PERMANENT INFLUENCE OF COMENIUS
General neglect of Comenius during the eighteenth
century—Causes—Intrenchment of humanism—Summary of
the permanent reforms of Comenius—Revived interest
in his teachings—National Comenius pedagogical
library at Leipzig—The Comenius Society—Reviews
published for the dissemination of the educational
doctrines of Comenius—Conquest of his ideas.
The permanent influence of Comenius remains to be noted. Famous in his
own day; enjoying the friendship of great scholars and the confidence
of royal personages; the founder of numerous school systems; the author
of more than a hundred books and treatises, which were translated
into most of the languages of Europe and Asia,—the name of the great
Moravian reformer was quite if not entirely forgotten, and his writings
practically unknown, for more than a century after his death. Professor
Nicholas Murray Butler,[54] in likening him unto the stream that loses
itself in the arid desert and then reappears with gathered force and
volume to lend its fertilizing power to the surrounding country, says:
“Human history is rich in analogies to this natural phenomenon; but
in Comenius the history of education furnishes its example. The great
educational revival of our century, and particularly of our generation,
has shed the bright light of scholarly investigation into all the dark
places, and to-day, at the three hundredth anniversary of his birth,
the fine old Moravian bishop is being honored wherever teachers gather
together and wherever education is the theme.”
The world, which usually takes pause for a moment, when a great man
dies, to seriously consider what there was in the dead that lifted
him above the ordinary level, took no such inventory when the remains
of Comenius were laid at rest in a quiet little town in Holland. “The
man whom we unhesitatingly affirm,” says Mr. Keatinge, “to be the
broadest-minded, the most far-seeing, the most comprehensive, and
withal the most practical of all writers who have put pen to paper on
the subject of education; the man whose theories have been put into
practice in every school that is conducted on rational principles; who
embodies the materialistic tendencies of our ‘modern side’ instructors,
while avoiding the narrowness of their reforming zeal; who lays stress
on the spiritual aspect of true education, while he realizes the
necessity of equipping his pupils for the rude struggle with nature
and with fellow-men—Comenius, we say, the prince of schoolmasters,
produced, practically, no effect on the school organization and
educational development of the following century.”
The causes of this universal neglect are not easily explained. That
he lived most of his days in exile; that he belonged to a religious
community which was numerically insignificant and which suffered
all those bitter persecutions following in the train of the Thirty
Years’ War; that indiscretion entangled him in certain alleged
prophetic revelations, which subsequently turned out the baldest
impostures; and, more important than all, as Professor Laurie points
out, that schoolmasters did not wish to be disturbed by a man with
new ideas,—these facts help to explain the universal neglect into
which his name and writings fell. In a personal letter, Oscar Browning
expresses the belief that if the teachings of Comenius had been
dated a century earlier, that the realistic type of education might
have been generally followed—at least in the countries that had
broken with the Church of Rome. As it was, however, Melanchthon, the
schoolmaster of the Reformation, adopted, with slight modifications,
the humanistic type of education. For the time being, at least, the
ideas held by Comenius were pushed into the background, and humanism,
already deeply intrenched, dominated educational practices. Reformers
were not wanting, however, to champion the reforms of Comenius, men
like Francke, Rousseau, Basedow, Pestalozzi, Fröbel, and Herbart. But
it remained for the nineteenth century to realize, in considerable
measure, the aims and aspirations of the far-reaching reforms of the
Moravian bishop.
“There is nothing startling about the educational reforms of Comenius
to-day,” says Professor Earl Barnes. “They are the commonplace talk of
all school conventions. But to see them when no one else has formulated
them, to enunciate them before an audience often hostile, and to devote
a life to teaching them and working them out—this requires a broad mind
and something of the spirit of the martyr, and both these elements were
strong in Comenius.”
In spite of the neglect into which the reforms of Comenius fell, his
influence has been lasting because his work was constructive and his
reforms were far reaching. Among the reforms which he advocated (and
since incorporated in the modern educational movement), the following
may be named:—
1. That the purpose of education is to fit for complete living, in
consequence of which its benefits must be extended to all classes of
society.
2. That education should follow the course and order of nature, and be
adapted to the stages of mental development of the child.
