An Unknown Chapter in the Life of John Dee Author(s): C. H.

Josten Source: Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 28 (1965), pp. 223-257 Published by: The Warburg Institute Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/750672 . Accessed: 13/10/2011 15:33
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AN UNKNOWN

CHAPTER

IN THE LIFE OF JOHN

DEE

By C. H. Josten Casaubon, D.D. (1599-1671), published in I659 A True & Faithful Relation What Between John Dee (A Mathematician Meric of passedformanyYeers Dr GreatFame in Q. Eliz. and King James theirReignes)and SomeSpirits. Apart of from an interesting preface and a table of contents by Casaubon, this work contains the text of a Dee manuscript, then in the Cottonian Library, which is now MS. Cotton, Appendix XLVI, parts i and ii, in the British Museum. The printed book contains a great number of printing errors, omissions, gratuitous additions, and other inaccuracies, which Casaubon carefully corrected in his own copy, now in the Bodleian Library (shelf-mark: D. 8. 14 Art.). Besides corrections, this volume contains also a certain number of annotations in Casaubon's hand. According to a manuscript note on the title-page, Casaubon's copy was acquired on 8 October i672 by Arthur (Annesley), third Earl of Anglesey (1614-86), who lent the book to Elias Ashmole in December I672 (MS. Ashm. 1788, fol. 65). Ashmole copied Casaubon's corrections and annotations into his own copy of the printed work (now MS. Ashm. 58o) and added certain interesting annotations of his own in the margin of Casaubon's printed preface and elsewhere; he also collated his copy of the printed book with the manuscript. Casaubon's printed edition of the Dee manuscript in the Cottonian Library has been, and will be, the principal source for Dee's life between 28 May 1583 and 23 May 1587 to those who cannot consult the original in the British Museum. The text contains a great deal of biographical information, interspersed between the minutes of the spiritistic seances (or 'actions') which supplied the title to Casaubon's edition. Though a biography of Dee has been published by Mrs. Charlotte Fell Smith (JohnDee, London, I909), a scholarly and detailed account of the life and work of that singularly learned Elizabethan Hermetist remains a desideratum primaeclassis. A recent accidental discovery among the manuscripts of that passionate collector of any kind of information on Dee, Elias Ashmole, may, therefore, be of use to a future biographer. MS. Ashm. 1790, art. I, fols. I-Io, is a paper in Dee's hand, entitled: Praefatio Latina in Actionem primam

jex7j(habitam,
Io Die Aprilis,

Pragae), et iam in Latinum conversam sermonem.

Anno 1586.
223

224

C. H. JOSTEN

The Latin translation of the minutes of the action of Io April 1586, which is mentioned in this title, is found ibid., fols. I2-I 9v. (A transcript of both these texts, written by Ashmole, is preserved in MS. Ashm. 1788, fols. 37-64; it is not always accurate.) To anyone familiar with Casaubon's book a perusal of these texts soon makes it obvious that they fill a lacuna in the original (MS. Cotton, Appendix XLVI) and the printed edition, of which Casaubon himself was aware. On page 417 of his own copy of the printed book he has noted under Dee's account of the action of 6 September I585: 'Memorandum. hic est hiatus dimidii plus minus anni.' The Latin preface to the action of i o April and the Latin version of the minutes of that action have, therefore, been translated into English (below, pp. 225-55). The sequel in Casaubon's book, entitled 'Liber Resurrectionis', especially Dee's and Kelly's expulsion from Bohemia and other dominions of the Emperor on 29 May I586 (Casaubon, pp. 418-48), cannot be properly understood without them. Their text provides a plausible explanation for the hiatus in the manuscript used by Casaubon: the minutes of Dee's seances were usually recorded by him in English and later translated into Latin (below, p. 227). Dee's medium and skryer, Edward Kelly, usually received his allegedly divine or angelic communications in English, and certainly did so on this occasion (below, p. 241). They were recorded by Dee immediately after Kelly had spoken (below, p. 247). The minutes of the action of io April 1586, which were in English, were separated from the volume in which they had just been entered as a sequel to previous seances, during the action itself. A voice, which Dee believed was that of the Holy Spirit, commanded him (through Kelly) to cut out of the book the text of the minutes he was writing. The rest of the volume they were commanded to burn at once, together with all their other mystical books and papers, including the records of all previous seances, and the powder of transmutation. (They had previously been commanded not to make any use of 'that holy powder' and of a certain book which, like the powder, had been divinely communicated, until they would receive permission to do so.) The preparation of this holocaust and its burning are described in great detail (below, pp. 248-54). When their treasures had been miraculously restored to Dee and Kelly on, and after, 29 April i586 (Casaubon, pp. 418-20, and a marginal note in Ashmole's copy on p. 418), the excised minutes of the action of 10 April 1586 were, it seems, not reunited with the volume in which they had originally been written. Their original English text, which was written by Dee during the seance, is apparently lost (cf. below, n. 36). It is questionable whether the Latin preface to these minutes ever had an English original. Dee often interspersed the minutes of the seances with accounts of events in his and Kelly's lives and with other explanatory material, as has already been mentioned. These intercalations are usually in English. But, in this instance, the title of the preface (above, p. 223) makes it plausible that the preface was not translated from an English original, but was originally written in Latin. The preface was, at any rate, written a few days after a conversation of circa 23 April I586, which Dee mentions in its text (below,

THE LIFE OF JOHN DEE

225

p. 233). Dee may indeed have written the Latin preface so as to use it, in conjunction with the Latin version of the minutes of i o April 1586, as a justification of his and Kelly's conduct in the eyes of some official of the imperial court. Latin, in this case, would indeed have been the only likely medium of communication (cf. Casaubon, p. 421, wrongly paginated 417). Dee's and Kelly's situation at Prague, at the end of April 1586, was most precarious and very much in need of justification before those who were in power. Ever since their arrival in August 1584 (Casaubon, p. 212) Dee had tried to persuade ambassadors and other influential persons at the court of the Emperor Rudolf II, as also the Emperor himself, of the importance of the celestial communications received by him and Kelly. Dee had failed utterly in his attempts to win the confidence and favour of the Emperor himet he self, as whose private Philosophus Mathematicus had hoped to be established below, nn. 6, 7, 8). Dee and Kelly were also, at least at (Casaubon, p. 246; times, in desperate need of money (Casaubon, pp. 247, 389); they were apparently not receiving any financial support from England (below, p. 237). Dangerous rumours denying the integrity of their intentions and accusing them of conjurations of evil spirits had been spreading since the latter part of
See, had been aroused (below, pp. 229, 230, 257).

two successive Papal Nuncios, and through their reports those of the Holy

I584 (Casaubon, pp. 247,

255, 354; below, pp. 227-30).

The suspicions of

cal and schismatical church (below, p. 245). The ecclesiastical authorities may have been confirmed in their suspicions by information they received from Dee's and Kelly's pretended friend and household companion, Francesco Pucci, whom Dee had allowed to take part in the seances. Pucci, at any rate, had known the Nuncio only for a few days, when the flattering, yet unsuccessful, invitations to call, which the Nuncio had formerly sent to Dee and Kelly, suddenly changed into a severe command which made them repair to his palace without delay (below, p. 231). Pucci appears also as a friend of the Jesuits (below, pp. 238-9), and, only a few months after the events related in our text, Dee recognized him as a false friend and a spy of the Nuncio and In the translation, which follows, Dee's parentheses have been preserved. Additions by the translator and Dee's marginal notes have been placed in brackets. It should be noted that Dee frequently refers to himself by the Greek letter A. May the text, which at least one reader found fascinating,
now speak for itself: his adherents (below, n. 25).

the Roman Catholic rite (below, pp. 234-5), were known to belong to a hereti-

The events related in our text concern mainly the development of Dee's and Kelly's relations with the Nuncio and with Kelly's Jesuit confessor. The Rector of the Jesuits at Prague and other Jesuits, who are mentioned, also appear to have taken an interest, not altogether friendly, in these foreign magicians who, in spite of Kelly's desire to receive the sacraments according to

[Title- A Latin preface to the first of seven actions (which took place on the ioth day page:] of April at Prague) and which has now been translated into Latin. In the year I586.

C. H. JOSTEN Whether this action, which took place on the Ioth of April or the one which took place on the 30th of April should be taken by us to have been the first, I am not yet certain. For in the other (the one of the 3oth day) the institution of seven half-yearly actions was mentioned. Consider [this point].1
226

[Text:]

A wonderful token of the great catastrophe overhanging the world, revealed by the Holy Spirit and explained in a very brief and very true account. The narrator fervently wishes the pious and faithful reader salvation, peace, and consolation in Christ Jesus. Amen. When it was enjoined on me by God Almighty to commit those things to writing which He communicates to us from His immense goodness and most abundant grace, I deemed it my portion (since the mysteries of the Most High are great, and since they are heavenly and wonderful gifts) to be extremely careful lest by me, or by my negligence, they be offered to the handling or the sight of the proud, those without faith, the ungrateful, the envious, the impure, or of any unworthy person. Yet, surely, we were expressly instructed from the very first beginning of that our vocation and function, and we have known ever since, that it is in accordance with our duty and most agreeable to the Divine Majesty to show those mysteries in passing, to relate them compendiously, or to give a very brief account of an action (as we call it) (transcribed or translated from our authentic original autograph), to the worthy, namely to those who are pious, humble, modest, sincere, conspicuous in Christian charity, enlightened, to those to whom words of divine life and truth are, or may be, a very great consolation, and also sometimes (by a singular divine providence or command) to certain men of yet another kind. However, without any doubt, when the fulness of the appointed time has run its course, a great many of the things which we have received and understood by divine communication and in secret (under a seal of, as it were, pre-ordained silence) will be published and known to the world in a most abundant, manifest, complete, and effective way; to the honour, the praise, and the glory of Him who is God, the Son of God, and the King of Kings; and He will be the most just judge of men alive and dead. Yet if any mortal should try to force or by fraud to snatch from our hands those records which are of such great value to us, let him try; indeed he will 1The title-page of the original of the 'Liber Resurrectionis' (MS. Cotton, Appendix XLVI, part ii, fol. 135) is inscribed 'Actio prima et secunda ex septem'. The events of this book follow immediately on those of the hitherto lost action of i o April 1586; it contains two actions, one of 30 April I586 and the other of 14 October 1586. It appears, therefore, that Dee decided not to call the action of i o April 1586 the first of a new series, but tojoin it to the 'Actiones Puccianae'
of which the last is recorded for 6 September I585 (Casaubon, p. 417). The designation 'Actio prima et secunda ex septem' is erroneously omitted in Casaubon's printed edition (p. 418), but was added in manuscript in Casaubon's own copy, and also in Ashmole's. See also Casaubon, p. 420, where Dee and Kelly are commanded to count a new series of seven actions from Good Friday (4 April) 1586.

