DEE, JOHN, a distinguished astrologer and mathematician, was the son of a wealthy vintner, and born in London in 1527. Lilly says he was a Cambro-Briton, but this is not in accordance with better authorities. At the age of fifteen he was entered of St. John's College, Cambridge, where his attention seems to have been chiefly directed to mathematical, astronomical, and chemical studies; and his assiduity was there, as through life, even to extreme old age, truly remarkable. At twenty he made a twelvemonths' tour ou the continent, chiefly in Holland, for the purpose of scientific) intercourse; and returning to Cambridge, he was appointed one of the fellows of Trinity College, upon its foundation by Henry VIII. in 1543. In 1548 the suspicions entertained of hie being addicted to the black art' induced him again to go abroad, having first taken his degree of A.M. Whether this prejudice really arose from his having already begun the astrological career for which he was in subsequent life so celebrated, or simply from his astronomical pursuits and his mechanical inventions, there is no distinct proof.
Dee's first residence on this second continental visit was the University of Louvain, at that period in high repute as a place of education; and he was there much esteemed for his mechanical skill and his intellectual resources, which, combined with his manly character, caused him to be visited by persons of the highest rank. Two years afterwards he went to France, where he read lectures on the 'Elements of Euclid' at Rheims. The character of the ' lectures' on Euclid was in those days extremely different from that of our own time. A series of speculations in all the sciences, whether physical, moral, or mental, were usually given under this title, the propositions of Euclid being taken as eo many " pega to hang a speech upon." The more visionary and romantic of the lecturers generally contrived to render a course on Euclid a discourse on all the dogmas of the school mon of the middle ages, whiffet the more reasonable and sober of them confined their discourses to natural phenomena and the practical applications of geometry. It is almost unnecessary to say that a
proof that "spirits would be in earth and heaven at the same time" (founded on Euclid i. 37), would be more attractive in an academical course than any 'vulgar mechanical' application of the same pro position could be. Of Dee's lectures we may form a tolerably good estimate from his preliminary discourse in Billingsley'? ' English Euclid,' and a few other occasional paragraphs of his in that work. It places Dee's acquirements in n very favourable light ; and his judgment, considering his time and circumstances, in one still more favourable. The dissertation of Dee is however to be found in works subsequently printed, and much more easily obtained; as in Lecke and Serle's 'Euclid,' two or three editions, &a To read that dis sertation is sufficient to convince us that his lectures would be received at Rheims "with great applause," as indeed from direct testimony we otherwise know they were In 1551 Dee returned to England, and was presented to King Edward VI. by Cecil, and a pension of a hundred crowns was assigned to him. This Ito however relinquished for the rectory of Upton-on Severn.
Shortly after the accession of Mary he was accused of "practicing against the queen's life by enchantment;" so that his fame as a dealer in the black art still clung to him. This charge was founded on some correspondence which was discovered between him and the "servants of the Lady Elizabeth ;" and it led to a long and tedious imprisonment, with frequent examinations; but as nothing could be establiehed against him, he was ultimately (1555) set at liberty by an order of the council.
On the accession of Elizabeth, Deo was consulted by Lord Dudley respecting "a propitious day" for the coronation. The queen, to whom be was presented, made him groat promises. Iu 1564 he again visited the continent to present a book which he had written and dedicated to the Emperor Maximilian, under the title of ' Moms Hieroglyphica,' and which he printed at Antwerp in that year; and within the year he returned to England.