but by thy extraordinary gift: and by no vulgar Schole doctrine, or humane Invention.» — el argumento con que Dee justifica el giro: agotados libros, lenguas, conversaciones y razonamiento propio, no halla otra vía que el don extraordinario.

«And, Seing, I haue red in thy bokes, & records, how Enoch enioyed thy favor and conversation, with Moyses thow wast familier: And allso that to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Josua, Gedeon, Esdras, Daniel, Tobias, and sundry other, thy good Angels were sent, by thy disposition, to instruct them, informe them, help them, yea in worldly and domesticall affaires, yea and sometimes to satisfy theyr desyres, dowtes & questions of thy Secrets:» — el precedente escriturario que Dee alega, y que incluye expresamente los asuntos mundanos y domésticos, no solo los secretos.

«And furdermore Considering, the Shew-stone, which the» — la frase se corta en el pie de plana y continúa en la siguiente: Dee va a alegar la piedra que usaban los sumos sacerdotes.

«high preists did use, by thy owne ordering: wherein they had lights and Judgments in theyr great dowtes: and considering allso that thow (O God) didst not refuse to instruct thy prophets, (then, called Seers) to give true answers to common people of things æconomicall, as Samuel, for Saul,125 seeking for his fathers asses being gon astray: and of other things vulgar true predictions, whereby to wyn credyt unto thy waightier affayres:» — el segundo precedente de Dee: si Samuel respondió por unas asnas perdidas, la adivinación de cosas menudas sirve para dar crédito a las mayores.

«And remembring what good cownsayle thy Apostle James giveth, saying, Si quis autem vestrûm indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, &c.126 And that Salomon the wise, did so, euen immediately by thy self, atteyne to his wonderfull wisdome.» — el tercer precedente, con la cita latina de la epístola de Santiago y el ejemplo de Salomón.

«And having allwayes a great regarde & care to beware of the filthy abvse of such as willingly and wetingly, did invocate & consult (in diuerse sorts) Spirituall creatures of the damned sort: angels of darknes, forgers & patrons of lies & untruthes:» — Dee separa expresamente su práctica de la de quienes invocan a sabiendas criaturas de la parte condenada.

«And having perceyued by some slight experiens with two diuerse persons, that thow hadst a speciall care to give me thy light, and truth, by thy holy and true ministers Angelic and Spirituall: and at length, hearing of one, (a master of Arte, a preacher of thy word admitted) accownted as a good Seer,131 and skryer of Spirituall apparitions, in Christalline receptacle, or in open ayre, by his practise procured: and trusting to frame him, by my ernest & faithfull prayers unto thee (my God) to some my help in my forsayd Studies:» — cómo llega Dee a su primer vidente: un maestro en artes y predicador reputado buen vidente, en receptáculo de cristal o al aire libre.

«Thereuppon trying him and using him, I fownd great diuersity betwene his private usuall manner, and intente of practise, and my pure, sincere, devowte, & faithfull prayer unto thee onely.» — y el desacuerdo que encuentra con él: no coincidían ni el modo ni la intención de la práctica.

«And out of Roger Bachon his boke written De mirabili potestate Artis et Natura,133 (where he writeth against the wycked Diuel callers) I noted unto him this sentence, Facilius (sine comparatione a Deo134 impetrandum foret, vel a bonis spiritibus, quicquid homini utile reputare &c135 which my cownsayle he promised me to follow» — la autoridad con que Dee corrige al vidente: la sentencia latina de Roger Bacon, contra los llamadores de demonios, según la cual es más fácil obtener de Dios o de los buenos espíritus cuanto le sea útil al hombre; la grafía Bachon es la del diario.

«Therfore, as well for a Memoriall answerable to the premisses, as for the better warrant of my Such exercises to be made accownt of, hereafter: (leaving all unto thy infinite mercies, and unsearchable providence,) I haue thowght it not impertinent, to note downe, even in this place one of the last Actions, which I had with the forsayd preacher: when I made ernest & faythfull petition unto thee (o the true and Almighty God) for sending, unto my cumfort & eridition, (yf it were thy blessed will,) thy holy, & mighty Angel Annael:» — Dee declara por qué abre el registro con esa sesión y no con otra: como memoria y como garantía de que sus ejercicios se tengan por lícitos.