THE LIFE OF JOHN DEE

227

try; or if somebody should not be ashamed to condemn these (mysteries utterly unknown to him) by his arrogant and unadvised judgement; or if somebody should dare to assert that we are most subtle impostors, that indeed these [records] were fabricated by us, and that for that reason we should be deemed pernicious citizens in the Christian polity; or if someone should want to persuade also other persons out of his passionate suspicion that we are overcredulous or doting fools who have been drawn and driven into error (a pleasant and alluring error so far) by some very astute evil spirit making game of us over many years; or if somebody should wish to maintain (as though this resulted from the Holy Scriptures) that, in our time and in the present condition of the world, all revelation by divine communication has ceased, and that no such revelation is made or no true prophecy given to mortals; to all these and every one of them and to many other of our opponents (whosoever they may be) this last revelation (which we have received from Heaven) answers so wisely and objects so vigorously, it bars so effectively the way to their assemblies and meeting places, and opposes itself so strongly to the endeavours and designs they have made, that, whenever and wherever this last action is recited in public, every later age will rejoice with unbelievable exultation, because the strength of divine truth, wisdom, and power is invincible. And hence all pious and genuine sons of the Catholic Church itself will own the efficacy and the diaphoretic celestial energy of our Illuminator and Comforter and will perceive how He instills, or rather pours out most copiously, His very sweet, very salubrious, and most consolatory liquor into the marrow of their bones, yea even into the remoter recesses of their souls. May, therefore, our catholic brethren who are truly Christian, faithful, and distinguished by divine charity, (at a time appointed by God) be enriched by the knowledge of this short narrative, and may they be filled with very great consolation; and besides, may meanwhile those who duly ask, at the earliest time which is opportune, very kindly and modestly be granted by us a reading and an accurate, pious, grave, circumspect, and true consideration [thereof], and may it be possible to grant this wish (especially to those to whom, because of their outstanding love of truth, simplicity, sincerity, wisdom, and charity, or because of their undoubted pre-eminence, by God's will and the consent of men, the highest or some uncommon authority has been given in this Militant Church). (With God's permission, then) I have most willingly put this my labour into a Latin version, [translated] from our vulgar English language (as previously most other divine conversations with us and similar messages we had received [have been translated]). The whole text of the narrative is partly as expressed and uttered in the divine communication; partly it consists of my conscientious notes on every single act and of my description of the manifold combination of circumstances. But as the narrative, or that action, had mainly three human reasons or
(as men may think) three manifest occasions (for that Almighty and Divine Providence has most recondite series and connexions of causes, known to God alone) it will contribute much light to an understanding of the truth and to a [clear] perception of the many things mentioned in this revelation if I disclose those three occasions, be it but briefly. [In marg: In the year 1584] From the time onwards when the Most

228

C. H. JOSTEN

Reverend Lord, the Apostolic Nuncio, the Lord Bishop of Vercelli2 (namely a year and several months ago) prepared his departure from His Imperial Majesty, various rumours which had been spread about us and about our actions with spirits, or about revelations made to us, various opinions conceived against us while indeed we were absent (unheard and unknown), the judgements and the censures of certain great men, were straightway then reported to us in great profusion. And since I still have by me (from a host of other written evidences) the fragment of one letter which was sent over a year ago from Prague to Poland,3 it has seemed necessary to me to insert here the full and accurate text of that fragment of the letter and then to write very briefly on some other matters which are highly relevant [to our purpose]. 'The Most Reverend Lord, the Apostolic Nuncio, the Bishop of Vercelli, who is preparing his departure hence within only a short time, would very much like to see Y[our] I[mperial] M[ajesty] before he leaves, as also the Ambassador of the Catholic King, Assonitius4 (who is also hastening his departure), would like to discoursewith Y[our] I[mperial] M[ajesty] concerning the [Order of the Golden] Fleece.5 Besides, at the table of the said Lord Nuncio various rumours were spread about Mr. Dee and various opinions and judgements concerning him. He was blamed inter alia for not having hesitated to offer to the Emperor, of his own accord and without having made a request to those who have power and authority to determine [such matters], an apparition of blessed spirits (which they, however, call and believe to be evil ones) with the aid of certain magical characters (I am using their very words), regardless of the Church's disapproval; whereas in fact good spirits are not enchanted and moved to appear by magical rites, but the evil ones are usually evoked by these methods. The apparition of good angels, however, does not happen in a distinct shape which is perceived by human eyes, but is somehow vaguely encompassed by them while they are in a state of ecstasy and rapture. Also [it was said] that the Imperial Majesty had purposely recoiled from that [offer] lest he should burden his conscience with scruples or cause some danger to his soul; he had for that reason not wished to admit Mr. Dee to any further audience,6 but had referred him to
2joannes Franciscus Bonomo, Bishop of Vercelli from 17 October 1572 until his death on 26 February 1587 (P. B. Gams, Series evidently an extract from a secretary's memorandum for the Emperor. Cf. below, p. 233 and n. 16. 4 Unidentified. 5 The Emperor Rudolf II received the Order of the Golden Fleece by a special ambassador from Spain, who arrived at Prague three or four days before 8 October 1585 (Casaubon, p. 256). 6 In Dee's own account of the audience he had had of the Emperor on 3 September 1584, he mentions that he offered to the Emperor a full disclosure of his and Kelly's communications with God and with the angels; for he had been commanded by God to do so. The Emperor then soon brought the audience to an end saying that, 'at another time, he would hear and understand more'

EpiscoporumEcclesiae Catholicae, Ratisbon,

1873, p. 826). 3 Dee and Kelly left Prague at some date after 8 October 1584 and returned to Prague from Cracow on 3o December 1584 (Casaubon, pp. 256, 353). On 5 April 1585 they left Prague again for Poland. They arrived a week later at Cracow (Casaubon, p. 397). They were still in Poland on 6 June 1585 (ibid., p. 408), but returned to Prague in July 1585 (see below, p. 230). The date of i January 1585, mentioned below (p. 230), makes it certain that the first of these journeys is here referred to. The text which Dee is about to quote is

THE LIFE OF JOHN DEE

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Mr. Kurtz.7 It was also observed that, since Dr. Dee had a wife and was thus given to the cares of this life and to worldly matters, it would hardly be possible for him to enjoy the intercourse of good angels, for that happened only to very holy persons, living far away from their married quarters, and to solitary hermits. These censures of [certain] critics, and more things that were mentioned there, were taken notice of by others as well as by the said N. who was present at the meal. Be that as it may be, it is certain that the Emperor (conforming entirely to the authority of the Church) communicated to the Most Reverend Lord Nuncio everything that Mr. Dee had proposed during the first audience. Thence, at length, it came to this conversation at table. They believe in fact that the dealings [of Mr. Dee] with the Emperor might rather have originated from another, more important, matter. I am indeed of the opinion that they prefer one philosophers' stone to ten visions of angels.8 However, I have thought it worth while to send all this information to Y[our] I[mperial] M[ajesty] so that the aforesaid Mr. Dee may be forewarned shortly before his arrival; for (as the saying goes) darts cause less damage if they are foreseen, and especially because, certainly, all this will eventually also come to the notice of the Holy See, as the Lord Nuncio has indicated. Furthermore, they all affirm, as though with one voice, that he [i.e. Dee] was made a Doctor of Medicine in the Aula [of the University of Prague] with a monthly stipend of forty florins by the good offices of the same Kurtz, or that this was offered to him upon his request. While I make enquiries on this point (as is very often done), I can neither confirm nor deny the fact, for I have no certain information. A Spanish envoy quite recently wanted to know from me when he [i.e. Dee] would come here. Kurtz, when asked, praised him, saying that he is extremely learned in a great number of
(Casaubon, pp. 230-3 1). No furtheraudience patron Albert Laski, Palatine (Vaivode) of seems to have been granted. See the next Siradz in Bohemia, that Dr. Kurtz would henceforth deal with him, because the Emfootnote, adfinem. SDr. Jacob Kurtz; see Casaubon, p. 354.- peror himself might miss the finer points of On the noble family of Kurtz von Senftenau, Latin phraseology and because he was too to which Dr. Jacob Kurtz belonged, see J. H. occupied with other business to be at all times UniversalLexicon, free to grant an audience (ibid., p. 236). This Zedler, Grossesvollstdndiges xv, Halle and Leipzig, 1737, cols. 2177-79; was in answer to a request for a further also E. H. Kneschke, Neuesallgemeines deutsches audience which Dee had made on 4 SeptemAdels-Lexicon, Leipzig, 1864, p. 338, where ber 1584 (ibid., p. 235). v, 8 On 22 Jacob Kurtz, Freiherr von Senftenau, is menSeptember 1584 the angel Uriel tioned as being 'kaiserlicher Reichshofrat' in urged Dee to send a letter to the Emperor in 1590, and 'kaiserlich k6niglicher Geheimrat which he would say: 'I can make the Philound Vicekanzler' in 1593. Dee styles him sophers stone' (Casaubon, p. 243). A letter, 'sacrae Cesareae Majestatis ab arcanis Con- in which Dee then offered the Emperor to siliis' (i.e. Geheimrat) in a letter of 6 January deliver the philosophers' stone into his hands, 1585; see Casaubon, loc.cit.; also ibid., p. 236, was dispatched to the Spanish Ambassador, where the same rank is given to Kurtz in a Don Gulielmo de Sancto Clemente, on 29 letter of I12September 1584. September 1584 (Casaubon, pp. 246, 249) After Dee's audience of the Emperor and by him delivered to the Emperor on Rudolf II, on 3 September 1584 (ibid., pp. 6 October 1584 (ibid., p. 255). It is not 230-3I), the Emperor's Chamberlain, Octa- known whether any reply to Dee's offer was vius Spinola, informed Dee through one ever received. Emeric Sontag, who was secretary to Dee's

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C. H. JOSTEN

subjects. Both their wives [i.e. Mrs. Dee and Mrs. Kelly] and their families are quite well. They know that he has gone into Hungary and are, therefore, in doubt about his return. Since they [i.e. Kurtz and the Spanish envoy] expect his return from day to day, they have not wanted to send any letters [for forwarding] to the wives. &c.' Be that enough of this letter. When I had returned to Prague from Poland,9 [in marg: on I January, 1585] the person who had written this letter was with me two days later, and when I asked him about the letter, he not only confirmed its contents, but also related to me several other things that had been heard in the meantime and had been reported by persons who (as they affirmed) had themselves been present when these things were said. I was certainly very much grieved to hear about the altogether gratuitous blindness of men in such high places, their gross errors, and their savage ingratitude with regard to such excellent, certain, and most beneficent gifts of God. Yet soon a great consolation from God was vouchsafed to us, and those lamentations of mine, which did not yet truly resemble the ejaculations of Jeremiah [in marg: Jer., chapter 20], were restrained. In the month of April next following we were sent by God to Stephen, King of Poland.10 And there we heard and said and did the things which had been divinely revealed and commanded to us. Then (by divine orders) we returned to Prague in the month of July of the year '85. Only a few days after our return we received a visit from a certain great nobleman11 who proposed to me a request on behalf of the Most Reverend Apostolic Nuncio (Lord Germanicus Malaspina12). He asked me, to be sure, that I would call on the Most Reverend Father who would be glad to make my acquaintance and to win my friendship; our fame, he said, had so much and for such a long time been resounding round his ears that he desired passionately to enjoy some friendly conversations with us. The same great nobleman repeated to me many times with urgency that request of the Most Reverend Lord Nuncio (during the eight months with followed). But I answered, many times also, that I did not wish to defer and procrastinate my calling on him out of any haughty and proud disposition of my mind, nor because I thought to be threatened by some suspicion on his part (though this great nobleman might have heard of the bad reports I had received, according to which the Most Reverend [Lord Nuncio] was preparing violence and laying an ambush for me). I said also that I was aware of the very great controversies obtaining between our Princes and that, on account of them, we would hardly be able to meet guiltlessly, or at least without some suspicion of guilt, unless our Princes gave permission. With these and other similar reasons, which were
9 Dee and Kelly left Cracow on 20 December and arrived at Prague on 30 December p. 1584 (Casaubon, 353).10See above, n. 3. Dee was received in audience by Stephen Bathori, King of Poland, on 17 April 1585 (Casaubon,p. 397), on 23
11

12Germanus, or Germanicus, Malaspina, Bishop of San Severo from 27 April 1583 until his death in 1604 (P. B. Gains, Series
Episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Ratisbon, 1873, p. 923). See also J. H. Zedler, Grosses vollstdndiges Universal-Lexicon, xix, Halle and Leipzig, 1739, col. 723.

Magnificus quidam.

May (ibid.,p. 402) and again in June 1585 (ibid.,p. 408).

