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The Private Diary of Dr. John Dee, and the Catalog of His Library of Manuscripts cover

The Private Diary of Dr. John Dee, and the Catalog of His Library of Manuscripts

Chapter 19: Diary entries in Greek script
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About This Book

A compilation of a private scholar's marginal diary and a catalogue of his manuscripts, the volume reproduces short dated entries recording astrological observations, births and personal loans, notes on dreams, reports of supernatural encounters, and everyday household and financial details alongside a list of owned manuscripts with brief descriptions. An editor's preface and footnotes contextualize the material and correct typographical issues, while a transliteration key renders occasional Greek-script passages. The combination provides an intimate, fragmentary portrait of intellectual practice, routine record-keeping, collecting habits, and recurring engagement with experimental and occult interests.

Diary entries in Greek script

The mouse-hover text gives the original words using the simple “Rotate13” code. To simplify decoding, spelling has been changed back to ordinary English forms—f rather than ph (φ), w for uu (υυ) and so on—and initial h has been supplied where missing. Coded words originally written in Latin have been directly transliterated, as have the words in the Greek language.

Greek transliteration:

α a ν n
βb ξx
γ

g, j (“Major”)

οo
δdπp
εeρr
ζzσ, ςs
η

ê (long e, only in true Greek)

τt
θth υu, v; υυ = w
ι

i, y, j (“Jane”)

φph, f
κ

k, c, sometimes sh

χ

ch (the letter pair, not the Greek sound)

λl ψ
μm ω

ô (long o, only in one Latinized word)

Initial “h” is shown as in true Greek, by placing a “rough breathing” mark over the following vowel or diphthong—ἁδ = “had”—but this is often omitted. Note the spellings -νκ-, -νγ- (for -nk-, -ng-) where true Greek would use -γκ-, -γγ-.