«Anno 1581 Decembris 22. Mane136 Mortlak Δ: After my fervent prayers made to God, for his mercifull cumfort and instruction, throwgh the ministery of his holy and myghty Angel, named Anael,137 (yf it wer his diuine pleasure) I willed, the Skryer, (named Saul) to loke into my great Chrystaline Globe, yf God had sent his holy Angel Anael, or no:» — la primera sesión conservada, del 22 de diciembre de 1581 por la mañana en Mortlake: Dee, marcado con su delta, manda mirar al vidente Saul en el globo de cristal.

«And Saul loking into my forsayd stone, (or Chrystall Globe) for to espie Anael, he saw there one,138 which answered to that name. But being ernestly requested of me to tell the Truthe yf he were Anaël, An other did appere very bewtifull, with apparell yellow, glittering, like gold: and his hed had beames like ster beams, biasing, and spredding from it; his eyes fyrie.» — lo que Saul dice ver, según lo anota Dee: el primero responde al nombre, pero apremiado a decir verdad aparece otro, de vestido amarillo y ojos de fuego.

«He wrote in the stone very much in hebrue letters, and the letters seamed all transparent gold: which, Saul was not able eyther presently to reade, that I might write after his voyce, neyther to imitate the letters in short tyme.» — el primer fracaso de la técnica: la escritura hebrea en la piedra, que el vidente no sabe leer ni copiar.

«A bright ster, did go up and down by him. There appeared allso a white dog, with a long hed.139 And many other visions appeared, with this second: The first being voyded quite away.» — el resto de la aparición según el registro de Dee.

«Δ: In nomine Jesu Christi, Quis tu es?140 He answered to Saul his hearing. AN: Potestas omnis, in me sita est.141 Δ: Quake?142 AN: Bona, et mala.» — el interrogatorio de identidad, que la edición marca con las siglas de cada voz: Dee pregunta quién es, y el que responde, marcado AN, dice que en él está todo poder, el bueno y el malo.

«Δ: Then appeared in the stone, these two letters M. G. I then axing him some questions, de Thesauro abscondito:144 He answered, AN: Ne perturbes: Nam hæ sunt Nugse.» — Dee pregunta por un tesoro escondido y el ángel se lo despacha como fruslerías; *Nugse* es lo que imprime la plana donde cabría leer *Nugæ*.

«And withall appeared many dedd mens skulls, on his left hand. He sayd to me, AN: Ubi est potestas tua?146 Δ: Cur quæris de potestate aliqua mea?147 AN: Cur? Signifi, non mihi placet.» — el ángel devuelve la pregunta por el poder, y Dee la rehúye: el diálogo va entero en latín y con calaveras a la izquierda del que habla.

«Δ: An bonus aliquis Angelus, assignatus est huic speculo?149» — la pregunta con que Dee cierra la plana, sobre si hay un ángel bueno asignado a la piedra; la respuesta viene en la siguiente.

«AN: Etiam.150 Δ: Quis?151 AN: He answered, by the shew of these letters in the stone. Δ: Bonus ne ille Angelus, de quo in scripturis fit mentio?» — la respuesta es que sí, y el nombre se da por letras mostradas en la piedra, que la edición no reproduce en la capa de texto.

«Δ: Fieri ne potest, quod ego eundem videam, et cum illo agam?154 AN: Ita.155 And therewith appeared this character— Δ: Quid per hoc, significare velis?156 AN: Alterius Angeli character est.» — Dee pregunta si podrá ver y tratar a ese ángel; el carácter que aparece en la piedra no está en la capa de texto y queda fuera de esta ficha.

