European fortune teller

Is sandy both a scientist and a magician?

As a result of the juxtaposition and collision of many ideas in a certain era, many people have various philosophies that contradict us today. John dee (1527— 1608) is such a case. As a competent mathematician and scientist, his work, thoughts and life have become the intersection of different world views.

2 1 century, fans of magic and magic can recognize Dee's name at a glance. In their eyes, this is the name of a hero. However, although he used to be a respected scientist and mathematician, few people regard him as a scientist today, and most people don't even know his name. But in Renaissance England, his name was almost inconceivable. He is a learned scholar and a mathematical adviser to the British royal family. At the same time, he was an early practitioner of "hidden art" such as astrology, magic and alchemy. He associates with witches and believes that witches can talk to angels. Like scientists for hundreds of years and today, he wants to know the deepest secrets of the universe. He admitted that science offered many possibilities for expanding knowledge. But he thought he saw an easier shortcut, which was the first step of his mistake. For many historians of science and researchers of modern Renaissance thought, Dee is a doubtful figure-a tragic figure, brilliant, obsessed with the pursuit of scientific truth, but unfortunately lost his way and wandered in the dark alley of fantasy and magic.

Dee was born in July 1527. There are several theories about his birthplace, some say it is in London, and some say it is in the small village of Monty Lake near London. His father's name is Rolandi and his mother's name is jane wilde. They got married on 1524. Roland Di is a successful textile businessman and enjoys a high reputation in the Chamber of Commerce. He is also a junior official in the royal court.

Little is known about Sandy's childhood, except that he was an agile, curious and clever boy in chelmsford, isaacs. Later, he went to St. John's College in Cambridge to study Greek, Latin, geometry, mathematics, astronomy and philosophy. From 1546, he became a junior researcher at Trinity College, and from 1547 to 1550, he traveled, studied and gave lectures in various places. His first hobby is mathematics. During his stay in Paris, he gave a series of wonderful speeches at the University of Paris, focusing on Euclid's Elements of Geometry and Fundamentals of Geometry. Later, when editing the Billingsley translation of Euclid's works, he added a famous preface to praise the use of mathematics. Dee's speech was very successful. He was hired as a professor by the University of Paris, but Dee declined, just as he later declined the position of mathematics lecturer at Oxford University. Because he cherishes his freedom of research, he has to spend a lot of time to balance the two: on the one hand, the freedom of research he needs; On the other hand, this is an obligation demanded of him by his protector. He must also find and recognize a more reliable protector in financial security.

During the trip, Dee also came to Lauwan, near Brussels, and met Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594), a capable map maker, and they established friendship. Their friendship was so close that Mercator gave Dee two famous globes and some newly designed astronomical instruments. Dee became more and more famous, so the court noticed him. Shortly after he returned to England, at some time in 1552 (during the reign of Edward VI of England, King of England in England and Ireland), Di became a court astrologer and informal consultant, responsible for consulting related affairs such as maps, geography, astronomy and navigation. This is a superior position-if not politics, in terms of funds, the Royal Court of England is definitely his most reliable backer.

Dee's mathematical ability made him feel at home in these positions, and he soon became a consultant to various maritime officials and British explorers. When exchanging detailed knowledge about maps with Dee, an explorer even promised to give Dee all the land found in the future voyage north of 50 degrees north latitude (possibly including most of Canada now-but this voyage failed). Dee is also a competent cryptographer, and his encryption and decryption can make the investigation department and security department often rely on the payment of the court to consult him.

Many scientists may be jealous of the benefits of Dee's position and his scientific reputation. To this end, he may have carefully built a safe place for himself in London society and court. However, Dee has been leading a double life since she was a student (maybe earlier). As early as the Cambridge era, there were rumors about him that he built an amazing device with mathematical knowledge and mechanical fantasy. Just as the school play was on, a huge mechanical beetle flew off the stage with an actor. The audience was stunned by this sudden scene and the action of the mechanical beetle, and rumors began to spread everywhere, saying that the beetle was not a simple mechanical device at all, but was enchanted by its maker. It is said that sandy is a magician.

However, Dee never thought of doing this-never thought of it. Witches engage in so-called harmful witchcraft, that is, evil and magic. It is said that wizards seek personal strength to deal with demons and evil creatures. They even tried to summon Satan to carry out their orders.

Sandy does seek magical power, but he is looking for "natural magic", a mathematical secret that is thought to be hidden in secret texts and mysterious rituals of the past. He hopes that these can provide the key to understand the harmony and ultimate truth of human beings and their universe. Of course, neither magic exists. However, Dee was immersed in it and didn't realize that it was a useless pursuit. Many people as smart as Dee or even smarter are caught in it, and many rational pursuers are lost in the maze they have built.

To make matters worse, other political and religious interference soon came to Sandy's life.