3. That intellectual progress is conditioned at every step by bodily
vigor, and that to attain the best results, physical exercises must
accompany and condition mental training.
4. That children must first be trained in the mother-tongue, and that
all the elementary knowledge should be acquired through that medium.
5. That nature study must be made the basis of all primary instruction,
so that the child may exercise his senses and be trained to acquire
knowledge at first hand.
6. That the child must be wisely trained during its earliest years, for
which purpose mothers must be trained for the high and holy mission of
instructing little children, and women generally be given more extended
educational opportunities.
7. That the school course must be enriched by the addition of such
useful studies as geography and history.
8. That the subjects of study must be so correlated and coördinated
that they may form a common unit of thought.
9. That teachers must be specially trained.
10. That schools must be more rationally graded and better supervised.
11. That languages must be taught as “living organic wholes fitted
for the purposes of life, and not as the lifeless tabulations of the
grammarians.”
It was the opinion of Mr. Quick that the most hopeful sign of the
improvement of education was the rapid advance in the last thirty years
of the fame of Comenius, and the growth of a large literature about
the man and his ideas. The revival of Comenian ideas really dates
from the beginning of the present century, when Germany, crushed and
dismembered, looked to her schools as the surest means of regaining
fallen glory; so that the battle of Jena may be given as the date of
this awakened interest in the reforms of the Moravian educator. This
interest culminated in the foundation of the great national Comenius
pedagogical library (Comenius-Stiftung) at Leipzig, in 1871. It was
founded by a band of enthusiastic disciples of Comenius, of whom Julius
Beeger was the foremost; and, although it numbered but 2642 volumes
at the end of the first year, the interest in the movement has been
so great that it now numbers over 70,000 volumes, and constitutes the
largest single collection of pedagogical books in the world. The books
are classified in 56 departments, the most important of which are:
encyclopædias of pedagogy, complete collections of the writings of
standard educational writers, sources of history of education, general
works on the history of education, histories of special periods in
education, histories of education in different countries, histories of
individual educational institutions, educational biographies, works
on systematic pedagogy, physical education, etc. The library covers
every department of educational thought, and is especially strong
in the literature relating to the elementary schools of Germany.
The privileges of the library are freely open to all students of
education. The library is under the control of the Leipzig teachers’
association, and is sustained in part by the association and in part by
appropriations from the city of Leipzig and the kingdom of Saxony.[55]
What more appropriate memorial to the long and devoted life of Comenius
to the cause of education could be desired, and what stronger evidence
of the permanent influence of his work and worth.
A second recent manifestation of the permanency of the Moravian
educator’s influence is the Comenius Society (Comenius-Gesellschaft),
with headquarters in Germany, and numbering among its members most of
the leaders in educational thought in the world. It was organized in
1891. The objects of the society are (1) to spread the living influence
of the spirit of Comenius and the men who have represented cognate
reforms; (2) to work toward an increased knowledge of the past and a
healthy development of the future on the principle of mutual union
and forbearance, by means of the cultivation of the literature which
has grown out of that spirit; and (3) to prepare the way for a reform
of education and instruction on the lines laid down by Comenius. In
order to realize these objects, the society further proposes (1) the
publication of the more important writings and letters of Comenius
and his associates; (2) inquiry into the history and dogmas of the
old evangelical congregations (Waldenses, Bohemian Brethren, Swiss
Brethren, etc.), chiefly by publishing the original sources from their
history; and (3) the collection of books, manuscripts, and documents
which are important for the history of the above objects.
The membership of the society, while overwhelmingly German, includes
a considerable number from Austria-Hungary, Holland, Great Britain,
the United States, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, France,
Greece, Belgium, and Denmark. The society inspired the numerous
celebrations in commemoration of the three hundredth anniversary of the
birth of Comenius (March 28, 1892). These celebrations, held at most of
the educational centres in the Old World, and at a number of places in
the New, revived the memory of Comenius, and brought his teachings to
thousands of teachers who had known him before only as a name.