«Δ: Cur hîc, et nunc ostendis?158 AN: Causam ob magnam.159 Make an ende: It shalbe declared, but not by me. Δ: By whome then? AN: By him that is assigned to the stone: but not, tyll after the feast.» — el aplazamiento: quien ha de declararlo es el ángel asignado a la piedra, y no antes de la fiesta.

«And then thow must prepare thyself, to prayer and fasting.160 In the Name of God, be Secret: and in all thy doings praying, tyll thow hast thy desyre: which shall not be far of. After Newyeres tyde, Deale, But not on the Sabaoth day. Pray contynually. When it shall pleas god, to stir thee up, Then procede. In the brightest day, When the Sonne shyneth: In the morning, fasting, begynne to pray. In the Sonne Set the stone. Deale both Kneeling, and sitting.» — la regla de operación que dicta el ángel: secreto, ayuno y oración, nada en sábado, día claro, al sol y en ayunas, de rodillas y sentado.

«I haue done for this tyme. My name is ANNAEL. I will speak ones more to thee: and than farewell: for thow shalt not haue me any more. Be not to hasty in wrath.» — el ángel se nombra al despedirse y anuncia que no volverá.

«Δ: Is this, that, you ment to speak? AN: I. Do good to all men. God hath sufficient for thee, and for all men. Farewell.» — el cierre de la sesión, con la última instrucción moral del ángel.

«Δ: Remember, that diuerse other particulars, mowght haue byn Noted of this dayes Action: but these may suffice: And yet it is not to be forgotten, that as he sayd his name was Annael (with a dubble n) so he allso confessed himself to be the same Annaël which is prepositus orbis veneris:162 and allso Chief governor Generall of this great period, as I haue Noted in my boke of Famous and rich Discoueries.» — la nota con que Dee cierra la sesión: declara haber omitido particulares, fija la grafía del nombre con dos enes, y remite a otra obra suya para el cargo cósmico del ángel, prepósito de la esfera de Venus.

«Consider and Remember: That this Note, of the Action, (had with holy ANNAEL), is, of prince Befafes, (otherwise called Obelison) accownted as the Prolog of my first boke of mysticall exercises Anno 1582. Nouembris 20. Vide post.» — nota posterior de Dee sobre el estatuto de la sesión de Annael: no es el primer libro sino su prólogo, y quien lo declara es el príncipe Befafes, también llamado Obelison.

«Saterday Δ: One165 Mr. Edward Talbot cam to my howse,166 and he being willing and desyrous to see or shew some thing in spirituall practise, wold haue had me to haue done some thing therein.» — la llegada del segundo vidente, el 10 de marzo de 1582, con el nombre que el diario le da: Mr. Edward Talbot.

«And I truely excused myself therein as not in the, vulgarly accownted Magik, neyther studied, or exercised: But confessed my self, long tyme to haue byn desyrous to haue help in my philosophicall studies throwgh the Cumpany and information of the blessed Angels of God.» — Dee se deslinda ante el recién llegado: no es la magia que corrientemente se llama así, sino ayuda angélica para sus estudios filosóficos.

«And thereuppon, I browght furth to him, my stone in the frame, (which was given me of a frende) and I sayd unto him, that I was credibly informed, that to it (after a sort) were answerable Aliqui Angeli boni:167 And allso that I was ones willed by a Skryer, to call for the good Angel Anchor, to appere in that stone to my owne sight. And therfore I desyred him to call him: and (yf he wold) Anachor and Anilos likewise, accownted good Angels, for I was not prepared thereunto.» — la piedra, regalo de un amigo, y los tres nombres que Dee le pide llamar; él se declara no preparado para hacerlo.

«He than settled him self to the Action: and on his Knees att my desk (setting the stone before him) fell to prayer and entreaty &c. In the mean space, I, in my Oratory did pray, and make motion to god, and his good Creatures for the furdering of this Action.» — el reparto físico de la operación: el vidente de rodillas ante la piedra, Dee orando aparte en su oratorio.