Sandy found strong support in the court of young King Edward VI of England of England. However, he had to strive for continued funding, because Edward's protector (uncle) was sentenced to death, and then Edward himself died. Then there is a series of battles for the throne, taking turns to ascend the throne. At this turning point of fate, Dee had to stand firm and keep a balance. During the reign of Mary Tudor, he and his father were arrested and imprisoned, and his father was deprived of his property, although they were later released. When Elizabeth ascended the throne, Dee found that she seemed easier to get along with than Mary. He was asked to use his astrology to choose the best date for her to ascend to the throne, because he chose a good day and his luck changed. After this brilliant success, Dee became a confidant of Elizabeth and the court. He tutored Elizabeth in elementary mathematics alone, and when Sandy's second wife died, the Queen even went to his house to express her condolences. But according to the custom, she is not allowed to enter the house, so Dee saluted the Queen in front of the house. )

All this intrigue and confusion must have influenced Dee's research. However, he collected a large number of books and became one of the richest scientists with private books in the 16 and 17 centuries. Unfortunately, most of these books were destroyed by the London fire of 1666, which destroyed many areas in London. During Mary's short reign, Dee tried to persuade the Queen to establish a national library, but failed. If such a library is established, scholars from all over the world will come here to study and read these rare books. As Mary was not interested in it, she decided to build her own large library. Although under the rule of Elizabeth, with the stable backing of the court, Dee's economic situation has not improved. Although he is the darling of the court, this special treatment did not make his wallet swell. After losing his father's property, in order to reduce expenses, he and his third wife moved to his mother's home in Lake Monti. The following year, his mother died and he inherited the house. In the next five years, he began to set up private libraries. This is a remarkable achievement. When it was completed, it collected more than 4,000 books and countless manuscripts, involving mathematics, science and human knowledge. The university library in Cambridge had less than 500 books at that time, far less than Sandy's private collection. In order to collect these books and manuscripts and set up a research laboratory, he expanded his mother's house and even bought and rebuilt some nearby houses. This library attracts scholars from Britain and Europe, just as he once hoped the National Library would do.

However, not every room in his library is open to visiting scholars. There was a locked room for Dee's personal use, and he continued to study alchemy, magic and so-called "crystal ball divination" at that time (using a special object, such as polished stone or crystal ball, is said to make people spy on the future or the past, or talk directly with elves).

2/kloc-it is difficult for people with scientific minds to understand that Di turned to mysticism and magic in pursuit of universal truth. However, in Di's time, the dividing line between science and mysticism was not as clear as it is today. Even today, in the face of some speculations of modern cosmology, laymen sometimes wonder whether this dividing line is blurred again. However, times have changed. Even Newton, one of the greatest scientists in the world (born 35 years after Sandy's death), spent precious time studying alchemy and looking for hidden secrets in the Bible.

Dee is by no means the first person who wants to find answers from mystery and magic. Dee's special tragedy is that such a talented, concise and capable person, driven by intellectual ambition, is so caught in a scam. Some historians believe that Dee might not have been so bad or gone so far if he hadn't fallen into inappropriate communication. He may continue his legal and valuable work in mathematics and science, so that his efforts in his later years will not be harmful and will be carried out under secret control.

But Dee did fall into an inappropriate relationship. The problem is that no matter how clever Dee's mathematical ability is, no matter how good he is at manipulating the profound knowledge he has collected from magic and religious books, he just can't do divination through objects such as crystal balls. No matter how hard he tried, or how much time he spent staring at his specially polished stones and transparent glass balls, he could see nothing. Since he can't see any tricks, he can't attract elves or angels to answer the ultimate mystery of the universe for him. However, Dee, instead of learning from these facts, insisted on his own opinions. So in March of 1582, Dee and Kelly (Edward Kelly, 1555- 1597) got in touch.

Although he can't deal with this kind of divination, Dee thinks that if he wants to make progress in solving the mystery of the universe, he must make some deals with some people who are proficient in it. Fortune tellers are like "psychics" or "psychics" today, and they are everywhere, as long as you can find the right way. Before finding Kelly, Dee tried a fortune teller, but the man looked like a spy, trying to find Dee's secret or collect evidence to accuse Dee of being a wizard. Of course, he can't gain Dee's trust. Perhaps because of Dee's own mistakes and credulity, or because of Kelly's rhetoric, Dee finally hired Kelly.

Kelly's early life is unknown, except that his real name is Edward Talbot, who was born in Lancashire and has a reputation as a gangster. He committed forgery, so he always wore a hat to cover his ears when he was punished. Dee didn't trust Kelly at first. But soon Kelly seemed to prove that she really had divination ability, so she completely gained Dee's trust, and the Kelly couple also moved into Dee's house.

Kelly soon began to contact ghosts. Through Dee's special stones and glass balls, he seems to have talked with elves, angels and even demons for a while. When Kelly stared at the diviner, Dee carefully wrote down every word about Kelly in his conversation. Needless to say, Dee has never heard the voice of the gods, but it is full of surprises. Surprisingly, his new partner can easily contact God and bring such an interesting conversation.