The society began in 1892 the publication of a high-grade
review,—_Monatshefte der Comenius-Gesellschaft_,—which is published
bi-monthly at Berlin, and is edited by the distinguished Comenius
scholar, Dr. Ludwig Keller. This review has most creditably carried
out the purposes of the society in publishing a wealth of original
material on Comenius and his contemporaries, that hitherto has been
altogether inaccessible to the student of the history of education. The
society also publishes a bi-monthly educational journal for the use of
teachers in the elementary schools of Germany especially interested
in the doctrines of Comenius. It is entitled _Comenius-Blätter für
Völkserziehung_, and is also published at Berlin and edited by Dr.
Keller. The propaganda of the Comenius Society has done much to restore
this worthy to the place he so justly merits—the foremost educational
reformer of modern times.
These are some of the agencies employed by the Comenius Society
in opening up an appreciation of this great man, who, “born in
Moravia, working amongst Czechs, Germans, English, Dutch, Swedes, and
Hungarians, with friends in France and Italy, has won by his thought,
as well as by his life, a universal significance. As philosopher and
divine, in union with Andreæ, Dury, Milton, and others, he devoted his
life to a work of peace. He placed the weal of man, as he termed it,
above the respect for languages, persons, and sects; thus his energies
were directed toward restraining the wrangling people, churches, and
classes from the violent utterance of their differences, and leading
them on the ground of early Christian views to mutual peace and
forbearance. As educationalist, inspired by Bacon, he successfully
asserted the claims of experimental science in the elementary schools
of his time, placed the mother-tongue on the list of subjects of
instruction, and included in the conception of the school the idea
of physical culture. By his demand for education of all children,
including girls, who till then had been neglected, he became one of the
fathers of modern elementary education.”
APPENDICES
I. TABLE OF DATES
(a) _Pertaining to the Life of Comenius_
1592. Born at Nivnitz, Moravia, March 28th.
1604. Death of his father and mother.
——. Entered the elementary school at Strasnitz.
1608. Entered the gymnasium at Prerau.
1611. Matriculated in the college at Herborn.
1613. Matriculated in the university at Heidelberg.
1614. Appointed teacher in the Moravian school at
Prerau.
1616. Ordained as a minister, April 29th.
1618. Called to the pastorate of the church at
Fulneck; also superintendent of schools.
1624. Marriage to Elizabeth Cyrrill.
——. Driven into the Bohemian mountains by religious
persecutions.
1627. Banished from his native country.
1628. Fled to Poland; given charge of the gymnasium
at Lissa.
1632. Consecrated as a bishop, October 6th.
1641. Called to England, arriving there September
22d.
1642. Left London, June 10th, for Sweden.
——. Settled at Elbing, Prussia, in October.
1648. Returned to Lissa; death of his wife; chosen
president of the council (senior bishop), of the
Moravian Church.
1649. Re-married, to Elizabeth Gaiusowa.
1650. Took charge of the schools at Saros-Patak,
Hungary, in May.
1654. Returned to Lissa.
1656. Lissa burned; flight to Silesia.
——. Settled in Amsterdam.
1670. Died at Amsterdam, November 15th; buried at
Naärden (Holland), November 22d.
(b) _Principal Writings of Comenius_
1616. _Grammaticæ facilioris præcepta_ (Simple
grammatical rules). Prague.
1617. _Listowé do nebe_ (Cries of the oppressed
poor). Olmütz.
1622. _De Christina perfectione_ (On Christian
perfection). Prague.
1623. _Labyrint svéta a ráj srdce, to jest_
(Labyrinth of the world and paradise of the heart).
Lissa.
1631. _Janua linguarum reserata_ (Gate of languages
unlocked). Lissa.
1633. _Informatorium der Mutter-Schul_ (School of
infancy). Lissa.
——. _Atrium linguæ Latinæ_ (On the study of Latin
style). Lissa.
1634. _Physicæ ad lumen divinum reformatæ synopsis_
(Physics remodelled in accordance with divine
light). Leipzig.
1638. _Prodromus pansophiæ_ (Fragment of the _Great
didactic_. Published in London, 1639, by Hartlib).
Lissa.
1641. _Via lucis_ (The way of light). Amsterdam.
1643. _Pansophiæ diatyphosis, inconographica, et
orthographica_ (Published in England in 1650 with
the title: A pattern of universal knowledge). Danzig.
