Re: why not Dee?

[Zandbergen@xxxxxxxxxxx (Rene Zandbergen)]

Betreff: 
            Re: Why not Dee?
     Datum: 
Rafal wrote:

> Karl Kluge wrote:
> 
> > > [someone:] It does include it: "630 Ducatos illi exhibuimus coram Deo".
> >
> > This *may* be what Brumbaugh was refering to, but it seems odd that he or his
> > source would confuse what is normally called Dee's "diary" with the _True
> > and Faithful Relation_, would spell "ducats" as "doucats" in translating
> > the phrase from Latin to English, and would put a translated phrase in
> > quotation marks without so indicating, making it appear to be a direct quote.
> 
> As Clay has already explained, Casaubon is often referred to as
> "spiritual diaries" while the notes in the Ephemerides - as
> "private diary". So if Brumbaugh just says "diary" it is not
> precise (I have not seen his book). 

While I am sometimes not very precise, being imprecise is a specialty
in which Brumbaugh excelled (I know, de mortibus...)
 
> > My impression is that Dee was constantly in financial difficulty 

> That's right - but that was rather typical for intellectuals not
> attached to a university or court. Why should he pay for the dinner
> if he knew the Queen would? I would rather say he was never
> financially independent - but also never fell into poverty.
> For instance, he donated a number of his books to universities
> on the Continent (rather than selling them).

The sum of 600 ducats (2 jewel bracelets or 6 printed books) would
have been a significant amount of money to Dee (would you agree?)
but not to Rudolf. In fact, towards the end of his reign, Rudolf was
willing to spend a *much* larger amount of money on another book (which
he did not manage to acquire) which is famous for not having the letters
written or printed onto, but cut out of the paper. 

So the 630 ducats quote seems to be correct, but Dee was in Trebona 
at the time. Now, Marci quotes Raphael as saying that the 600 ducats
were paid to the 'bearer' (Latin: lator) of the MS, so Dee could have
sent someone from Trebona.
But I think, for various reasons, (and at the same time realise that
it is highly contestible and not easily verifiable) that it would have
been much more logical for Dee to sell the MS to count Rozenberg than
to Rudolf. 

While checking the Marci letter, I saw that I was wrong in my previous 
mail. In Marci's 1640 letter he refers to Baresch as his friend.
This means that discussions among {Marci ; Baresch ; Raphael }
could also have taken place prior to 1640.

Cheers, Rene