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DEE

231

not to be taken lightly, I delayed the visit thus far, yet did not refuse the approach. Finally, after the 20th day of last March, the Most Reverend Lord Germanicus Malaspina became very severe and pressing and, through the great nobleman (his perpetual envoy in this matter), and then again, after two days, through Francesco Pucci13 (whose acquaintance he had made a few days previously and who belonged to our household) urged his request most passionately with some sort of apostolic command (though adding here and there somewhat sweeter and more pleasant words) (signifying that he would rather visit us in our house than call us to his, but that he found himself hindered by the business of his sudden departure, so that he wished to ask us most fervently to grant him this friendly service). So, after many agitated consultations between me and E[dward] K[elly] about this long dragging, passionate, and constantly repeated request (or rather complaint against our inhumanity in not coming at last and forthwith), we resolved during the night of the last Wednesday before Palm Sunday as follows: that indeed in the morning of the following day (Thursday) [in marg: 27 March, 1586] about 7 o'clock we would call on the Most Reverend Father so that we might hear at last what he designed for us (and that he might not deem us proud, inhuman, unexperienced, or shy); also that about 6 o'clock in the morning we would send out Fr[ancesco] P[ucci] in advance to signify to the Most Reverend Father this our intention. When the Most Reverend Lord had heard this from Fr[ancesco] P[ucci] at the appointed hour, he at once had his own coach made ready and sent to us. Riding in another coach, we met his on our way to him, but did not enter it. When we came into the presence of the Nuncio, we found the Envoy of the Most Illustrious Duke of Florence14 [there] who was taking his leave. Having admitted us, humanely greeting us and giving us his right hand, the Lord Nuncio conducted us into his room, where four chairs were placed, and sat down. He placed me next to himself and E[dward] K[elly] next to me; then he let Francesco Pucci sit down opposite to Edward Kelly. At once he began to address us as follows: 'Who does not see how much the condition of the Christian religion is in distress and danger, and how the heretics are from day to day gaining strength? Surely, if my courage were not fortified by Christ's promise, I should doubt its utter destruction and extinction. Things have come to such a pass that, if the King of Spain'5 happened to die while the Catholic Church remained in this lamented condition, Rome and the Apostolic See would be threatened with the gravest peril. Yet it is strange that no remedy or counsel against so great an evil can be devised, found, or obtained in this our time, in which some men and women (who are pious members of the Catholic Church) might receive various revelations, illuminations, and consolations from the good angels of God and from God himself. Yet, when a diligent enquiry into such matters was made, it was found that, so far, all such consolations are
private, not public, ones, and they are considered to be private, not public,
13 Francesco Pucci (1540-93?). It appears that Pucci had met Dee and Kelly during their stay in Poland from April to July 1585. See D.N.B., xvi, pp. 442-43, and A. Wood, Athenae Oxonienses, ed. P. Bliss, i, London, 1813, cols. 587-89. See also below, n. 2514 Unidentified. 15 Philip II (1527-98).

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[counsels of] reformation. His Holiness, and His Sacred Imperial Majesty also, have explored and tried many ways to bring succour to the Christian religion in its so mournful condition. The iniquity of the heresies rising up everywhere and the most scandalous transformationof bishoprics into secular dignities (as in Saxony) makes it evident how little progresshas been made up to the present hour. Indeed, even the fruitful harvest which, it had been hoped, would come from religious communities and seminaries is not fulfilling our expectations, &c. Therefore, if you, gentlemen, with whom (by a singular favour of God) blessed angels often are present, and to whom God himself reveals His mysteries, if you have received any counsel, or if you can think of any help to be employed against those evils affecting us all, I beg you to disclose them to me; I shall indeed gladly and with the greatest attention listen to you.' When he had thus spoken, the Most Reverend Lord Nuncio was very eager to hear what we would say. The substance of my reply to him was as follows: 'It is indeed true that iniquity still prevails, and that that chaste Bride of God, who has suffered great violence, is compelled to withdraw almost into solitude. Yet it is not in our hands to give counsel or to suggest remedies against such great evils and so prodigious a calamity. Besides, even if it were true that (by a singular favour of God) we very often receive informations and instructions from the good angels of God and sometimes from God himself (Whose commands in former times we carried out with very great princes of this world), yet have we not received hitherto any express advice of God or admonition from the angels with regard to the matter now put before us; and since (normally) such matters lie outside our province and are not subject to my authority or office, it seems to me that I should rather be silent on them than proffer some [merely] human judgement of mine in a business of such great moment. We confess, however, that very great and very many mysteries and counsels of God are known to us of which all human talents conjoined could not invent or expect [to find] even a thousandth of a thousandth part. God, however, so governs us by a certain curb of silence [in marg: The curb of silence] and has so tempered our minds with the evenness of inward joy that we are neither so careless as to prate about these matters, nor arrogantly puffed up by the knowledge of such great mysteries. Indeed, for the most part, we lead a monastic life, and it is with the greatest reluctance that we let such manifest evidence of our inward joy be known. Therefore, if, to overcome those very great difficulties [of the Church], God should hereafter please to impart to us any advice or bestow on us any remedy, we shall be most ready to signify it to those to whom that advice or remedy has to be communicated. And, truly, though many months ago I would have had more leisure to call on you, Most Reverend Father, than I have now, yet did I never desire to do so with as much readiness and resolution as I now have.' And so, after a few
more civilities and a most definite protestation [in marg: A protestation] of my loyalty towards our invincible Lady, the Queen of England, I ceased to speak. The Most Reverend Father replied that he was very satisfied with this my reply and that he was glad we had at last agreed to meet him and to have

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such agreeable conversations with him. When we had finished speaking in such (or similar) terms, E[dward] K[elly] began modestly (of course), gravely, and quite clearly, to explain his opinion in a somewhat longer speech: 'It seems to me that, if one looks for a counsel or remedy that might bring about a reformation in the whole Church, the following will be good and obvious. While there are some shepherds and ministers of the Christian flock who, in their faith and in their works, excel all others, there are also those who seem devoid of the true faith and idle in their good works. Their life is so odious to the people and sets so pernicious an example that by their own bad life they cause and promote more destruction in the Church of God than they could ever repair by their most elaborate, most long, and most frequent discourses. And for that reason their words do not carry the necessary conviction and are wanting in profitable authority. For the people think that, in like manner, they, too, may speak good words and yet live bad lives and have but little faith, because that, they think, is the general practice of their shepherds, ministers, and teachers; and the life of the prelates as well as that of the people is such that living faith and genuine charity may (in this age) hardly find any true worshippers in God's Church. What sound religion, what true worship of God, can thus exist amongst us? May, therefore, the doctors, shepherds, and prelates mend their ways; may they teach and live Christ by their word as well as by their conduct. For thus (in my opinion) a great and conspicuous reformation of the Christian religion would be brought about most speedily.' To these words the Most Reverend Lord Nuncio replied: 'That was well spoken of you and is truly concordant with the Christian and Apostolic doctrine. I thank you, and I shall call on you at your house where (I hope) we may then have a longer conversation on such matters.' So, we rose from our chairs and, having (for our part) reverently performed the necessary ceremonies of humanity and civility, we finally took our leave and went home. Were these not pleasant beginnings, inspired by such charity, humility, fidelity, sincerity, and modesty as he might have used very piously and prudently in rendering greater services to God and to the Catholic Church, unless there was deception concealed in them? Yet, if it be true what the Secretary of a certain great King16 (a few days ago) not only affirmed, but swore with an holy oath, he had heard from the very mouth of the same Lord Apostolic Nuncio (when he had his last conversations with him before the Most Reverend Lord Nuncio's departure) [in marg: 1586, about the feast of St. George, in April], it is quite certain not only that his reply to the speech of my friend (E[dward] K[elly]) was a hypocritical one, but also that the poison of vipers was concealed under his lips, and that by some divine power a most ferocious spirit of tyranny was at that time being repressed in his heart, although he used such honey-sweet and humble words for the beginning [of our acquaintance]. For this Secretary swore that Edward Kelly's short speech on faith and works (which is rendered above) had so filled that Most Reverend Lord with inward fury that he had said, if it had not been for certain respects,
16 Presumably the secretary of the Emperor Rudolf II who, in 1584, had sent a copy of a memorandum written by him for the Emperor to Dee, then staying in Poland (see

above, pp. 228-30) and who acted as Dee's informant on I January 1585 (see above, p. 230).

16

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of contrition, and after performing the penance enjoined on him by the priest, he might enjoy the salutary [effects of the] sacrament of penance and could then (according to the Roman Catholic rite) partake of the highest mystery
The translation of the last two sentences depends on the somewhat uncertain reading
17

he would have had the said Edward thrown out of the window. If that Secretary (who himself wishes to be accounted a catholic) did swear the truth (to our friend Pucci), what may we hope [to receive] from the hands of that Apostolic Nuncio (or his like), if, by any decree of the Catholic Church or by any law or custom of the Kingdom of Bohemia in which we now live, or by any precedent of the Holy Roman Pontiffs, it be lawful to use such language, in the presence of prelates and men of note, against us and on account of loyal and true friends of ours, against free men from another country who are pilgrims (by God's command). What would they do to us (not only try to do) if we were accused of any (and be it the least) crime, when such a tyrannical death, nay such barbaric murder, may be wished on men who are truly catholic, and quiet, who lead an almost monastic life, who are not undertaking any innovation in God's Church by word or by writing, who have not been accused of any crime, and whose utterance, on the contrary, was openly praised [by the Nuncio] although it had (as he said) quite fiercely annoyed him. The Most Reverend Lord is reported (by the testimony of the same Secretary) to have added yet a few things of greater importance (concerning the matter pending between us) when he was going away. You will soon hear [about them].17 But whatever he or anybody else should have said, or decided to do against us, Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who is our Lord, our preceptor and guide, this God himself will be our protector and liberator in [this] our [condition of] innocence, our obedience and that loyal and sincere reverence which we have shown and will show to him [i.e. the Nuncio], to all our superiors, and to our most chaste mother, the Catholic Church. For thus we understand Christ's teaching; thus the [Holy] Spirit, who is Almighty God and proceeds eternally from God the Father and God the Son, has taught and teaches us, as this brief narrative abundantly proves. We have said that we must report three occasions known to us in greater detail. The first of them, which has already been related, seems to encompass the two others and the whole fundamental setting of the revelation (because, as its consideration shows, it precedes as well as follows the events of that time). For between our first opportunity of exchanging greetings with that Most Reverend [Nuncio] and the different formula with which he threatened us at the time of his departure, there arose those two other occasions now to be added; it will be enough, I think, for a wise and pious reader if I touch upon them but briefly. On the second and fourth days of the present month of April [in marg: viz. on the Wednesday and Friday before Easter], Edward Kelly (who previously had for several days prepared himself by a strict fast and great devotion of mind to ease his conscience of the sins with which he felt burdened and to cleanse his soul) betook himself to a certain Jesuit priest, who was a Professor and Lecturer in Theology and who was appointed to administer the sacrament of confession to the penitent, so that, after a candid confession, a humble act

of two words inserted above the line, abiens dicitur.

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[of the Church] and the celestial table. Yet, look, what unexpected event happened. When E[dward] K[elly] had said all to the priest that he had intended to say, that priest began to enquire curiously about more and more things which to mention here would neither be to the point nor give you pleasure. The priest insisted and tried to make E[dward] K[elly] acknowledge himself guilty of a certain very great crime which [allegedly] he had not yet confessed. E[dward] K[elly] denied it, even denied it steadily, and explained plainly that in the previous year he had discovered abundantly, accurately, sincerely, and fully to a certain other Jesuit from Cracow all the crimes and grave errors of his entire antecedent life, that he was then wholly cleansed and absolved,18is that his sins weighed heavily on him as a perpetual burden, and that (otherwise) he would most justly deserve infernal punishment; he asserted that this was his firm conviction; and that (after careful casting up the circumstances of his life) he had already confessed seriously, honestly, and piously to his present spiritual father any grave and dangerous wound that had been inflicted on his conscience from that time onwards. What more need I say? At last the priest went so far as to charge E[dward] K[elly] with crime or sin because we had said (nay, had vainly boasted, he alleged) to my Lord, the Apostolic Nuncio, and elsewhere, also to the Spanish Ambassador [in marg: the Most Illustrious Lord William de Sancto Clemente19] that we often had conversations with good angels and with God himself and received from them many revelations.20 E[dward] K[elly] acknowledged that in fact we had received, and still were receiving, many consolations by divine and angelic revelations; but the priest contended that it was not probable or credible that we should have any intercourse with good angels; on the other hand the devil very often transformed himself into the semblance of an angel of light and, therefore, one had to consider that we might be deceived. E[dward] K[elly] replied that, from very sound arguments and also by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, we knew for certain that we had dealt, and were dealing, with genuine angels of light and truth, and with loyal helpers. I shall leave out many other arguments he used and only want to mention this one: that by the authority and testimony of the Holy Spirit [in marg: i, John, chapter 4. A] any spirit, who owns that Jesus Christ has become flesh, is from God; yet all the spirits who gave information to us, or taught us, do own that Jesus Christ has become flesh; therefore, that all the angels informing or teaching us are from God; that we are prepared to swear an holy oath and to assert until our very death that the minor proposition be true; that most copious volumes contain the evidence of our revelations; that, therefore, our angels are not angels of the infernal regions-'Your judgement (Father) is not sound, but at the most a suspicion founded on probability. Consider [it again].' No sooner had those our volumes been mentioned, than this priest seized the
18 Edward Kelly 'tooke Ghostly counsel and comfort, as his case required' on 20 April 1585 at Cracow and, on Easter Monday next following, 'very devoutly' received the Holy Communion at St. Stephen's Church, Cracow (Casaubon, pp. 397-98).