1647. _Vestibulum Latinæ linguæ rerum_ (Vestibule of
the Latin language). Lissa.
1648. _Linguarum methodus novissima_ (New method of
language study). Lissa.
1650. _Lux in tenebris_ (Light in darkness—on
prophetic visions). Amsterdam.
——. _Scholæ pansophicæ delinætio_ (Plan of a
pansophic school). Saros-Patak.
1656. _Schola ludus_ (School dramas). Saros-Patak.
1657. _Orbis sensualium pictus_ (The world
illustrated). Nuremberg.
——. _Opera didactica omnia_ (Complete didactic works
in four volumes). Amsterdam.
1660. _Historia fratrum Bohemorum_ (History of the
Bohemian brethren). Amsterdam.
——. _Cartesius cum sua naturali philosophia a
mechanicis eversus_ (Descartes and his natural
philosophy overthrown by arguments derived from
mechanical principles). Amsterdam.
——. _De natura caloris et frigoris_ (On the nature
of heat and cold). Amsterdam.
1608. _Unum necessarium_ (The one thing needful).
Amsterdam.
II. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
(a) _Writings of Comenius_
1. _The great didactic._ Translated with
introductions, biographical and historical, by M. W.
Keatinge. London: Adam and Charles Black. 1896. pp.
468.
This first complete translation of Comenius’ most
philosophic work is admirably done. The biographical
introduction is given ninety-eight pages, and the
historical introduction fifty pages. These are both
interesting and critical. The book unfortunately is
not indexed.
2. _The school of infancy: an essay on the education
of youth during the first six years._ Edited with an
introduction and notes by Will S. Monroe. Boston: D.
C. Heath & Co. 1896. London: Isbister & Co. 1897.
pp. xvi + 99.
There are numerous foot-notes, intended to show
the origin of Comenius’ educational ideals and
the influence of his writings on later educators.
Collateral reading references are given at the
end of each chapter, and in the appendix there is
a reasonably complete bibliography of Comenius
literature.
3. _The orbis pictus._ Translated into English by
Charles Hoole. London: John and Benj. Sprint, 1728.
Syracuse, N.Y.: C. W. Bardeen. 1887. pp. 100.
This is a very satisfactory reproduction of the
famous Hoole translation by the photographic
process. Some of the cuts are indistinct, but Mr.
Bardeen wisely refrained from retouching them,
preferring occasional indistinctness to modern
tampering with the originals.
4. _John Amos Comenius: his life and educational
work._ By S. S. Laurie. Boston: Willard Small. 1885.
pp. 229.
The introduction (pp. 1–16) gives the effect of the
Renaissance on education; a brief but appreciative
sketch of the life of Comenius follows (pp. 17–64);
and the remainder of the book is given to an
exposition of his writings.
5. _Grosse Unterrichtslehre._ Aus dem Lateinischen
übersetzt mit Einleitungen und Anmerkungen versehen
von Julius Beeger und Franz Zoubek. Leipzig:
Siegismund und Volkening. No date. pp. clxxvii + 280.
The sketch of the life of Comenius (176 pp.) is by
Zoubek, and the translation of the _Great didactic_
from the Latin into German by Beeger.
6. _Ausgewählte Schriften._ Aus dem Lateinischen
übersetzt und mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen
versehen von Julius Beeger und J. Leutbecher.
Leipzig: Siegismund und Volkening. No date. pp. xvi
+ 359.
A collection of the miscellaneous educational
writings of Comenius, including the _School of
infancy_, _Panegersia_, and fragments of the
_Pansophy_.
7. _Grosse Unterrichtslehre._ Mit einer Einleitung:
J. Comenius, sein Leben und Wirken. Einleitung,
Übersetzung und Commentar von Gustav Adolph Lindner.
Wien und Leipzig: A. Pichler’s Witwe und Sohn. 1892.
pp. lxxxix + 311.
Perhaps the best German edition of the _Great
didactic_. The biographical sketch is less valuable
than the one in the edition by Beeger and Zoubek;
but the annotations on the _Great didactic_,
covering about forty pages, give it special
pedagogic value.
8. _Ueber “Eins ist noth” (“Unum necessarium”)._ Von
Joh. Amos Comenius. Znaim: Fournier und Haberler.
