The Hieroglyphic Monad

TO MAXIMILIAN.

>> ...could be proposed. This, he must translate into himself in a twofold way: namely, that he himself, having been made worthy, should swallow the Work; and that he should imitate the dignification of the Work.

Now, O King Maximilian—distinguished by the honor of the Triple Crown—grant that I have said enough (indeed, I fear if the common crowd of men were to hear these things, it would be more than enough) regarding the rarity of this, our theoretical gift; and grant that its goodness is defined by those same limits. Therefore, let it be enough (O singular glory of all Kings), that while we have quite diligently demonstrated our gift to be so rare, no one—not even the most slanderous petulance of an envious tongue—can mutter that it is an Aesopic bird original: "Auem esse Æsopicam." A reference to Aesop's fable of the Jackdaw who dressed in the feathers of other birds; Dee is asserting that his Monad is an original, unified system, not a collection of borrowed parts..

Indeed, all the most modest and wise philosophers will confess that calumny is so far from justly declaring it unworthy; for they will not disdain to sing, together with me, praises and honor to that Phoenix original: "Phœnici." In the mystical tradition, the Phoenix symbolizes the soul's rebirth or the perfected Philosopher's Stone. Here, Dee uses it to represent the divine source of his wisdom. from whose wings of Mercy alone we have, with fear and love, plucked all these rarest theoretical feathers. We use these feathers against our nakedness introduced through Adam A reference to the Fall of Man, which Dee believes resulted in the loss of divine knowledge and the "nakedness" of human ignorance., so that we might much more eagerly resist the harshest chills of ignorance, and as those most studious of honorable TRUTH, we might hide the shame of errors from the eyes of those who philosophize. And although we do not rely in any way on human authority in this matter, nevertheless, wherever some notable saying or writing of any ancient philosopher could be opportunely illustrated by our light, we have not refused to present it kindly to our posterity; just as in...