19 Unidentified. 20 Cf. Dee's account of his conversation with the Spanish Ambassador on 25 September 1583 (Casaubon, p. 257), which bears out this last allegation of Kelly's Father Confessor.

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opportunity to demand that we should hand them over to be examined and judged by the Most Reverend Lord Nuncio, by the Rector of the Jesuits,21 and (thirdly) by himself. E[dward] K[elly] replied: 'I think that neither could you judge them, nor should you claim authority to pronouncejudgement on those revelations. For all such authority as you have belongs to the Church Militant, and our revelations should not be interpreted by members of the Militant Church, but by those who are the shining and holy lights of the Church Triumphant. Therefore, they are not subject to your authority.' The priest replied (quoting I Corinthians, chapter 6A): 'Do you not know that we shall sit in judgement over angels?' To this E[dward] K[elly] replied: 'It is possible that the Apostles, being with Christ the Judge, deemed the devils were, and would be, most rightly damned. But I do not believe that you (Father) are an Apostle, nor that any successor of the Apostles be denoted by that saying of Paul. Besides, only evil [spirits] will be subjected to that judgement, not good ones. Yet, truly, our angelic preceptors are good and, therefore, they are not, and will not be, answerable to judgement. No angels will, for that reason, be judged by you (Father) in accordance with that Pauline sentence. We, however, (who are subject to your ecclesiastical authority) do not teach, or write, or indeed believe, or shall ever believe, any doctrine contrary or repugnant to the catholic, apostolic, and orthodox religion. All the messages which we receive [by revelation] tend chiefly to the praise, the honour, and the glory of God; they continually exhort and even guide us to a betterment of our life, to piety, and to the practising of peace and charity towards our neighbours. It is certainly true that they contain many wonderful mysteries and secrets which are given only to us and not to others. Those [volumes] are our private documents and our introductory lessons in a celestial school. We talk about them most unwillingly and only when we receive a divine command or permission to do so. Besides, those books are not in my hands (said E[dward] K[elly]), but are kept in the custody of my friend, the Doctor.'22 When the priest had heard this, he tried at once to influence E[dward] K[elly] by a certain fraud and stratagem so that he might, as it were, wrench those books from my hands. E[dward] K[elly] detested the impiety of the priest and altogether refused to follow that nefarious advice. At last, E[dward] K[elly] became so heated in his zeal that he proposed to the priest the following experiment and test of the truth: 'May you, Father, and I (he said) go to some convenient and secret place. Let us then, each after his own manner, invoke Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and pray to Him humbly and ardently that, if our angelic preceptors be good and from God, fire from heaven shall consume and destroy you, Father; but that, if they be bad angels of the infernal regions, the fire from heaven may most rapidly destroy me and wipe me from the face of the earth.' The Father refused to adopt this choice and to try out that stipulation; he said he did not wish to tempt God in this manner.
Unidentified. I.e. John Dee. Kelly's remark confirms to some extent the information which the Emperor's secretary reported in a memorandum to the Emperor according to which,
22 21

by the good offices of Dr. Jacob Kurtz, the degree of a Doctor of Medicine had been conferred on Dee by the University of Prague; see above, p. 229. The origin of Dee's claim to a doctorate has hitherto been doubtful.

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Finally, that Father turned to the exploration of other matters and asked for what reasons we had come, as no revenues were being supplied to us from England. (He assertedthat there indeed we were accounted very odious men.) By virtue of his present authority he enjoined most severely on E[dward] K[elly] that he should disclose to him the truth of this matter. E[dward] K[elly] replied: 'Although I know, Father, that this question is beyond your authority, yet do I wish to obey you, Father, because you are a minister of God Almighty, and because it is in the name of God that you ask me in this extraordinary manner and demand an answer. Know then that, by doing this and that (true and clear details were here mentioned) and by divine favour, we have so far been amply provided with sustenance and clothing.' When, thereupon, many yet sharper words had been exchanged between that Father and E[dward] K[elly] concerning his answer (as well as other matters), partly (during four uninterrupted hours) on the aforementioned Wednesday, partly on the Holy Friday next following, they had both given enough trouble to each other. The Father, at length, did in no way want to bestow on E[dward] K[elly] the benefit of absolution. 'The matter of your revelations (he said) must be examined by an authority higher than mine, and I cannot persuade myself to grant you remission of sins.' 'Do at least (said E[dward] K[elly]) purge me of the blemish of those crimes and sins which I have piously, devoutly, and humbly confessed to you.' Yet not even that he could obtain from him. E[dward] K[elly] realized in these circumstances that he had to withdraw. How irreligiously (I will not put it more strongly) E[dward] K[elly] was used, the Catholic Church will certainly find out in good time. A careful consideration of the events which followed will show that it was necessary [for me] thus most briefly and faithfully here to commit to writing what E[dward] K[elly] related to me on the two occasions when he returned from that priest (and in particular some details which had nothing to do with his sacramental confession, but which the priest, very improperly and unlawfully, had asked and said). Surely, all pious and true catholics will be grieved with us that, whilst pure religion is so very sadly afflicted, so great a scandal should have arisen in the Catholic Church from which the fruit of the true, pure, and very great charity of God (namely a remission of sins and peace of conscience) should have issued. True Christians will feel sorry that vinegar and bile should have been supplied when, and where, the oil of gladness was expected from the blood of the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world. The Jesuits, mostly devout and peaceful men, will grieve that, at the centre of almost the most distinguished part of the Christian world, so poisonous an egg should have been laid whence, one must fear, a most horrid basilisk, a great danger to very many people, will be born if it be hatched much longer and be fomented with further bilious matter. The Samaritans also will grieve that this wounded Christian, who was earnestly seeking advice about his wounds and was lamenting not to but to the one common himself, should have received and of souls of the Catholic
Church, surgeon physician from him no healing oil [in marg: Luke, 1o, F] or wine, but should have been required by that physician, in an importunate and almost hostile manner, to hurt with an arsenical probe, or with caustics, such members of his inner man as were most sound, while his real wounds were either treated with contempt

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or not examined. What I have said here will be enough about that important second reason of the divine revelation which followed. [In marg: The third occasion] A very brief explanation of the remaining (third) cause will, I think, provide you with enough clear light to consider and understand entirely the divine revelation which then follows, o pious reader who art a lover of divine truth. A short while after these controversies, dissensions, examinations, and quibbles (which took place under the pretence of a confession) and others (which I have not mentioned, and need not mention here), on the Tuesday after Easter,23when E[dward] K[elly] was sitting at a meal with a friend of his (a citizen of Prague), it was enjoined upon him by a spiritual voice that he should arise and at once betake himself to his spiritual father. The friend, at whose table he was then sitting, (a future witness), and two Jesuit Fathers who had been sent for, accompanied him thither. He then modestly, quietly, and truthfully called to mind the things which had been discussed, disputed, and considered between him and his spiritual father, and did so in a manner which gave those witnesses a clear idea of what both had said and informed them (where possible) of the very words that had been used on either side, so that never any false rumours might be spread, or erroneous reports and conjectures be made about these matters, and that what really had been said might, as far as possible, be established by the consent of each witness. Having at once put the food out of his hands and left the meal, E[dward] K[elly] rose silently, and his friend with him, to the astonishment of all present. They left the house and directed their steps to the College of the Jesuits. On his way, E[dward] K[elly] was warned by a spiritual voice declaring, 'Unless you take care, Ossa24 and Pucci will deceive you and will render your design fruitless.' E[dward] K[elly] then at once informed his friend of all this. When they had reached the College and E[dward] K[elly] had asked the janitor whether certain Fathers and whether the Jesuit, who was his spiritual father, were at the College, the janitor said they were. They entered; but, when E[dward] K[elly] and his friend had been inside for a while, behold, Ossa and Pucci were coming towards them; they curiously asked E[dward] K[elly] for the reason of his coming. 'I have to speak to some Fathers [he said] and to my Father Confessor.' They desired no less than that E[dward] K[elly] should then speak to them (as was acknowledged by Fr[ancesco] Pucci the following night) and unexpectedly tried with all their art and assiduity to prevent his meeting [the Fathers for whom he had asked]. They would, Ossa [said] have a servant sent out to find the Fathers and to bring them to the small heated room (which Ossa was occupying there for only a few days). They urged E[dward] K[elly] that meanwhile he should listen with them in their school [i.e. the Jesuits' school] to the splendid and painstaking declamation of a certain student. Remembering the spiritual warning [he had received], E[dward] K[elly] was aware of their sly designs, yet hoped all the same that they would find and call those Fathers
whom he wished to see. But when, after the end of the declamation, E[dward]
23 I.e. on 8 April 1586. 24 Dee mentions 'Master Balthasar Federick ab Ossa' in a note for February 1585; see Casaubon, pp. 381-82. For an account of the

noble family of Ossa (or Osse) see E. H. Kneschke, Neues allgemeines deutsches AdelsLexicon, vii, Leipzig, 1867, p. I.

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K[elly] enquired more precisely about those Fathers, he was told they were not in the house and could not be found. It would hardly be possible to say how much E[dward] K[elly] was then stricken with grief, because he had not heeded that divine command and had not acted with as much caution as had been advised, also because a man living with us at our house [i.e. Pucci], who was in some degree privy to our mystical concerns, had so much favoured our adversaries as to render fruitless our very honest and pious endeavours.25 His grief and his immoderate zeal to carry out the business enjoined upon him then so excited E[dward] K[elly] that Fr[ancesco] Pucci told us after our meal (in the evening of the same Tuesday) that he was much satisfied with the outcome of that day, inasmuch as E[dward] K[elly] had not seen those Fathers whom he had wanted to see, because (he said) the ashen appearance of E[dward] K[elly's] face had made him realize that he had come with so restless and irascible a mind that even greater quarrels might have followed. When Fr[ancesco] Pucci had thus spoken, E[dward] K[elly] went hot [with anger], because Pucci rejoiced for the very reason that made E[dward] K[elly] grieve; because he had said that E[dward] K[elly] had come to see those Jesuits in a restless and irascible condition; because Pucci had been so bold as to wish to obstruct his divinely ordained endeavours; because Fr[ancesco] Pucci perhaps wished to triumph before his [friend] Ossa over having vanquished E[dward] K[elly's] earnest assiduity by his own deception and cunning; and above all because that opportunity had passed unused at which the proceedings of his [i.e. Kelly's] confession might have been adequately established before witnesses, while the memory of the very words that had been spoken was still fresh ([the more so] because that Father Confessor had previously said that the matter of the revelations must be examined by a higher authority). And, behold, E[dward] K[elly] then began to be inflamed with such very fierce indignation, such vehement and furious passion, that Fr[ancesco] Pucci (almost) feared his last hour had struck. And yet when E[dward] K[elly] (during this most passionate fit of anger) had carefully considered that all this had resulted from a curious error of Pucci who, seeing the expression of E[dward] K[elly's] face, had presumed (as Pucci himself owned) not only to interpose his inconsiderate judgement, but then also to obstruct God's will by his actions, he [i.e. Kelly] at once sent a servant to fetch that friend of his who could be an undoubted witness of the whole design, of the divine command, of the forewarning, and indeed of the whole event, a witness most necessary at the present hour for a just condemnation of Pucci's bold, inconsiderate, and curious, judgement and performance. Woken up in his bed, in the middle of the night, that loyal witness, who had not been forewarned or suborned, came at once. I was allowed freely to examine this witness, while all others were silent and listening attentively. He testified that
In a note relating to Dee's stay at Erfurt in July 1586, he mentions that [at Prague] Pucci had not been 'acceptable to our wives and family' on account of his 'Houshold behaviour'. By July 1586 Dee had come to suspect Pucci as 'a mighty Explorator upon us, for this Nuncius Apostolicus, and his
25

adherents'. He did, therefore, at that time, not wish to renew any kind of companionship with Pucci, whom he also blamed 'as well for his unquiet nature in disputations, as for his blabbing of our secrets without our leave, or well liking, or any good doing thereby' (Casaubon, p. 430).