1892. pp. 22.
A convenient edition of Comenius’ pathetic swan
song, “The one thing needful.” #/
(b) _Biographical and Critical_
1. _Educational Review._ Nicholas Murray Butler,
editor. New York: Educational Review Publishing Co.
March, 1892. Vol. III. pp. 209–236.
The issue for March, 1892, is a Comenius number. It
contains a brief on Comenius by Professor Butler
(pp. 209–211); “The place of Comenius in the history
of education,” by Professor Laurie (pp. 211–223);
“The text-books of Comenius,” by Mr. C. W. Bardeen
(pp. 223–336); and “The permanent influence of
Comenius,” by Professor Hanus (pp. 226–236).
2. _Proceedings of the National Educational Association for 1892._ pp.
703–728.
The department of superintendence of the National
Educational Association, in connection with the
meeting at Brooklyn, February 16–18, 1892, held
exercises in commemoration of the three-hundredth
anniversary of the birth of Comenius, with the
following addresses: “Private life and personal
characteristics,” Dr. John Max Hark (pp. 703–711);
“Text-books of Comenius,” Superintendent William H.
Maxwell (pp. 712–723); “Place of Comenius in the
history of education,” Professor Nicholas Murray
Butler (pp. 723–728).
3. _Essays on educational reformers._ By Robert
Hebert Quick. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1893. pp.
119–171.
One of the best brief critical surveys of the
writings of Comenius and written in the fascinating
style of the genial Quick.
4. _History of pedagogy._ By Gabriel Compayré.
Translated by W. H. Payne. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co.
1886. pp. 122–136.
A brief summary of Comenius’ most important
contributions to primary instruction.
5. _The educational ideal: an outline of its growth
in modern times._ By James Phinney Munroe. Boston:
D. C. Heath & Co. 1895. pp. 68–94.
A concise and critical survey of the reforms of
Comenius and the other realists. After Quick, the
best brief survey of the modern movement; and at
many points it supplements Quick.
6. _Barnard’s American Journal of Education._
Published at Hartford by the editor, Henry Barnard.
June, 1858. Vol. V. pp. 257–298.
Dr. Barnard was one of the earliest to call
attention to the pedagogic value of Comenius’
writings. This translation from Karl von Raumer’s
_Geschichte der Pädagogik_ was, up to the time
Professor Laurie’s book appeared, the only
comprehensive study of Comenius in English. Raumer,
however, is not an impartial critic of the realists.
7. _The history of the unitas fratrum._ By Edmund de
Schweinitz. Bethlehem, Penn.: Moravian Publication
Office. 1885. pp. 693.
An authoritative account of the Moravian Brethren
and of Comenius’ relation to the same.
8. _Monatshefte der Comenius-Gesellschaft._
Ludwig Kellar, editor. Berlin: Hermann Heyfelder.
1892–1900. 10 volumes.
A high grade bi-monthly review published by the
Comenius Society in the interest of education
generally, and in particular of the views held by
the Moravian reformer. The review is a mine of rich
material on Comenius and his contempories.
9. _Leben und Schicksale des Johann Amos Comenius._
Von Anton Vrbka. Znaim: Fournier und Haberler. 1892.
pp. 160.
The best _brief_ German life of Comenius. It is
accurate and sympathetic, and contains 17 wood-cuts.
10. _Über des Johann Amos Comenius Leben und
Wirksamkeit._ Von Anton Gindely. Znaim: Fournier und
Haberler. 1893. pp. 109.
Another brief German work. Professor Gindely is a
Roman Catholic, and while he writes of Comenius with
less enthusiasm, he presents his life with critical
fairness.
11. _Johann Amos Comenius: sein Leben und seine
Schriften._ Von Johann Kvacsala. Berlin: Julius
Klinkhardt. 1892. pp. 480 + 89.
This, so far as I know, is the most comprehensive
life of Comenius to be found in any language; but at
many points it is unnecessarily tedious and diffuse.
12. _Rein’s Encyclopädisches Handbuch der
Pädagogik._ Langensalza: Hermann Beyer und Söhne.
Vol. I. pp. 558–569.