When Kay used the stronger divining stone to summon the elves, the dialogue became more "magical". Soon after, with the help of the elves, Kelly showed a small amount of mysterious red substance in Dee's residence. According to Kelly, these red substances are part of the real philosopher's stone, which is what alchemists dream of. It can turn explorers into pure souls and base metals into gold. Of course, he doesn't have enough quantity to complete the process. But Kelly is convinced that with the constant help of elves and angels, it is possible to achieve this magical result. At the same time, they constantly get information from the elves, and together they study a strange new secret language sent by angels, which Dee calls "enoch". Needless to say, through Kelly's "enoch Language", Dee's mind, which loves mathematics and passwords, was immediately attracted by it, and the relationship between Dee and Kelly became closer.

Dee is still serving Elizabeth and the court, but because he is so immersed in Kelly's so-called communication with elves, rumors about his behavior began to spread everywhere in Lake Monty. People have known about his agility and love of mathematics (many people think it is a magic tool), and still vaguely remember his performance in the Goliath Beetle, so Dee is becoming more and more suspicious in the minds of the surrounding residents.

However, favorable rumors also spread abroad, and European aristocrats were particularly interested in it. It is said that sandy discovered how to make gold. Dee's second move became a secret, and the truth never came out. Is Dee blinded by the fanatical pursuit of the doomsday truth of the universe, or even become an innocent victim of Kelly's ambitious plan? Or because of the lack of progress, ambition is no longer frustrated, and out of the need for money, so that in the next few years, they will act as accomplices in this scam jointly planned by the two?

No matter what the answer is, the rumor that Sandy and Kelly have the ability to make gold spread like wildfire, and many aristocratic families in Europe invited them to work in the courts there. Dee asked for leave from the royal family and went to Europe to live with her family with Kelly.

The most profitable invitation came from a Polish nobleman named Lasky. Sandy and Kelly promised him that information from angels predicted that he would benefit from their alchemy soon, so Lasky met them in Poland with luxurious residence and well-equipped laboratory. Needless to say, whenever Lasky asks about the progress of their experiments, they always say that they are close to completion, but success is always far away. Of course, angels and elves always come, making promises and providing predictions. At the same time, although Kelly became more and more bold in divination, Dee recorded it truthfully in her notebook. With more and more well-planned angels and elves "celebrities" visiting, Dee found herself spending less and less time on scientific research, and more and more time on Kelly talking with elves.

Finally, with the passage of time, Lasky began to understand that although the monster made a promise, he still lost a lot of money, but he didn't make any money. Funding Dee and Kelly's experiments has obviously become a major expense. Soon Dee and Kelly's funding was suspended. They not only lost their funds, but also could not find any sources of funds. The conceited Judy is a trusted science consultant and astrologer of Queen Elizabeth, and she finally finds herself with Kelly. The two families wandered around major cities in Europe, acting as fortune tellers, astrologers and alchemists (depending on whether there were suitable patrons), promising to turn metals into gold. Of course, they never succeeded in making many gold promises, although Kelly cunningly explained to the customers who came to the door that they had mastered the secret knowledge and could achieve this goal.

The relationship between sandy and Kelly inevitably became tense. In Dee's view, Kelly has gained too many privileges, always boasting about herself in front of customers, as if she were equal to Dee in intelligence and identity. At the same time, in Kelly's view, Dee has become another Jianghu peddler like himself.

Due to the fatigue of travel, repeated faithlessness to customers, and more and more complicated conversations with elves, Kelly's expanding vanity finally made Dee sick, and he decided to return to his home in England. He left Kelly's house and returned to his hometown with his wife. Thanks to Elizabeth's warm hospitality in London, his health was temporarily restored, but when he returned to his hometown in Lake Monty, he found that his home had been ransacked. The rumor that Sandy practiced witchcraft in Europe encouraged a mob, who destroyed or stole many valuable properties of Sandy, including his favorite books.

Although the Queen received Dee warmly in London, she had other cronies during Dee's departure. However, they still maintain friendly relations. When Eliza learned that Dee was in financial trouble, she kindly arranged various errands and salaries for him, but their relationship was not what it used to be.

Sandy continued his research alone until the last day of his life, still searching for his dream magic key to unlock the secrets of the universe. 1608 died in Lake Monti, with almost nothing at his death.

After the Dickens left, Kelly continued to roam around Europe, looking for similar patrons, and claimed that he had discovered the real philosopher's stone, which could turn metal into gold. When business was depressed, he made a living by simple deception such as ordinary fortune telling. Kelly's end is coming. He was arrested in Prague as a wizard and a heretic, and was released and then arrested in Germany. There are different opinions about his ultimate fate. The most credible one is that he died trying to escape from prison in southern Germany, and there was no angel to help him.

Today, Dee's story is undoubtedly a tragedy, which clearly shows that an intelligent and curious mind has gone astray because of ambition and fallen into the quagmire of mysticism and its pretence because of lack of patience. This is a story of being credulous and deceived-willing to believe in the tempting myth that power and wealth can be obtained through alchemy and dialogue with "elves", but the problem still exists: since he has such a keen and pragmatic mind that his compatriots are amazed, how can simple scams and tricks completely deceive him? Or is he driven by some strange and twisted psychology, or even reduced to a deceitful accomplice, a deceitful magician, voluntarily giving up the pursuit of truth and willing to deceive his own life? In either case, since he once devoted himself to pursuing the truth of mathematics and science, his story is really a tragedy.