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E[dward] K[elly] had been very quiet during the meal; that with him he had gone today to the Jesuits' house or College with the intention of furthering quietness, peace, and truth; that there they had encountered Ossa and Fr[ancesco] Pucci, and that both these had in various ways frustrated Master Ed[ward] Kelly's design, precisely as a spiritual voice had beforehand signified to Master E[dward] K[elly], and as he had told him on their way. When the results of this examination had made Fr[ancesco] Pucci realize that E[dward] K[elly's] honest design had been divinely enjoined upon him and had been received by him with a quiet mind, also that all the other circumstances (mentioned by the witness) were established by sufficient evidence, he was in a much calmer condition of mind than previously. And after that honest witness had gone away, Fr[ancesco] Pucci realized that he had been mistaken in his physiognomical judgement, also that a divine order and mandate had intervened. All this filled him with much regret. He added: 'If you had warned me that in this matter you had received an order from the Lord, I would certainly not have hindered you.' Then he said (on bended knees and extending his hands towards heaven): 'I wish to make amends to you in every possible way.' Presently, a spiritual voice near E[dward] K[elly's] head admonished him saying: 'Do forgive him.' Then, instantly, E[dward] K[elly] said: 'I forgive you', and soon after that we all went to bed, for it was past midnight. Having thus explained the three occasions (already mentioned) of the subsequent revelation, as they appeared to us, I shall yet add a few other things that may show the method by which those [occasions] afterwards became conspicuous as causes in the operation of that subsequent revelation. Early in the morning on the Wednesday (next following), a spiritual voice addressed itself to E[dward] K[elly] which forbade to the three of us the eating, during the whole of that day, of any animal food (thus enjoining on us a light fast) and which commanded us to repair on the Thursday next following, at eight o'clock in the morning, to our usual place of assembly there to perceive the Lord's will. So we fasted as had been prescribed and waited with much eager hope for a divine visitation. And on Thursday, the tenth day of the present month of April [in marg: i o April, 1586] at about eight o'clock in the morning, we came together in the usual place, i.e. in my oratory, which is at the top of the tower, a small heated room, truly elegant and commodious. There, on bended knees, I spoke (in the name of all of us, as our common advocate before God) 'In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit' (making the sign of the Cross after my custom), namely taking my extended right hand from the forehead to the navel and from the left shoulder to the right, thus tracing two invisible lines. At the upper end of the first I speak the name of the Father, and when I almost touch the navel that of the Son; while I trace the transversalline in the middle, I speak the name of the Holy Spirit; and while I say Amen,I touch, or mark as it were, the point of intersection of those two
lines, or the centre of the cross. (I have conceived many reasons for this my fancy.)26 Then I recited clearly and distinctly the Lord's Prayer Pater ]'oster etc. and thereupon spoke these words: 'Almighty, Sempiternal, True and Living God, send out Thy light and Thy truth which may guide us safely to
26 Cf.

Antwerp, I564, theorem XX, fols. I8v-20. John Dee, Monas Hieroglyphica,

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Holy Mount Sion [in marg: Mount Sion] and to Thy celestial tabernacles where we may praise and glorify you eternally and for ever and ever. Amen.' Then, silently, I recited and repeated three times the (67th) psalm Deus
nostri et benedicatnobis etc. misereatur

And a short while after that, when the three of us were seated (I ready to write; Ed[ward] Kelly [sitting] opposite at the same table (a new and very fine one); Fr[ancesco] Pucci [sitting] on a bench along the wall of the oratory), there descended from on high, with some sort of spiritual sound, a voice, near to the face of E[dward] K[elly]. It seemed to him that this voice had the centre of its utterance not far [in marg: at a distance of about one foot] from his mouth and thence touched his ears with words that were certainly English (so that their power and proper significance might much more exactly and certainly be conveyed to us). All these communications I have recorded as faithfully as I was able, and with no small labour, in the Latin report which follows, and have explained them in such a way that, in this my Latin version, no one versed in both languages might detect even so much as the smallest tittle differing from the genuine sense of that which was declared to us. Let us now lend then our ear to the words of the Holy Spirit which are very full of the highest consolation. The voice: 'Lo and behold, raise yourselves and consider &c.' as is set out in the following account. The voice: 'Lo and behold, raise yourselves and consider: Thus speaks He who is the Comforter, Whose candle is always there to delight His people, Who has covered the sons of Sion and their garments with joy, Who has gathered together the nations under the comforting shield of His wings; I, who am ready [to fight] against the seat of darkness; Who cannot be vanquished by those who have erred, by those who will die and not live, and who will abide in everlasting pain. Behold, I am the garment of Nature27 and that Mother who produces the fruits of heaven and earth.28 And behold, Sion (which dwells in me, and in which I dwell) is shattered to pieces by the hands of disobedient sons; her garments are rent, her loveliness is shrouded in darkness, and her statutes are imprisoned among the multitude and the impious. Yet lo and behold, o you nations and peoples of the earth, o you sons of sin and defenders of darkness, I am now a widow. For My Bridegroom already prepares His return; the fame of His coming has spread to the hearts 29has pervaded your hearts and the hearts of those of all peoples; and who are the sons of faint-hearted men. Where, then, will the terrestrial gods protect you, or hide you, against the coming indignation? Where will you be welcome, when the heavens fiercely stare at you?
The idea of Nature's 'garment' may have some connection with that of the astral body, or xrrov (garment), of the Neoplatonists. Cf. Proclus, The Elements of Theology, ed. E. R. Dodds, Oxford, 1963, pp. 182, 183, 313-21. 28 This symbolism may result from an identification of the third person in the Trinity with the third cabalistic sephira, Binah
27

(Understanding), which is often called the Mother. See The Zohar, translated by H. Sperling and M. Simon, ii, London, 1932, Appendix 'The cosmic scheme of the Zohar', P. 397; v, London, 1934, Appendix 'The designations and the categories', pp. 402-4. 29 In the original, too, the missing subject of this sentence is replaced by a line.

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2.

3.

Where may you be safe when you are confined and brought before the tribunal ofjudgement? Surely, indeed, in your own consciences, in the manifold injustices with which you have defiled the light of the sanctuary and of the Spirit30Who proceeds from eternity. I lament over you, for the Lord is in arms against you and has marched out towards your cities. And, look, all evil will come over you from the north, and such as for a time are preservedwill abduct your wives and sons, and they will be oppressed in servitude until the last day. I lament over you, and I sigh over your destruction. For thus He has sworn who sits in judgement over all flesh. O you hypocrites and painted sepulchres, o you eloquent and persuasive thieves, behold, behold, your arrogance will be taken away from your shoulders, so that your nakedness may be conspicuous. And the temples you have erected with your hands will be thrown to the ground, nay will be destroyed from their very foundations, so that satisfaction be given to the souls clamouring vengeance against you for the blood they have shed for your sake, and that the beast may perish by reason of the multitude of its heads. O you (impious brood) who are more concerned about your political affairs than about the salvation of your souls, who make the world advance and scorn Him who has created you, who burn with love for all abominations and indeed attend with hatred on the God of your creation and of your redemption. As Satan has seduced you, why do you undertake to sit in judgement against Him who has subjected all creatures unto Himself? Direct your eyes upwards to the stars and tell the people: Look, I understand, His letter is the end of the word which means a prescience of God, in the obedience of creatures, in the fulness of time.3 You are ignorant. You cannot read. You tie God's Spirit to the imbecility of your understanding and you do not consider the power and splendour of that Spirit Who is the life of all things and from Whom descends your authority. Yet you, faithful ones and sons of peace, o you who serve your Sempiternal Father (as with the obedience of a son) you shall today learn from me: At the beginning of the Faith, a promise of God was made from out of Heavenas from the place and from the foundations of Him who sends out the rays, and the abundance, of His truth. When the Love of God had gathered together Its people, It widely opened Its handsfromoutof Heaven;and behold, those who had been in captivity were set free, but those arrogant in the fancies of their hearts were overthrown. [In marg: I Kings, chapter 8] When the people began to neglect the favour granted to them from Heavenand to attribute more to the imbecility of their own governance than to the hand of Him Who had exalted them, behold, a King was given unto them Who was similar to them and Who (since he was the firstling of their palpable ignorance and incredible arrogance) died before
their eyes, a mysterious symbol, as it were, of their own destruction [in marg: i Kings, chapter 31]. For, behold, the people of Israel were dispersed on account of their disobedience. The subsequent kings were mighty and wise, at least those who
30Dee had first written Spiritum, then wrote above the line, but did not delete the Spiritus
word Spiritum.
31 An

unexplained cabalistic allusion.

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4.

5.

feared God. Yet those who were unwise and who despised the knowledge sentfrom above ignorantly subjected themselves to [the rule of] imbecility (and let the strength and the greatness of Him be forgotten Who had reared them). And so, in the abundance of their idolatry, they were overthrown. The books of the Law and the mouths of the Prophets attested in a message sent down from heaven that at that time Jesus (called Christ), the Son of God,

God and Man, (by whose Spirit you are now being comforted) was to be born through the strength of the Holy Ghost (Who is the Spirit ofyour present consola-

tion)from a well-prepared virgin. When angels brought the glad tidings of peace and consolation to the face the earth, they did not take it to Jerusalem, nor to the Temple, nor the of Holy of Holies, but they took it to the fields and amongst poor shepherds. When Christ was about to be born (from her who was the chosen vessel), He was not taken to the Temple and was not extolled by the scribes and pharisees, but by the Spirit of God (the Spirit of Him Who had taken habitation in her). He was led forth to that small city [of Bethlehem] so that the [prophetic] words which had previously been said about Him might in Him be fulfilled. When those who, before God, were accounted wise men had gained knowledge of the star and, by it, had directed their journey, behold, they were enveloped in darkness, so to speak, when they were at Jerusalem, and their light was taken from them. Yet indeed, as soon as they had left Jerusalem, their consolation was restored to them and guided them to the place where they found Him in Whom they were to be saved. The Saviour of the world Himself (in Whom you are saved and exalted the honour of election) was immediately subjected to the tyranny of the by world and to the perversity of [the powers of] darkness. Why did He not betake Himself to the Temple? Why did He not manifest Himself by a multitude of signs and miracles as the One Whose coming was expected? Because God is wisdom, and because He came to carry out the will of His Father which is not determined by human traditions, but by His Sempiternal Divinity. Yet, behold, in the end God Himself reverted and declared His authority in the very Temple and the very city of Jerusalem by ejecting [in marg: Mark i i, B.] the sons of iniquity from the presence of His Father and from His Father's house which His servant David had hallowed.
Thus, precisely, God proceedswith you, whom He has sworn to make great by the honourof His right hand and in the vehement of His Power. fire

He is soon to return to this world to chastise it for the multitude of its abominations and to comfort those who are at rest and live in Him. And the ones who will be chastised are those who have become scribes and pharisees, the hypocrites and sons of all abominations, those who disgrace the
truth that was manifested by the Apostles, those who, to all people, are the certain authors of iniquity. They will be punished and will not receive consolation; for they have drunk from the cup of all fornication and abomination. Accordingly, they shall not be admitted to be judges (for they themselves will be condemned) and to sit in judgement, because they are not to be

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justified. For they have sold for money the spirit of truth, which the Apostles (their predecessors)had taught them not to do. They have defiled the instruments of sanctity (by which the people should be sanctified). And, behold, they have scattered the seeds of their Father, who is coming, over all daughters of the earth, so that their own seed is accursed. shepherds, placed outside the polluted city; to you who desire to find the star and seek the visitation of Him Who will be coming to you, you who have fled from the hands of Herod. Yet you will return to the Temple, [armed] with the scourge and the power of God, and you will eject those who justify themselves. May the mighty hand of God be great amongst you. Yet the
And, therefore, the God of heaven and earth appears to you; to you who are

fulness of time has notyet come. [In marg: The fulness of time has not yet come

for our power to be made manifest.] Therefore, even as Christ kept himself in obscurity, even as the Virgin Mary (whom they hold out to you) was content [to be] with the Lord and did not seek the opinion of those who were of the Temple, but only wished to attend their ceremonies, even so you will be rendered content. For in that which you receive you are subject to Him Who is alive. Yet, to the extent you are of the number of men who receive consolation, you are subject to the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as you may be purified, comforted, and exalted through the sacraments instituted by Him. Submit yourselves to the Church to the extent you are of the Church. Yet, in so far as you are of those

who receive consolation from on high, submit yourselves to Him Who teachesyou, Who is the Spirit of the selfsame Church,thoughin a greaterabundance love, Who is of the Holy Spirit proceeding from Father and Son, Who was from the beginning and

before all beginning, Whose name you should glorify within yourselves and amongst yourselves.' A: 'Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, now and evermore, world without end. Amen.' The voice: 'Read this, and I shall visit you again.'