An excellent brief article by A. Nebe. An article on
the Comenius-Stiftung follows (pp. 569–573).
13. _Der Anschauungsunterricht in der deutschen
Schule von Amos Comenius bis zur Gegenwart._ Von
Gottlieb Gustav Deussing. Frankenberg: C. C.
Rossberg. 1884. pp. 66.
A historical and critical dissertation on the growth
of object teaching and nature study.
14. _Die pädagogischen Grundgedanken des Amos
Comenius._ Von Hermann Gottsched. Magdeburg: A. und
R. Faber. 1879. pp. 64.
A dissertation on Comenius’ philosophy of education.
15. _Comenius: ein Systematiker in der Pädagogik._
Von Walter Müller. Dresden: Bleyl und Kaemmer. 1887.
pp. 50.
A dissertation on the contributions of Comenius to
systematic pedagogy and school systems.
16. _Die Pädagogik des Spaniers Johann Ludwig Vives
und sein Einfluss auf Joh. Amos Comenius._ Erlangen:
Junge und Sohn. 1890. pp. 69.
Indicates traces of the educational theories of
Comenius in the writings of Vives.
17. _Die Didaktik Basedows im Vergleiche zur
Didaktik des Comenius._ Von Petru Garbovicianu.
Bucharest: Carol Göbl. 1887. pp. 82.
The influence of the _Great didactic_ of Comenius on
Basedow and his institution is pointed out.
18. _Schmidt’s Encyclopädie des gesammten Erziehungs
und Unterrichtswesen._ Gotha: Besser. 1876. Vol. I.
pp. 941–951.
The article is by G. Baur. It is less comprehensive,
although more sympathetic, than the article in
Raumer’s _Geschichte der Pädagogik_.
19. _Buisson’s Dictionnaire de pédagogie et
d’instruction primaire._ Paris: Hanchette et Cie.
1887. Vol I. Part I. pp. 421–427.
Three brief but discriminating articles. The
first, on the life of Comenius, by C. Progler (pp.
421–423); the second, on the pedagogical writings of
Comenius, by Ferdinand Buisson (pp. 423–426); the
third, on the permanent influences of Comenius, by
A. Daguet (pp. 426–427).
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: _Aspects of education._ By Oscar Browning. New York:
Industrial Educational Association, 1888.]
[Footnote 2: _The German universities: their character and historical
development._ By Friedrich Paulsen. Authorized translation by Edward
Delavan Perry, with an introduction by Nicholas Murray Butler. New York
and London: Macmillan & Co., 1895. pp. xxxi + 254.]
[Footnote 3: _De corrupti sermonis emendatione._ By Maturin Cordier.
Paris, 1530. Quoted by Mr. Keatinge.]
[Footnote 4: For an account of the schools of the Jesuits see _Loyola
and the educational system of the Jesuits_. By Thomas Hughes. New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1892. pp. 302.]
[Footnote 5: _Geschichte der Pädagogik._ Von Karl von Raumer.
Gütersloh: Bertelsmann, 1882.]
[Footnote 6: See the admirable sketch of the earlier humanists:
_Vittorino da Feltre and other humanists_. By William H. Woodward.
Cambridge: University Press, 1897. pp. 256.]
[Footnote 7: _John Amos Comenius: his life and educational work._ By S.
S. Laurie. Boston: Willard Small, 1885. pp. 229.]
[Footnote 8: _Essays on educational reformers._ By Robert Hebert Quick.
New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1893. pp. 560.]
[Footnote 9: _The educational ideal: an outline of its growth in modern
times._ By James Phinny Munroe. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co., 1895. pp.
262.]
[Footnote 10: _Montaigne’s Education of children._ Translated by L. E.
Rector. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1899. pp. xxiii + 191.]
[Footnote 11: _The scholemaster._ By Roger Ascham. Edited by Edward
Arber. Boston: Willard Small, 1888. pp. 317.]
[Footnote 12: _Positions._ By Richard Mulcaster. Edited by Robert
Hebert Quick. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1888. pp. 309.]
[Footnote 13: _The place of Comenius in the history of education._
By Nicholas Murray Butler. Proceedings of the National Educational
Association for 1892.]
