Page:Deespirits.djvu/37

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The PREFACE.

I Come now to Dr. Dee, and to This Book of his, which hath been the occaſion of all the Diſcourſe hitherto. As for his Perſon or Parentage, Education and the like, I have but little to ſay more then what he ſaith himſelf in his firſt Letter to the Emperor (Rodolphe) of Germany, that being yet very young he was fought unto (ambiverunt me) by two Emperors, Charls the 5th and Ferdinando his Brother and Succeſſor in the Empire. Mr. Cambden indeed in the year 1572 makes honourable mention of him, and calls him, Nobilis Mathematicus. He dedicated his Monas Hieroglyphica to Maximilian Succeſſor to Ferdinando, firſt printed at Antwerp, An. Dom. 1564. and afterwards at Francſord, 1591. and what other places I know not. In the year 1595. he did write (and was printed 1599 I am ſure, but whether before that or no, I cannot certainly tell) A diſcourſe Apologetical, &c. directed to the then Archbiſhop of Canterbury, wherein he hath a Catalogue of books written by himſelf, printed and unprinted, to the number of 48. in all, and doth alſo mention the books of his Library about 4000 volums in all, whereof 700 ancient Manuſcripts, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. There alſo doth he produce a Teſtimony of the Univerſity of Cambridg, dated 1548. But this whole Diſcourſe of his being but ſhort, for the better ſatisfaction of the Reader, I thought good to have it here reprinted the next after this Preface. His Mathematical Preface before Euclid, is that I think which of all his writings publiſhed hath been moſt taken notice of in England, and added much to the worth and commendation of that Edition of Euclid, He was a married man and had divers children, as will appear by this Relation; a great Traveller, and lived to a great age. But as I ſaid before, I do not pretend to give an account of his life in general, unto others, which my ſelf am yet a ſtranger to. What concerneth this Relation I am to give an account, and I hope there ſhall be nothing wanting to that. Four things I propoſe to my ſelf to that end,

First, Somewhat to confirm the truth and ſincerity of this whole Relation.

Secondly, To answer ſome Objections that may be made againſt ſome parts of it.

Thirdly, To give ſome light to fſome places, and to ſatisfie the Reader concerning the perfection and imperfection of the book, as alſo, concerning the Original Copy.

Fourthly, and laſtly, To ſhew the many good uſes that may be made of all by a ſober Chriſtian.

I. It ſeems that Dr. Dee began to have the reputation of a Conjurer betimes. He doth very grievously complain of it in that Preface to Euclid but now ſpoken of, about the end of it, and yet there doth alſo term himſelf, An old forworn Mathematician. For my part whether he could ever truly be ſo called, I yet make ſome queſtion: But I am very confident, that himſelf did not know or think himſelf ſo, but a zealous worſhipper of God, and a very free and ſincere Chriſtian. How this is to be reconciled with the truth of this Relation, ſhall be afterwards conſidered of. For the truth and ſincerity of the Relation, I hopeno

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