A: I read the foregoing to the two persons present, namely to Master Edward Kelly and Francesco Pucci, and thereby great consolation was bestowed on us, and we were strengthened in our courage. After a short while the voice again began to be heard. The voice: 'Behold, the Lord answers you. The Lord makes answer to the censures brought against you and says: "O you hypocrites, you tell, indicate, and declare to Us, or try to devise, designs for a renewal of the afflicted Church and of the multitude [of the people], so that the Church may not perish after the death of a certain person N., at which time, you think, it will be in great danger.32 If you cannot

achieve this by the doctrine you receive, then that doctrine is not from the Holy Spirit and not from any good spirit. I tell you, this doctrineis taught, and the Spirit of God descendsto restore,and to put into good order, the people andflock of God. [In marg: The one aim of our doctrine which is put before us by God.]
32

I.e. after the death of the King of Spain. See above, p. 231 and n. 15.

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No such restoration can take place unless first you be extirpated. Therefore, you will be extirpated and eradicated [in marg: A prophecy] and the Church of God will be cleansed so that He may descend and dwell in it. If anyone has the spirit that pleases you and is serviceable to your inclinations, he will, amongst you, be deemed to have the Spirit of God. But you all have become gods and mighty giants, and you are full of the spirit of your father, the devil. Whoever, therefore, endeavours to please you, will partake of that spirit, the spirit in which you will in the end be confounded and who will be confounded at the same time as you. You will understand by this message that, here, the Spirit of God teaches against you, for it does not teach a doctrine that suits your desires, but one which tends to correct your faults. All fornications and abominations are increased by you. You are priests by name, yet do not perform the duty of the sacerdotal office. You are on the Holy Mountain, but you have defiled it and have suffered your own filth to go over and lie on those herbs and fruits of the place which were provided for the people subject to your authorities. For that reason you will be dashed headlong to ground. And that strong wind which has been promised by the Lord will cleanse the holy place, so that fruits may grow there in abundance and that its waters also may be purified for the consolation of all nations. I shall (therefore) not stand trial in your courts, nor shall I acknowledge that you are judges. But I shall preach penitence to you, for you can be freed from the punishment prepared against you and your iniquities. Whosoever has ears may hear. Whosoever wishes to be wise may look neither to the right nor to the left; neither towards this man who is called a catholic, nor towards that one who is called a heretic (for thus you are called); but may he look up to the God of heaven and earth and to his Son, Jesus Christ, Who has given the Spirit of His abundant and multifarious graces to those who live a natural life in purity and a life of grace in their works. Behold, the courtesan will be justified! But the hypocrite will be cast off and trodden under foot. For where there is no name, there is truth; and where there is abundance of name, there truth lies concealed. Happy he who understands; happy he who takes refuge neither in Judah nor in Israel, but in the sanctuary of the Lord, through Jesus Christ, His Son, and through the peace of Him Who is the Comforter. For, behold, iniquity prevails, and all flesh is called to be questioned before the tribunal. Whoever (therefore) is in the uppermost place of his house, let him not descend, nor let him who lies in one bed with his brother arise from his brother's side; because the sword of wrath and indignation of Him, Who justifies all those confiding in Him, is ready to strike out against His own house as with a rod of correction and against the impiety of arrogance and sin as if it were the last punishment of sin and impiety. Blessed is he who lives, who is wise and fears God, who learns from His creatures and from the testimony of truth, and who is not full of human fancies that would cause
his eternal death. Amen."' A : 'May God grant to us that blessed condition. Amen.' The voice: 'I return.'
* * *

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I read out this (as it were) second act [of the revelation] in the presence A: of my friends (E[dward] K[elly] and F[rancesco] P[ucci]) and, as soon as I had stopped reading, the divine voice began to resound again in the ears of the said Edward with the following words: The voice: 'Again', said the Lord, 'who is he who has covered and prothe Spirit of Truth covers you and your nakedness, why do you uncover yourselves and throw off the garments of that obedience and patience which is necessary to your vocations? If you be taught, and if your doctrine be, from Heaven, why then are not your works likewise celestial?33 Behold, you are filled with wrath and malice, you are full of a zeal which is not right and agitated by a spirit of restlessness. None of these descends from Heaven. You are, therefore, still subject to the tyranny of the flesh and to carnal fancies. Fie upon you. You are worthy to be scourged and punished for your errors. For you are a scandal to Him Who teaches you, and you give offence to the peace of which He has made you participants. Divest yourselves (therefore) of your flesh and its desires, nay cast them away, and replenish yourselves with a spirit of general obedience and humility, truly loving and cherishing one another after the manner of Him Who loves you. Be glowing with zeal in the fulness of hope and in the enjoyment of a general obedience. For any zeal not founded in obedience is indeed odious in the eyes of God and those of any zealous man. He who lacks knowledge should be instructed, and you should explain your understanding to the ignorant. For ignorance aiming at charity is more excellent than knowledge combined with an overflowing of wrath and anger. He who toils should do so in accordance with the will of the person who sent him, and likewise he who was not sent should toil in accordance with his own will and yet assert: this is the will of my Lord. For whoever wills that which is good seeks it in the [divine] glory, and that glory is exalted in the Spirit of Patience by the reward of Him Who was injured on account of your injuries. You have both of you gone astray: the one [misled] by curiosity, the other by the blindness of [his] zeal. Therefore, if somebody be curious in that which has been committed to him, let him be so curious; but let him not lay hold of anybody else's office. For whoever touches the Ark unbidden [in marg: 2 Kings, chapter 6], will be accounted an offender (before the Lord). If anybody be animated by zeal, let him show his zeal in the fruits of obedience and in a spirit of humility, doing all things in that strength of grace which embellishes both peace and men that have been exalted.
And, as you have one God, so be you of one mind.
33In Dee's Latin version (MS. Ashm. 1790, fol. I5) an oblong area is here left blank which, one may presume, was occupied by some illustration or diagram in the English original.

tected you? Or who is he who teaches you? Is he not the Spirit of Truth? For, if

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For you are three, not two; and your vocation is one and the same, but your offices differ from one another.' . E[dward] K[elly]: 'The seer may (then) foretell when the time is to come that will be after the harvest and the harvesters [in marg: Apocalypse, chapter 14, D].'
2.

3.

A: 'He who writes down and records the words of the Highest, may he, in the fulness of time, show forth their strength, through the strength and support of Him Who has exalted him.' Fr[ancesco] P[ucci]: 'May he who has been called as a speaker abound in good works, so that he may be distinguished before his hearers and exalted in Him Who has sent him.' [The voice:] 'So then, whoever neglects his vocation may be ejected, and his place may be occupied by another. But to him who does the will of Him Who is teaching (which is the will of the Creator of all things) abundant grace will be granted. May you, therefore, have abundance of peace and of repentance; may you be rich in fruits, and may you love one another with such love as He has Who embraces you all in His love. For where that love is wanting, the Spirit of God is absent. He indeed fills everything with abundance of charity, which is the natural and necessary desert of human kind, and without which there is no happy man. Consider all this more attentively. Then refresh yourselves and revive. For you have received consolation. In the second hour after your recreation I shall yet visit you again.' A: 'All praise, honour, and glory be to our Creator, Redemptor, and Comforter. Amen.'

io [In mnarg: April] Just after midday on the same Thursday (after our meal), at the appointed time, a voice smote the ears of E[dward] K[elly] and spoke. The voice: 'Come.' A: We then repaired speedily to our oratory (the accustomed place of divine visitation) where, after reciting a short prayer from the Psalms, we waited for the word of the Lord. The voice: 'Lend your ear.' A: For a few minutes there was silence after these words. The voice: 'He who rises against his neighbour with intent to rob him of those goods he has brought together by his labour and by honest means, like
a bandit, or like some unlawful person snatching together things that do not belong to him, sins against the law of Nature, which is God's law; against the law of justice, which is the law of precept; against the law of the Gospel of God's Son, which is the law of the Lord. And for such a sin he must be lashed with the rod of justice. Yet he who rises against a neighbour of his (when that neighbour has

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received a command and consolation from on high) and resolves to deprive him of the benefits of Grace, he is bound to be damned and deserves the infernal fire. For whoever resists the Lord Jesus or His Spirit is accursed unless he repent. Now, listen to my voice, therefore, and understand today what I shall tell you, so that your enemies may learn that they are fighting against Him Who has created and redeemed them, and by Whom they are fed. Raise yourselves, therefore, and lend your ears to my voice. I have led you forth from the accursed tribe of those who are inflated with pride, those innovators who resist the law and ordainment of the Holy Church, which is the ordainment ofJesus Christ, true God and Man, the Son of God, to Whom by His Father the strength and the sword of all power was given over the multitudes of heaven, over all flesh, and over all creatures whatsoever. By performing miracles, and with a strong hand, I have led you forth and put you in this place. I have made manifest to you the bread of understanding and of wisdom and (since I am the Spirit of Wisdom) I have instructed you in the knowledge of Christ, which is the science of all things. I have taught you the medicine healing the wickedness of sin and I have revealed to you matters that are hidden even to the Church. For, as I am sempiternal, so My power is sempiternal, and, in truth, never do I pour out the whole wealth and inscrutable depth of My limitless wisdom to any one man, at any one time, in any one age, to any one people, or century. Those, therefore, who lived their lives by the law of Nature, received from Nature as from the finger of God. Those who lived under the yoke of the law acquired a knowledge of sin through the law. Lastly, those who lived, and still live, under Grace receive the Spirit of God, but not all of them in the same manner, because not all souls are endowed with equal fortitude, nor are all places equally blessed. So, according to the necessity of the time, I have provided you with bread while you were asking for stones. And while you were pursuing the fancies of your hearts (which savour of the flesh), I have opened your eyes so that you might discover your own palpable errors and follow Him Who paid the price of your redemption. Considering now that I have educated you as pupils of, as it were, a celestial school and vocation, it is incumbent on me to defend you and to protect you by My invincible wisdom and strength, overthrowing the idle fancies of men in the fulness, and at the very height, of their damnable pride. from Me, and then you will learn what else I shall tell you and how, by one look, I shall destroy the eyes of your adversaries at the very time when they think they see most sharply.'
A : I rose, went downstairs, and fetched all records and volumes (which had been dictated to us, during four years continuously,35 by God and by
84 The letter A, here written above the line, indicates that this command was addressed to Dee.