[Footnote 14: I am aware that Comenius says that his father died in
1602; but the evidence which Vrbka has adduced seems to me conclusive
that the senior Komensky died two years later.]
[Footnote 15: _Rukovét Skolstvi Obecného._ By Karel Toubenek and Karel
Vorovka. Prague, 1892. Translated by Miss Clara Vostrovsky.]
[Footnote 16: _The life of John Milton._ By David Masson. Vol. III.
London, 1873.]
[Footnote 17: Professor Masson.]
[Footnote 18: _The Great didactic of John Amos Comenius._ With
introductions, biographical and historical. By M. W. Keatinge. London,
1896. pp. 468.]
[Footnote 19: _Mittheilungen über Wolfgang Ratichius._ Von Agathon
Niemeyer. Halle, 1840.]
[Footnote 20: In a letter to Governor Winthrop of Connecticut, Hartlib
laments that Comenius should continually allow himself to be diverted
from his pansophic works.]
[Footnote 21: The correspondence between Comenius and Oxenstiern over
the treaty of Westphalia is given by Gindely, _Über des Comenius Leben
und Wirksamkeit in der Fremde_. Vienna, 1855.]
[Footnote 22: For a full account of these labors see Gindely’s
_Geschichte der Böhmischen Brüder_. Prague, 1857–8.]
[Footnote 23: _Magnalia Christi Americana, or the ecclesiastical
history of New England._ By the Reverend and Learned Cotton Mather and
Pastor of the North Church in Boston, New England. London, 1702. Book
IV, p. 128.]
[Footnote 24: _The history of Harvard university._ By Josiah Quincy.
Boston, 1840. 2 vols.]
[Footnote 25: _Correspondence of Hartlib, Haak, Oldenburg, and others
of the founders of the Royal Society with Governor Winthrop of
Connecticut, 1661–1672._ With an introduction and notes by Robert C.
Winthrop. Boston, 1878.]
[Footnote 26: For further discussion of the question see my article,
“Was Comenius called to the presidency of Harvard?” in the _Educational
Review_, November, 1896, Vol. XII, pp. 378–382, and the article by Mr.
James H. Blodgett in the same Review for November, 1898, Vol. XVI, pp.
390–393; also the closing chapter in Professor Hanus’ _Educational aims
and educational values_ (New York, 1899), pp. 206–211.]
[Footnote 27: For an excellent discussion of the meaning of infancy
see Professor John Fiske’s _Excursions of an evolutionist_ (Boston,
1896), pp. 306–319, and Professor Nicholas Murray Butler’s _Meaning of
education_ (New York, 1898), pp. 3–34.]
[Footnote 28: Permanent influence of Comenius, _Educational Review_,
March, 1892. Vol. III, pp. 226–236.]
[Footnote 29: The _Orbis pictus_, the first child’s picture-book, was
subsequently prepared to meet this need.]
[Footnote 30: See in this connection Tarde’s _Laws of imitation_. New
York, 1900.]
[Footnote 31: For a more detailed account of Comenius’ views on the
religious education of children see the following chapter on the
_School of infancy_.]
[Footnote 32: Zur Bückerkunde des Comenius. _Monatshefte der
Comenius-Gesellschaft._ 1892. Vol. I., pp. 19–53.]
[Footnote 33: _School of infancy: an essay on the education of youth
during the first six years, by John Amos Comenius._ To which is
prefixed a sketch of the life of the author. London, 1858. pp. 168 +
75.]
[Footnote 34: To except Locke no reformer before Comenius’ time has set
forth the need of physical training with anything like the clearness
and fulness of the _School of infancy_. See _Some thoughts concerning
education by John Locke_. Edited with introduction and notes by R. H.
Quick. London, 1884. pp. 240.]
[Footnote 35: Note the harmony of this conception of play with the
modern theories of Professor Karl Groos in his _Play of animals_ (New
York, 1898, pp. 341) and in his _Spiele der Menschen_ (Jena, 1899, pp.
538).]
