ABSTRACT
The body of material resulting from Dee’s actions with spirits dwarfs, in its bulk, all of his other works combined, and it may well be the vehicle for the most intimate view of Dee’s personality and spiritual and intellectual life. The topics of the actions range across religion, politics, the reformation of the church, cosmology, theology, eschatology, and natural philosophy, and both what the angels say and Dee’s and Kelley’s reactions provide a reflection of their deepest religious beliefs and concerns and their perceptions of and attitudes toward the world outside the closed room in which they carried on their practice. Thus far, however, this material has received little concentrated scholarly attention, providing rich resources for romantic biography and writers of occult sympathies but something of an embarrassment to any attempt to consider Dee as a significant figure in the history of philosophy and of science. 1 Whether or not his activities with Kelley are considered one of his productive endeavours, they represent such a large period of his life that they need to be considered for their bearing on Dee’s natural philosophy and his intellectual career.
