True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits

Rating:
Summary: Great Book... Decent Copy...
Review: "True & Faithful Relation of What Passed For Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits" was published in 1659 by Meric Causabon. This book covers the majority of Dr. John Dee & Edward Kelley's workings into the obscure subject of Enochian magick. "True & Faithful Relation..." covers the scrying sessions of these two men from May 28, 1583 to April 2, 1987 (Edward Kelley as the visionary). Also John Dee used Bartholomew Hickman as a scrier from March 20, 1607 to Sept. 7, 1607 which is also included in this book. It was rumored that this book was originally buried in the ground and later found. Most scholars believe this was just another romantic tale, which is true considering it was the Renaissance period. This book contains a lot of great information such as the Holy Table, Enochian words (with their meaning), angelic conversations, phenomenological insight into the mind of John Dee and Edward Kelley, etc. Normally this book would receive five stars however I had a problem with the publisher (not the content). Kessinger reproduces books by copying them. Considering the book was copied and not actually redone or retyped, at times this copy is hard to read. Words/letters are sometimes crammed together or appear faded. Overall the content of this book is superb however Kessinger produces cheap books. This copy will suffice for those who live on a fixed budget however I would invest in a better copy such as Askin Publishers (1974) or Magical Childe (1992). Both of these alternative editions are also hardback unlike the Kessinger version which is a paperback. In conclusion this book does not lack content however the manner in which the content is present is decent at best.

Rating:
Summary: It's a REPRINT!
Review: Sure, it would be preferable and imminently more practical for the sake of modern day readership for the book to have been transcribed, sans those 'f' standing for 's,' and other such obsolete and often-confusing conventions.

Nonetheless, what Kessinger is offering here is not any different from many of its other publications: viz, the bloody thing is a reprint. In what regards scholarship (particularly Tudor-Stuart intellectual history), this is of great value as it allows for a reading of a un-modified document that might otherwise be unavailable to the researcher.

For what interests students of 'Enochian' magic, they should stay clear from Casaubon anyhow. He thought Dee little better than a 'Conjuror,'was being played for a fool, and that his angels were in truth demons. Also, if I am not mistaken, it was his father who disproved that the Corpus Hermeticum was not as old as once thought by its supporters, such as Ficino or Agrippa--which is to say that the Casaubons, though appreciated in their scepticism, might be severely biased and apt to dismiss the entire system of occult philosophy as a farce, and a demonic one at that. Joseph Peterson's "John Dee's Five Books of Mystery: Original Sourcebook of Enochian Magic" is a much better documente, and is presented with better examination.

In short, the only readers Casaubon's edition should attract are scholars interested in historiographical percpectives on Dee, views on Renaissance occultism, or of Stuart mentalities in regards magic. The book therefore is of great value but in regards Casaubon Preface and his modifications throughout the work.