«And within one quarter of an howre (or less) he had sight of one in the stone. but he still expected for two more: deeming this to be one of the three (namely Anchor Anachor Anilos). But I then cam to him, to the stone: And after some thanks to God, and Wellcome to the good Creature, used, I required to know his name. And he spake plainly, (to the hearing of E.T.) that his name is URIEL.» — el primer resultado con Kelley: en menos de un cuarto de hora aparece uno que no es ninguno de los tres esperados y que se nombra Uriel; el diario marca que quien oye es E.T.

«Δ: Are you one of them (sayd I, John Dee) that are answerable, (uppon due observations performed) to this stone? URIEL: I am. Δ: Are there any more besyde you? UR: Michael and Raphaël. But, Michael est princeps in operibus nostris.» — Uriel declara ser de los que responden a esa piedra y nombra a los otros dos, con Michael como príncipe de sus obras.

«Δ: Ys my boke, of Soyga,169 of any excellency? UR: Liber ille, erat Adæ in Paradiso reuelatus, per Angelos Dei bonos.170 Δ: Will you give me any instructions, how I may read those Tables of Soyga? UR: I can - But solus Michaël illius libri est interpretator.» — la primera pregunta de Dee en la primera sesión con Kelley es por el Soyga; Uriel lo declara revelado a Adán en el Paraíso y reserva su interpretación a Michael.

«Δ: I was told, that after I could read that boke, I shold liue but two yeres and a half. UR: Thow shallt liue an Hundred and od yeres.» — la profecía que Dee trae y la que el ángel le devuelve, sin resolver la contradicción entre ambas.

«Δ: What may I, or must I do, to haue the sight, and presence, of Michael, that blessed Angel? UR: Præssentias nostras postulate et invocate, sinceritate et humilitate. Et Anchor, Anachor, et Anilos, non sunt in hunc Lapidem invocandi.» — Uriel fija la condición —pedir con sinceridad y humildad— y prohíbe expresamente invocar en esa piedra a los tres ángeles de la primera lista.

«First published in 2003 by Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC York Beach, ME With offices at: 368 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210 www.redwheelweiser.com» — el pie editorial que imprime la página de derechos.

«Copyright © 2003 Joseph H. Peterson All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.» — el copyright de la edición está a nombre de Peterson, no de la casa.

«Previously published as The Five Books of Mystical Exercises of John Dee as part of the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series in a handbound edition by Adam McLean, 1985.» — la nota de copyright declara una edición previa de 1985, encuadernada a mano por Adam McLean dentro de la serie Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks, con el título *The Five Books of Mystical Exercises of John Dee*.

«Originally published: The five books of mystical experience. [S.I.] : A. Megan, 1985, in the series: Magnum Opus Hermetic» — el asiento de catalogación de la Library of Congress, en la misma plana, nombra esa edición previa de otro modo: otro título, *The five books of mystical experience*, y otro responsable, A. Megan; las dos formas quedan consignadas sin arbitrar entre ellas.

«ISBN 1-57863-178-5 (alk. paper) 1. Enochian magic. I. Title: Five books of mystery. II. Peterson, Joseph H. III. Title.» — el ISBN y la materia única con que la Library of Congress clasifica el volumen: magia enoquiana.

«The image of Dee’s wax Sigillum Dei Aemeth Copyright © The British Museum used with permission.» — la única imagen cuyo crédito se consigna aparte es la del sello de cera de Dee, propiedad del British Museum.

«Typeset in Sabon Printed in the United States of America» — la composición y el lugar de impresión que declara la página de derechos.

«For the Board of Trustees of the British Museum who granted me special permission to study manuscripts while I was under their age requirements, helped me during the many years that have passed since then, and gave me permission to publish this unique material from their collections.» — Peterson declara en la dedicatoria de dónde viene su acceso al material: un permiso especial del patronato del British Museum, concedido cuando aún no tenía la edad reglamentaria, y la licencia de publicar el material de sus colecciones.

