ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some of the broader questions related to the Monas that extend beyond the confines of the text itself. The juxtaposition of the Propaedeumata and the Monas will highlight the extent of any continuity between the two works and will provide a foundation for filling in the picture of Dee’s intellectual development between 1558 and 1564 and considering the issue of the possible political and religious significance of the dedication of the work to Maximilian. It will be my contention that in this period Dee passed through a significant shift in his thinking. I call this shift Dee’s ‘great metaphysical revolution’, echoing his own phrase in the Monas, not only because it marked a profound change but also because the mystical communion with God through nature that marks the formation of the adept through that revolution seems to be the fundamental preoccupation behind Dee’s intellectual change at this time. Involved in this change was a significant expansion of his conception of magic to include the spiritual and demonic religious magic associated with the Renaissance vogue of the ‘ancient theology’, and a notable enhancement of his conception of his social role.