Arise34 then. Place before me the books and all that whichyou have received

35MS. Sloane 3188 and MS. Cotton, Appendix XLVI.

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His holy angels), my own writings, and some other things. I fetched them (I say) in an oblong, white box (3 feet (almost) in length, 1 foot wide, and I I did not, however, fetch the table often called the Table of the 3 foot high). Covenant. The voice: 'Gather your books together (indeed those which stand up (or have a spine)), from the first to the last, and also the one you have now in your hands (with the exception only of the action of the present day) and place them here before me.' A : 'What shall I do (o Lord) with today's action?' The voice: 'Cut it out of the book.' A: 'And what shall I do with the Holy Table?' The voice: 'Do as you have been commanded. Sunder the books apart, each by itself, and place them on this table.' I sundered the books, or rather those folio-volumes which were either bound or decently sewn together (27 in number), and then (having cut out this present action)36 I added the volume which was at the time in my hands, and so they were twenty-eight in all (namely four times seven) [in marg: 28 volumes]. And they contained (as in a continued narrative) all the things which, from the first hour of our (namely E[dward] K[elly's] and J[ohn] D[ee's]) conjunction until the present hour, had been revealed and shown to us by God's faithful angels and by God Himself. And in one of those 28 volumes there were 48 individual books, most mystical and (as God Himself is witness) more valuable than the value of all things in the whole world might be accounted.37 For in them the admirable divine wisdom and power were contained which, at a time determined by God, we must use to His honour and glory. There was another volume (among the 28) which was ancillary to those 48 individual books; its title was '48 Claves Angelicae', and it was entirely written in the angelic language.38 In another volume (of those 28) we had a most clear interpretation thereof in our English tongue.39 In addition to those 48 individual books there was a very short one, which book was the Mystery of Mysteries and the Holy of Holies ;40 for it alone contained the profoundest mysteries of God Himself and of the Almighty Divine Trinity that any creature will ever live to know. Its key was not yet granted to us. Another volume (among those 28) contained that wisdom and science, with which Enoch (by God's will) was imbued;41 where there was also something agreeing with the testimony of the Apostle Judas (about the prophecy of Enoch).42 In some of those 48 books there were contained (besides very
36 The original text which Casaubon used (MS. Cotton, Appendix XLVI) is too neatly re-bound to allow any excision to be noticeable between the end of the action of 6 August 1585 and the beginning of the 'Liber Resurrectionis', dated 30 April 1586 (part ii, fols.

Ashmole's hand, is found in MS. Sloane 3678, fols. 1-13. " This book remains unidentified. The manuscripts mentioned in the preceding footnote contain, in interlineations, an English translation of the angelic language. 40 This book remains unidentified. I33-35). 37 This book remains unidentified. 41 The original, in Kelly's handwriting, is 38 48 Claues Angelicae. Anno 1584. Cracouiae. now MS. Sloane 3189. A copy is found in The original, in Dee's handwriting, is now MS. Sloane 2599. 42 Cf. Jude, 14-16. MS. Sloane 3191, fols. 1-13. A copy, in
17

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suddenlyrosefrom his seat, went away quickly, returnedand broughtthat little black and placed them on the bag containing the book and the powder aforementioned

many other things of inestimable value) all sacred books, full and perfect, [in marg: note] all those books, I say, which, after and before the incarnation of Christ, had been written by the Spirit of Truth. And what other matters were comprised in those books I do not consider lawful to disclose or mention in detail (or even summarily) before the time determined by God. Yet it seemed very opportune and necessary to me here to commit to everlasting memory some account (of those 28 volumes), and I hope that this will not displease Almighty God. When, then, I had separated the aforesaid volumes (as I had been commanded) and placed them on the table, I spoke as follows: A: 'Have I now (o Lord) entirely fulfilled Thy command?' The voice: 'You (Kelly) shall bring hither also the little black bag, the book, and the powder which you have hidden.' A [in marg: To the pious reader]: I think that, in accordance with the truthfulness of this narrative, I should mention here something concerning E[dward] K[elly] and those objects (which had been entrusted to his custody). This command of God was so unexpected to Ed[ward] Kelly and so little to his liking that his heart was very much overcome with helpless amazement. All the same, he was firmly resolved to render obedience to God, though the flesh was somewhat reluctant. It seemed to him that the joints of his spine (near the hip-bones) were being torn apart, and he was greatly tormented by pains such as, he asserted, he had never suffered in all his life. We prayed to God that He might render him strong in faith, willing in obedience, and compliant. He felt such vehement internal pain, and the struggle of the flesh against the spirit was so upsetting, that, when the pain and the contest were at their highest pitch, E[dward] K[elly] ejaculated this sentence: 'O Lord, I did not receive this from Thee.' We exhorted him to be obedient to God and to fill himself with undoubting faith in the promises which God had made to us in the past and which He had often confirmed to us by His inviolable oath. He (E[dward] K[elly]) replied to me: 'The spirit is willing to fulfill this command of God (nay, I should rather say, it would be, if now, by God's will, I had to die); but forgive me, and may God forgive me, that my flesh should thus manifest its weakness and invent a delay.' After thesewordshe table beside the 28 books. The little bag was new; it was made of black fustian [in marg: in English, Black Fustian; in German, Berkat] (to be precise) and was provided with new black braces to close its opening, after the manner of certain purses. The capacity of the little bag was such that it seemed to me apt to contain one peck of wheat. The book (a volume comprising two individual books on different subjects) and that holy powder had been assigned by God not only to the two of us (to E[dward] K[elly] and to me, A) and to our children, but also to other servants of God; and, before a certain time

determined by God, they were not to be put to any use by us, by any kind of practice. The custody of that great treasure had been entrusted to E[dward] K[elly]. [In marg: The holy stone of the philosophers]. There was this mystery of Nature and Art, of which arrogant and proud philosophasters and the greater part of the learned are wont to maintain that it cannot be made in

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any way. We may, therefore, most justly judge, dijudicate, and condemn by most certain evidence that very great pride of the worldlings and their ignorance. Truly and in God, I do assert that the performance and the power (inherent and emanating) of this treasure are so great that the treasures of all Christian Princes and Kings (collected together and conjoined) could not be regarded as equal in value to even a tenth part of it.43 So I encouraged E[dward] K[elly] with a few words and admonished him that he should recall the faith of Abraham who, when God commanded that he should offer Isaac as a holocaust, although God had previously promised him that in Isaac [in marg: Genesis, chapter 21 B] he would be called to seed and propagation, did not hesitate to offer as a holocaust this his only son, the future ancestor (by [divine] promise) of the progeny which

says something to this effect: When Abraham was divided between his nature and his faith and inclined now in this, now in that, direction, he at length gave the victory to his faith.]44 He did not try to argue after human fashion (by comparing the promise to the command) that God was not constant to him, or that He was attempting to bring about an act contrary to Nature. Likewise [I told Edward Kelly] we, too, must not hesitate to obey humbly and quickly the command of God Who now desired us to return to Him those books and our other treasures; and since we were entirely certain that God is loyal and most constant in keeping His promises, anything that God would do about, or with, those books and treasures would all be to His glory and praise. [I also told him] that our consolation was great and would at length lead to a reprehension, or punishment, of our enemies. When I had finished, I said to God: A: 'Behold (o Lord) Thou hast here that little black bag, with Thy property (the book and the powder) inside. We desire to know what further Thou wishest may be done with them.' The voice: 'May the world not vanquish you,45 and may you not value riches (human fancies) more than obedience to My will and command. Look, how hard is it to abandon the world? And, since all things are mine, why did you want to sayyou had bynomeans But I tell you, do not move until it be commanded to you. For the place is holy. And God will today make a certain promise to you of which you do not know yet. [In marg: God will make a new promise to us.] Look, you have yet kept back a certain part of the book, which you will in like manner bring here, so that you may not be [accounted] shameless, and that you may shake off the world. He who loves creatures more than the Creator is blind, ignorant, and
43 Cf. MS. Sloane 3188, fols. 90v, I03v, where the powder is mentioned in actions of 18 April and 5 May 1583. 44 Cf. 'De Selectis Scripturae Sacrae Quaestionibus ambiguis . . . in Genesin', in Beati Theodoreti,CyprensisEpiscopi . . . Opera,

he was to bless. [In marg: Genesis, chapter 22. Theodoretus, in Quest. Geneseos

receivedthisfrom Me?

Cologne, I573, i, pp. 19-20, 'Cur Deus tentavit Abraham, quum omnia praenoscat?' 45 The letters E.K. here inserted above the line indicate that the voice was addressing itself to Edward Kelly.

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without light, and, for that reason, he is to be excluded and to be thrust out of the door, when the Bridegroom comes. Whatever I may command you today, take care you do it. Place the books which lie here also inside the little bag.' A: E[dward] K[elly] put all those 28 books (or primary volumes) in the same black bag and closed it (tightening the braces as usual). The voice: 'Now you, Kelly, will rise and you will remove the stones from the mouth of that furnace, and where those stones now are you will place this. When it is done, return.' E[dward] K[elly] rose from his chair and removed from the mouth of the furnace 4 or 5 fire-baked lateral facings (by which the warmth of the fire was the more perfectly kept within the furnace, and by which the inconvenience of cold air and wind coming in was prevented). He placed the little bag inside the mouth of the burning furnace, in the very place where previously the aforesaid fire-baked stones had been, and so returned to his chair. The voice: 'Now rise and bring hither what remains. Do not conceal anything.' A: E[dward] K[elly] went and fetched some manuscript quires consisting each of four sheets (folded in 8o). The writing seemed very old and was in a larger character than our common script. He had cut them out of the volume which had been entrusted to his custody (viz. from the last mentioned book, not from [any of] the former). When he had brought them and had again sat down with us, the Lord spoke thus to him: The voice: 'Rise and throw [them] into the furnace.' A: '(O Lord) dost Thou wish them to be put into the very fire or on top of the little bag, o God. He is willing (o Lord) to be obedient to Thy will.' The voice: 'Rise, Pucci, join him, and see to it that he puts them into the very fire and, besides, that he also thrusts the little bag and the books after them. You will not withdraw until the fire entirely penetrates them. Do I not resuscitate the dead? Go then, and have45a faith.' [In marg: The holocaust of all that which, from the beginning of the world, had been most precious.] A: They arose and went to the furnace. First they threw into the burning fire those quires consisting of four sheets. Then, boldly and briskly, they pushed the little bag into that fire. (While they were thus occupied at the mouth of the furnace,) I raised my voice to God on bended knees and rendered thanks to our God with great joy, gladness, and exultation. I prayed that He might augment and confirm our faith; that we might in no way have doubts about the most generous promises He had previously made to us; and that, to the honour and glory of His name, He might make us most certain witnesses and servants of His wisdom, patience, and goodness. Meanwhile, they applied themselves eagerly and gravely to the completion of the holocaust. They threw into the furnace very light and dry pieces of firewood and very fine chips of timbers and beams in great quantity, stirred the heap of books with a small staff and an iron spit, lifted it,
45a The letters E. K. here inserted above the line indicate that the voice was addressing

itself to Edward Kelly.