«For my close friend, Paul Deneka, who introduced me to John Dee’s writings and continues to share my enthusiasm for obscure dead guys.» — y de dónde viene el interés: Peterson nombra a Paul Deneka como quien lo llevó a los escritos de Dee.

«My intent in presenting this text is not to recap Dee’s life or present a new perspective, but to fill in an important gap that has been generally neglected.» — Peterson acota su propósito: ni biografía ni tesis nueva, sino llenar un hueco.

«It sheds light on Dee’s politics, science, and occultism.» — qué alumbra, según él, el manuscrito que edita.

«For the first edition of this text, I had the simple goal of eliminating two major barriers to the study of John Dee and Edward Kelley. These barriers are availability and legibility of the material.» — la meta de la primera edición, dicha por Peterson: quitar dos barreras, la de conseguir el material y la de poder leerlo.

«First, the English of Dee’s day was somewhat different from that spoken today, so I have added many footnotes to clarify obscurities in the language.» — lo que añade la edición revisada: notas al pie sobre el inglés isabelino.

«I have also translated the frequent Latin passages.» — y la traducción de los pasajes latinos, que en el cuerpo van firmados por el editor.

«Second, the subject matter of the text, medieval and Renaissance magic, assumes a view of the universe not commonly held today.» — la segunda dificultad que Peterson declara: la materia da por supuesta una imagen del universo que hoy no se sostiene.

«To further clarify the text in this context, I have expanded the introduction and index and explained otherwise obscure references in the footnotes.» — su respuesta a esa dificultad: ampliar introducción e índice y explicar las referencias oscuras.

«I have also added supplementary material from Dee’s diary and other manuscripts.» — y el material suplementario que incorpora, tomado del diario de Dee y de otros manuscritos.

«Although the angels made him swear never to reveal these doctrines to anyone not sanctioned by them, he complained, “If no man, by no means, shall perceive anything hereof by me, I would think that I should not do well.”» — Peterson abre la introducción con la tensión que gobierna el diario: los ángeles imponen secreto y Dee se queja; las palabras entrecomilladas son de Dee.

«Nevertheless, these pages were carefully concealed, and nearly lost forever.» — y con la fragilidad material del testimonio, según Peterson.

«Dr. Dee represents the true Renaissance man—a master of many areas of learning.» — el retrato que Peterson propone de su autor.

«In many ways, Dee lived at the center of conflicting forces and ideas—tradition vs. reformation, science vs. magic, Christianity vs. paganism (that is, Judaism, Hermeticism, and even studies of Arabic traditions).» — Peterson sitúa a Dee en el cruce de fuerzas en pugna, y cuenta entre el paganismo el judaísmo, el hermetismo y el estudio de tradiciones árabes.

«He became scientific advisor and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth, who occasionally visited him at his home at Mortlake. He was instrumental in planning the expansion of the British Empire, exploring the New World, and, with the help of angelic agents, ushering in the new age as well.» — Peterson enlaza en una sola frase el cargo cortesano, la política imperial y los agentes angélicos.

«Dee began his “mystical experiments” with a solid foundation in medieval and Renaissance science, magic, Kabbalah, and the Hermetic arts. Further mysteries were revealed by the “angels” who manifested themselves, ultimately resulting in a new, unified occult system.» — de dónde parte el sistema, según Peterson: no de cero, sino de una base ya formada; nota que él mismo entrecomilla *mystical experiments* y *angels*.

«This occult system is perhaps closer to a face-lift than a new system. Most of it would have been familiar to occultists of the day, but with a veneer of new names and symbols.» — y el límite que Peterson le pone en la misma plana: lo nuevo estaría en los nombres y los símbolos, no en la doctrina.

«The one aspect of these writings that has fascinated most, however, is that the angels delivered a complete book in an otherwise unknown language.» — lo que, según Peterson, ha atraído más lectores.

«They claimed this book, named Loagaeth, to be of utmost importance. Its language is the true language of creation so sought after by Kabbalists and by Dee himself.» — Peterson nombra el libro dictado y lo empalma con la lengua de la creación que buscaba la cábala.

