John Dee

(Dee)
(13 [23] .07.1527, <4:36 GT>, London - December 1608, Mortlake, Surrey)
The court astrologer of British monarchs: in 1551-53 he. - When Edward VI, in 1553, Mr.. - When Mary Tudor. It is known that Mary sympathized D. and ordered him to horoscopes of her fiance Philip of Spain and own. But when it became known that the D. had the imprudence to discuss with the younger half-sister of Queen Elizabeth horoscope Princess Mary, D. arrested on charges of practicing witchcraft as "an accomplice of the devil and evil magicians and spirits of the Damned". There are even allegations of murder of children in witchcraft purposes, but they were subsequently removed. In addition, excellent knowledge of the Scriptures disposed to D. judges, and in 1555, Mr.. was released. When in 1558, Mr.. queen was Elizabeth I, she called for a D. and asked him to indicate the auspicious day for the coronation. Since then he became her constant adviser in public affairs. F. Velichko said that D. had so great an impact on foreign and domestic policy of England Elizabethan times, that without regard to astrological factors can not be a correct interpretation of historical events of this period. Thus, it is D. Queen is obliged to wise advice to subordinate the English crown Greenland and use it as a springboard to capture North America. Although the Queen later reverse its decision (which could significantly change the political picture of the modern world), plans to travel to Greenland and the country's magic did not leave D. life (it was the subject of his talks with Giordano Bruno when they met in Prague in 1588).
D. showed early brilliance, becoming at age 19, after graduating from Cambridge University, a member of the elite Trinity College and an assistant for the Greek language. D. characterized by volatility, restlessness and extreme skepticism in the problem of educating the youth, because of his lectures, preferred to entertain the students a demonstration of mechanical objects of his own invention. His passion for mechanics manifested in the creation of flying beetles, crabs and Scolopendra, so believable, that D. had to defend themselves against accusations of witchcraft. Due to the fact that these mechanical toys frighten the common people, was burned Library D. in Mortlake, after which he uttered the famous phrase: "Meridian knowledge does not go through the book.
Traveling in 1583-89 he. Europe, D. arranged magical presentation at the royal court, collecting books on magic and Witchcraft. Many historians believe that he actually acted as a secret agent of Elizabeth I. But on his return D. England Queen "forgotten" about his personal astrologer, and his last years he spent away from the court. In 1595, Mr.. He was appointed rector of Manchester College. In 1608, Mr.. D. died in poverty.
In the history of science D. regarded as the father of English Applied Mathematics and one of the forerunners of non-Euclidean geometry. But while D. always a magician and alchemist, ie. man, fundamentally alien to the positivist tendencies of Mathematics. His kosmosofiya allows any possible manifestation of spatiotemporal Eidos. In his preface to the "beginning" Euclid Dr.. wrote: "We must always remember that the variability of living space distorts the geometrical axioms. Sum of the angles of a triangle equal to the sum of two straight lines, there is a rule of ethics, but not free of Mathematics ". His interpretation of Euclid vastly platonistichna: he sees a straight line, . triangle and circle as a result of interaction with the world of pure ideas "invisible zodiac" and refuses to recognize the abstraction and objectivity of time and space,
. According to D., . the influence of the stars of the microcosm and the attraction of the "inner moon" rise to the rudimentary functionality "Dion" - the mysterious coordinator infinitely expanding individual perception: time, . space, . data "senses", . volumes, . distances vary in their qualities and transpositions,
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A very significant contribution to D. as a geographer in the exploration of new lands in the XVI century. He developed plans for two marine expeditions to the north-east, and the first of them, reaching the Archangel, marked the beginning of diplomatic relations with Russia. D. amounted maps, advised Boatswain and navigators who went to explore the New World, he plans to settlements belong to North America. But all any of the geographical ideas of D. was destined to fail.
In his "public and private records relating to perfect the art of navigation" D. stressed the priority of perception of the observer in the creation of a geographical panorama of the universe. Researcher life and work of Dr.. John Calder said: "Dr. Dee, as well as Giordano Bruno and Campanella, was one of the last committed defenders of magic worldview" (Calder JRF. John Dee, studied as an English Neoplatonist. - 1972).
In Europe, where D. supplement their education after Cambridge and lectured, held his acquaintance with the astrological sciences. D. studied not only astrology. A lot of time. devoted to alchemy and magic, the Kabbalah and Neoplatonism, put a series of experiments in extrasensory perception. It is known that, along with his assistant Edward Kelley, he tried to call the spirits to find buried treasure. Council D. and his book on demonology used Justices of the Peace in Lancashire (where he led the Manchester College) - in cases involving the expulsion of demons.
Building a picture of the universe based on the Hermetic teachings (cm. Hermeticism), D. shortly after Copernicus came to the heliocentric system of the world. This fact is used by supporters of the occult sciences to prove that these sciences can serve not less objective means of knowledge than science.
Among other things, D. paradoxical invented the compass, predicted the development of the telescope structure, advocated the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in England.
Home Library, which Dr.. diligently collected all his life, was enormous. Even after both of the books in the absence of D. lost, now in Eshmoulinskom Museum in Oxford (cm. Eshmoul) left and holds about 3000 volumes. In library D. included rare books on hermetism, Magic and Witchcraft.
D. proposed to collect manuscripts, scattered in the monasteries, anticipating the Commission on historical manuscripts, organized only in the XIX century. He advocated the establishment of the Royal Library, but only in 1753, Mr.. as an echo of his ideas was created British Museum. Finally, D. offered to make copies of the most valuable works are stored in the Vatican library, ahead of common practice nowadays Microfilm.
D. wrote a total of 79 works, but most of them - the esoteric content - was not published. One of the works, wrote Dr.. in his diary, the volume exceeded the Bible, from the printers, it has caused such terror that they refused to publish.
Blogs D. been published yet in the XVII century. entitled: "Faithful and truthful message about long-term relationships Dee ... some of the spirits "(" A True and Faithful Relation of what passed for many Years between Dr. John Dee ... and some Spirits ", 1659).
The image of D. inspired the famous Austrian writer-spirituality G. Meyrinka to create a novel "Angel of the West Window (1927), the most significant of his works.