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'Now indeed that man has disappeared very suddenly,' said E[dward] K[elly]. When all things had been consumed by the fire (that could be consumed) and when this vision had come to an end, E[dward] K[elly] came towards us and said: 'Come, Pucci, see and judge.' He went, considered, and came back. 'It appears to me', he said, 'that nothing is left, except ashes and stones, very few pieces of live coal, a few embers of leaves of paper, the froth of the fire deposited on the sides of the furnace.' The voice: 'Now you shall add the other things.' A: 'What other things shall I add, o Lord?' The voice: 'Books . -. Whatever there remains on paper, you shall burn in the same manner as you have burned the former. The other things you may keep, as I shall teach and instruct you before you leave.' A : 'Is it Thy wish that we burn also this rolled-up and sealed fascicle (which, by Thy command, we took from Fr[ancesco] Pucci) ?'46 The voice: 'No.'
46 This paper is referred to as Pucci's 'recantation written with his own hand' in Dee's notes of the 'action' of 30 April 1586. It had not been among the papers which were restored to Dee and Kelly the day before. Upon Dee's inquiry, the voice answered: 'The rest that wanteth, shall be restored unto you: even unto the least and last letter.' See Casaubon, pp. 419-20; below, p. 256.

see at all where all these things go.'

and laid it open, so that the fire might the more easily consume all and convert into ashes and embers whatever would be combustible. And when they had so busied themselves for almost a quarter of an hour, E[dward] K[elly] heard a voice saying to him: The voice: 'Tell Pucci now that he shall enter (viz. into the oratory).' [A:] Pucci joined me in the oratory and, on bended knees, he poured out with me prayers of thanksgiving etc. As soon as Pucci had entered, E[dward] K[elly], who was standing before the mouth of the furnace (now fully ablaze), signified to us in a loud voice that he was seeing the shape of a man (only from the midriff upwards) walking, as it were, hither and thither among the flames, but that his face did not appear to him. 'It seems (said E[dward] K[elly]) that, with his right hand he is gathering, or plucking off, something from the tops of the flames. Now I can see clearly that he is recovering from the flame the leaves of books, leaf after leaf. Now he seems to have put together a whole book.' And (after a short while) he said: 'And now he seems to be holding a second book in his hand, yet I do not see where he might have laid away the first. Now I see that he has collected yet another book among the tops of the flames. And now it seems to me that, with his fingers, he is shaping from the tops of the flames a small box, with the powder [inside]. He goes on collecting leaves from the tops of the flames. Now he seems to have [brought together] two further books; but I cannot

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A: 'Shall I add this writing (a small part of the book of Enoch which Thou hast given to me)? Dost Thou want this document also to be burned?' The voice: 'You shall not burn it.' A: Then I set out on the table all remaining loose and unbound papers and sheets, a great many (all received by divine dictation), and did not let one sheet remain that had any writing on it. They [abovetheline: E[dward] K[elly] and Fr[ancesco] P[ucci] ] took all those charts and papers and threw them into the glowing furnace, and very quickly they were ablaze and were with my whole heart:'. A: 'Thus I [offer to Thee,] our Almighty, Sempiternal, and Living God, Who art our protector and liberator, this welcome and acceptable sacrifice of our obedience. Amen.' A: Immediately upon this, the divine voice spoke the following words, which were received by E[dward] K[elly] (our seer) and [by him] expressed to me: The voice: 'Behold, I swear by Myself that not one letter will perish of whatsoever has been committed to the fire. And as I have the power to rouse up glory for Me from nothing, so I have power to collect together what has been brought forth by Me. Therefore, when, later on, the tyranny of those men ceases, collect yourselves and make a prayer before Me, invoking the name of the Father in the name of Jesus, His Son. And be aware that, as A restitution of the things burned and committed to the fire is promised.] And not one letter of that which I have spoken will perish. Yet, because they assert that you have intercourse with the enemy of mankind, My visitation upon you has become a cause of offence to them. The more so, because the mysteries of Heaven cannot be discovered but to those whom I choose and whom (by My vocation) I put apart from the others. And also, because they will not understand, but will be buried in ignorance (for no one receives from the Father unless he have the merit of faith, nor is anyone approved but he to whom justification has been granted). So much so that now they would like to learn. They will be told as in the parable the rich man was told: they have Moses and the prophets; what other doctrine from Heaven need they have? They have the testimony of the Son of God, but they lack the Spirit of Understanding, and, therefore, I say to them: o you men of little faith, o you who sit in the Temple of Justice, yet are defiled by every kind of wretchedness, the Lord visited you, and you did not notice it. Behold, He made an offer to you, but you declined. He called you, but you are the sons of negligence and disobedience. Now,
For that reasonI haveprostratedthem in the midst of theirfancies. thesethings wereput into the fire, in the same wayyou will receivethem again. [In marg: burned by the fire . Then they reported this to me, whereupon I said

make an end of it and keep quiet. For I shall go forth into their midst and shall overthrow them in My great indignation. I shall strike them, and they will be dispersed, so that they may know they have offended the Spirit of the Lord, Who gives bountifully to all those invoking the name of the Father in the name of His Son, Christ.

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For the rest, you will not be troublesome to them, and you should no further speak against them, but grieve for their sake, and pray to your Father Who is in Heaven that His mercy be poured out over all His creatures. Be obedient to their authorities, as to those who sit in the seat of justice. Worship God in his saints, yet mostly in His Son, Jesus Christ. Worship Him in all His creatures and praise His name. If they afflict you, bear it patiently and expect My coming. [In marg: A : The coming of the Holy Spirit at a certain future time has often been promised to us.] (Lastly) be full of humility and obedience. And do not cease to pour out prayers to Him Who is the Spirit of Understanding, so that your eyes may be opened, that you may become celestial and enjoy abundance of the splendour of Him Who imparts eternal life and grace. The wisdom and the peace of God be with you in Jesus Christ, His Son. May it defend and instruct you in all manner of piety and a quiet life.' 'Amen.' A: The voice: 'Take both stones out of their mounts47 and keep them apart. Suspend the table at the end of the hall, that end where there is a chapel of the enemies. Suspend it in that very place.' A: 'Mayest Thou, o Lord, declare this more clearly to me.' The voice: 'Suspend it on the bare wall, and inside a wooden box, so that it may at all times be before your eyes as a token and memorial.' A: 'Who is as our Lord Who comforts His humble sons, Who enlightens, guides, protects, and liberates them? He alone, the Almighty. He alone is wise. He alone is good. May He arise in His strength so that His enemies are dispersed and perish before His face. For He is the King of Kings, the Lord of those who have dominion, and the King of Glory. To Him alone be every praise, honour, and glory, now and for evermore, world without end. Amen.'

The voice, which Dee believed was that of the Holy Spirit, certainly had every kind of flattering and optimistic comfort in store that Dee could have desired to hear. We cannot decide in this paper whether Kelly was consciously a most subtle impostor or the victim of a mental illness which made him regard his visions and utterances as genuinely inspired by divine agencies. Nor can we pass judgment here on Dee's astonishing credulity. It remains to summarize very briefly, from Casaubon's edition and the
47 ex . . . orbitis, suggesting that the mounts were circular. Dee and Kelly had several stones, probably circular or spherical crystals, for skrying purposes, which, during their

seances, were placed on the 'Holy Table'. See Casaubon, 'The Preface' [pp. 28, 45-47] ; also Ashmole's marginal note in his own copy (MS. Ashm. 580, 'The Preface' [p. 45]).

C. H. JOSTEN 256 annotations in his and Ashmole's copies thereof, some events which followed immediately on those related in the hitherto unnoticed action of i o April 1586 and its preface: At about 1.30 p.m. on 29 April 1586, Kelly noticed from the gallery of his chamber the head-gardener, and foreman of the workmen, of a Mr. Carpio as he seemed to be pruning some trees in Mr. Carpio's vineyard; 'at length he approached under the wall by E. K. and holding his face away-ward he said unto him, Quaesodicas Domino Doctori quod veniat ad me. And so went away as it were cutting here and there the trees very handsomely, and at length over the Cherry-trees by the house on the Rock in the Garden he seemed to mount up in a great piller of fire.' Mrs. Kelly, whom her husband sent down into the garden, did not see anybody there. Dee and Kelly then descended into the garden together, but they, too, could not find the strange gardener anywhere, who, Kelly presumed, must be 'some wicked spirit'. After a thorough search, Dee suddenly noticed from a distance 'a faire white paper lying tossed to and fro in the wind' under an almond tree, and then, to his great joy, he found lying there three of the books 'which were so diligently burnt the tenth day of April last', namely: (i) the Book of Enoch (see above, n. 41) (2) the '48 Claves Angelicae' (see above, n. 38); (3) the 'Liber Scientiae terrestris auxilii & victoriae'. (The original, in Dee's handwriting, is now MS. Sloane 3191, fols. 14-3 Iv; a copy, written by Ashmole, is preserved in MS. Sloane 3678, fols. 14-3Iv.) The books showed no sign of ever having been in, or near, the fire (Casaubon, p. 418). Half an hour later, while Dee and Kelly were sitting under the almond tree, 'the self-same Gardiner like person' appeared again (this time perhaps also to Dee). His face was again averted. He bade Kelly follow him, and Dee remained sitting still to await his return. The 'gardener's' feet did not appear to touch the ground and, as he went before Kelly, all the doors seemed to open before him. He conducted Kelly to the mouth of the furnace in the oratory at the top of the tower where all the books and papers had been burnt. 'And coming thither, there the spiritual Creature did seem to set one of his feet on the post on the right hand without the furnace mouth, and with the other to step to the furnace mouth, and so to reach into the furnace (the bricks being not plucked away which stopped the mouth of the furnace, all saving one brick thick) and as he had reached into the furnace there appeared a great light, as if there had been a window in the back of the furnace, and also to E. K. the hole which was no greater then the thickness of a brick unstopped, did seeme now more then three or four brick thickness wide, and so over his shoulder backward he did reach to E. K. all the rest of the standing Books, excepting the Book out of which the last Action was cut, and Fr. Pucci his Recantation, also to E. K. appeared in the furnace all the rest of the papers which were not as then delivered out. That being done, he bade E. K. go, and said he should have the rest afterward. He went before in a little fiery cloud, and E. K. followed with the Books under his arm all along the Gallery, and came down the stairs by Fr. Pucci his Chamber door, and then his guide

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left E. K. and he brought me the Books unto my place under the Almond-tree' (Casaubon, pp. 418-i9). There is no record of the restoration of those books and papers, and of the powder, which were not returned on this occasion; but one of these books, the one out of which the minutes of the action of io April 1586 had been cut, is now certainly in the British Museum (MS. Cotton, Appendix XLVI); the powder of transmutation is mentioned as being again in Kelly's hands in an action of 18 April 1587 (Casaubon, p. i i [of a second pagination, beginning at the end of the book]). On 6 May 1586 Dee left Prague for Leipzig where he arrived on i i May
following (Casaubon, p. 421).

Sir Francis Walsingham, then Principal Secretary of State: 'Nuncius Apostolicus, (Germanicus Mala Spina) after his yeer's suit unto me to be acquainted with me, at length had such his answer, that he is gone to Rome with a flea in his eare, that disquieteth him, & terrifieth the whole state Romish and Jesuitical' (Casaubon, p. 423). On 23 May 1586 he was informed that, shortly after the i ith of May, the newly appointed Papal Nuncio, Philip, Bishop of Piacenza, had submitted to the Emperor a document in which he, Dee, was accused of necromancy and other forbidden arts (Casaubon, p. 424); the Pope, Sixtus V, had sent to the Emperor a 'commandment by Letter' to extradite Dee and Kelly and to send them to Rome for interrogation (Casaubon, p. 430). Pucci then tried by various ruses to persuade Dee and Kelly to accept protection from the Nuncio
and to go to Rome of their own accord, but he failed (Casaubon, pp. 430-34).-

From Leipzig he wrote on 14 May 1586 to

On 30 May 1586 Dee received an imperial decree, dated 29 May 1586, expelling him, his family, and Kelly, from the Kingdom of Bohemia and from the other dominions of the Emperor; it was delivered by a clerk of the imperial chancery and left them 'onely six dayes warning' (Casaubon, p. 428). Dee's next moves are for the most part unknown; he stayed for short periods at Erfurt, Gotha, and Cassel (Casaubon, p. 434). On 8 August 1586 the Emperor granted to Dee's newly acquired friend, disciple, and patron, Prince William of Orsini-Rosenberg-Crumlau, who was Viceroy and 'obrist Burggraf' of Bohemia,48 'licence for us to return into Bohemia, to any of his [i.e. the Prince's] Lordships, Towns, Cities, Castles &c.' (Casaubon, pp. 418, 433-34), and so, for the time being, Dee and Kelly were safe. Shortly before 19 September 1586 they arrived at the castle of Trebona, or Wittingau (Casaubon, p. 444), one of the Prince's many residences in Bohemia, where they remained for about two years.

4*See J. H. Zedler, li, col. 554-

Grosses Vollstdndiges Universal-Lexicon, Leipzig

and Halle,

i747,