«This “angelic book” was later used to extract a long series of messages (or “calls”) in yet another unknown language, called Enochian.» — y distingue dos lenguas: la del libro y la de las llamadas, que es la que se llama enoquiana.

«One reason for this is the growing debate over the importance of Dee’s role in history by such eminent scholars as Francis Yates,7 Wayne Shumaker, and, more recently, William Sherman.» — a quiénes atribuye Peterson el debate académico; la grafía del nombre de la primera es la que imprime esta plana, y la bibliografía del volumen la asienta en cambio como Frances Amelia Yates (p. 304) y una nota como Frances A. Yates (p. 350).

«Order of the Golden Dawn, and, subsequently, by Aleister Crowley. If one examines the Golden Dawn material, its appeal soon becomes clear: It draws together various occult methods into a highly coherent system.» — la frase empieza al final de la plana anterior, donde Peterson da como segunda razón del interés por Dee que la Golden Dawn adoptara su sistema.

«In adapting Dee’s system, various additions, omissions, and mistakes were made. This departure was compounded by uncritical, although imaginative, treatments of the Golden Dawn and Crowley material by some authors. The net result is a maze of misinformation.» — el juicio de Peterson sobre esa recepción, y el motivo declarado de publicar el original.

«Dee studies have created two radically different pictures of Dee—one as Magus, and the other as scientist-politician. I hope this volume will help bridge the gap.» — Peterson nombra la polarización de los estudios sobre Dee y declara querer tender un puente.

«Placing the focus on Dee’s public writings, however, can give the modern reader the mistaken impression that occultism was not central to his thinking. This is simply because, in Dee’s day, the occult was a dangerous pastime, placing you at risk, not just from hostile spirits, but from the frightened public.» — su explicación del silencio de la obra publicada: el peligro, y no la falta de interés.

«We would do well to keep in mind the fate of the less cautious magus Giordano Bruno, who was burned alive at the stake by the Inquisition only a few years after Dee recorded these accounts.» — el caso con que Peterson mide ese peligro.

«Dee’s childhood idols, Roger Bacon, Trithemius, Agrippa, Paracelsus, and others, all had suffered greatly because of their reputations as magi. Dee himself was imprisoned early in life, an experience he was careful to avoid thereafter.» — y la serie de precedentes, incluido el encarcelamiento del propio Dee.

«Although many of Dee’s books were widely circulated, they were not intended for publication, but rather were “directed inward, to an extremely restricted circle” for private political aims.» — Peterson objeta el sesgo que da por menor lo manuscrito; la frase entrecomillada la toma de su nota 10.

«Although it has repeatedly been observed that Henry Cornelius Agrippa was a major influence on Dee, most have concluded that Dee’s system is highly nontraditional.» — el estado de la cuestión tal como Peterson lo resume antes de discutirlo.

«I hope to show that Dee and his spirit medium, Edward Kelley, were following traditional methods, especially during their earlier efforts, and that his later methods are adaptations of traditional ones, used within a traditional framework.» — la tesis que Peterson declara para el volumen, en modo de propósito y no de resultado: que Dee y Kelley seguían métodos tradicionales, sobre todo al principio.

«Dee’s writings also are of interest in that they are a record of the most educated English of Shakespeare’s age. To some extent, Dee is even said to have influenced the English language.» — un interés colateral que Peterson señala: el registro lingüístico.

«John was born shortly after Luther’s break with Rome, and immediately after England’s, during a period of radical reform. The resurgence of classical Greek studies combined with new interest in Hebrew studies to create Renaissance Neoplatonism.» — el marco de época con que Peterson abre el período temprano de Dee.

«Renaissance philosophers sought to integrate Greek and Hebrew traditions in an attempt to unify the rapidly disintegrating religious factions and end the constant political strife. They were thus the forerunners or prophets of the Rosicrucian and Illuminati movements.» — y el linaje que les adjudica hacia adelante.