BOC: Imaginos, part 1 - WoTT

[Johnny Firic]

2. WORKSHOP OF THE TELESCOPES
-----------------------------

Closely connected with "Invisibles" is the song "Workshop of the
telescopes". It takes place in the same timeline, and recounts an
(imaginary) conversation between John Dee and Francis Drake. In the course
of the conversation, each man realizes the other's significance, and how
each could benefit from their cooperation - in other words; WoTT is 'the
beginning of a beautiful friendship'. First, Dee brags about his influence
on the Queen (imperatrix = Latin for 'empress'), and his magical mirror (he
refers to the mirror metaphorically, calling it a "telescope"). In the
controversial 3rd line ("by salamander drake and the power that was
undine"), he explicitly addresses Drake, so the line should be interpreted
thus:

"By Salamander, Drake, and the power that was undine", (where "undine" might
also be capitalized),

"Salamander" being thus in no way connected with the name Drake. It has been
widely noted that the first verse, if not the entire song, sounds very much
like an incantation. In view of that, it is possible that Dee is reciting to
Drake an incantation he made up. Therefore, the 3rd line could also go like
this:

" 'By Salamander', Drake, 'and the power that was undine' ", (again,
"undine" might be capitalized),

Making the difference between 'salamander' and 'Drake' more obvious.
After this, Drake replies ("Your green tree mantle . . . "), but this entire
verse might simply mean that the "doctor" (Kelly, who was a physician) is a
mutual acquaintance of the two, and possibly his wife as well.

Drake continues:
"When my vision was oh, so cloudy, and I saw things through two eyes", -
what he's saying is: "I use using my normal sight, hearing, and reason, as
opposed to you, who use 'magical' stuff, such as your 'telescope'. I don't
understand much of what's going on, but I can still put two and two together
("I know a thing or two"). In other words, I am also a factor. Help me, and
I'll help you (says Drake).

"I am a sailor on the raging depths . . ." - as has been said, Drake was a
pirate who raided gold-laden ships returning from the New World. The ships
were almost all Spanish, so this policy coincided with the foreign policy of
the British Empire. This was what prompted Dee to enlist Drake into the
service of the Empire, instead of letting him conduct his business
'freelance'. Britannica says on Dee: "Besides practicing astrology and
horoscopy in the court of Elizabeth I, whose favour he enjoyed, he also gave
instruction and advice to pilots and navigators who were exploring the New
World".

"Back to the corner mates and over the side" - a clue on where Drake's
haunts are, and (implicitly) what his business there is. The sentence "Out
beyond the Europe's rim" from the liner notes corresponds to this line.

The change of "They'll know me . . . " to "You'll know me . . ." in the last
line implies that Dee has 'accepted' Drake, and that their cooperation will
now begin. The "great conversion" is the change that took place in Drake at
this meeting - before, he was a common pirate, but now, he's learned
(presumably) so much hidden (occult etc.) knowledge from Dee, and his power
has grown immensely after his "visit to the Workshop of Telescopes".
Finally, "When the ridge was closed" is almost certainly unrelated and
unimportant, meaning (perhaps) simply that the 'visit' took place in
wintertime, when ridges were usually closed (for traffic).
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