[Footnote 36: I am indebted to Dr. William T. Harris for the use of the
copy of the _Janua_ belonging to the library of the Bureau of Education
at Washington. It is a handsome Elzevir, bound in vellum, and published
at Amsterdam in 1661. It contains 863 pages, 511 of which are given to
the thousand parallel sentences in the five languages (Latin, French,
Spanish, Italian, and German), in which the book appears. The remaining
352 pages are given to the lexicon-vocabularies in the different
languages.]
[Footnote 37: The _Janua_ has lately been brought out in France in
inexpensive form by Professor A. C. Vernier of the College of Autun.
(Autun, 1899. pp. 350.)]
[Footnote 38: The text-books of Comenius. Proceedings of the National
Educational Association for 1892. pp. 712–723.]
[Footnote 39: For a full account of Francke’s life and work see _A.
H. Francke’s Pädagogische Schriften_. Nebst einer Darstellung seines
Lebens und seiner Stiftungen. Herausgeg. von G. Kramer. Langensalza,
1876.]
[Footnote 40: An abbreviated translation of the _Émile_ has been made
by Miss Eleanor Worthington (Boston: D. C. Heath & Co., 1891, pp. 157),
and a fuller (though not complete) translation by Professor William H.
Payne (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1893. pp. 355).]
[Footnote 41: _Rousseau and education according to nature._ By Thomas
Davidson. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1898. pp. 253. Also the
excellent life by John Morley, in two volumes (London and New York,
1888).]
[Footnote 42: To except the brief sketch by Quick (_Educational
reformers_, pp. 273–289) and von Raumer’s sketch in translation in
Barnard’s _American Journal of Education_ (Vol. 5, pp. 487–520),
there is dearth of material on Basedow in English. For an excellent
account in the German see _Pädagogische Schriften_. Mit Einleitungen,
Anmerkungen, und Basedow’s Biographie. Herausgegeben von Hugo Göring.
Langensalza, 1879–80.]
[Footnote 43: There is a wealth of material in the English language
on Pestalozzi. See: _Pestalozzi and the modern elementary school_,
by Professor A. Pinloche (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1900);
_Pestalozzi: his life and work_, by Roger de Guimps (New York:
D. Appleton & Co., 1897, pp. 438); _Life, work, and influence of
Pestalozzi_, by Hermann Krusi (New York: American Book Co., pp. 240);
and the rich volume of sources by Henry Barnard, _Pestalozzi and
Pestalozzianism_ (Hartford, 1859, pp. 238 + 230).]
[Footnote 44: _Letters on early education._ Addressed to J. P. Greaves,
Esq., Syracuse, 1898, pp. 180.]
[Footnote 45: Translated by Lucy E. Holland and Frances E. Turner, and
edited with introduction and notes by Ebenezer Cook. Syracuse: C. W.
Bardeen, 1894. pp. xliv + 256.]
[Footnote 46: Translated and abridged by Eva Channing. With an
introduction by G. Stanley Hall. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co., 1897. pp.
181.]
[Footnote 47: _Comenius und Pestalozzi als Begründer der Volksschule._
Von Hermann Hoffmeister. Berlin, 1877.]
[Footnote 48: _The kindergarten system: its origin and development as
seen in the life of Friedrich Fröbel._ By Alexander Bruno Hauschmann.
Translated and adapted by Fanny Franks. London: Swan Sonnenschein &
Co., 1897. pp. xvi + 253.]
[Footnote 49: _Fröbel and education through self-activity._ By H.
Courthope Brown. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1897. pp. 209.]
[Footnote 50: Translated and annotated by W. N. Hailmann. New York: D.
Appleton & Co., 1887. pp. 332.]
[Footnote 51: _Fröbel’s educational laws for all teachers._ By James L.
Hughes. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1897. pp. 296.]
[Footnote 52: _Herbart and the Herbartians._ By Charles De Garmo. New
York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895. pp. 268.]
[Footnote 53: See Herbart’s _Science of education_. Translated from the
German, with a biographical introduction by Henry M. and Emmie Felkin.
Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1895. pp. 268.]
[Footnote 54: _The place of Comenius in the history of education._
Proceedings of the National Education Association for 1892. pp.
723–728.]
[Footnote 55: An excellent account of the national Comenius pedagogical
library will be found in: _Die pädagogischen Bibliotheken, Schulmuseen
und ständigen Lehrmittelausstellungen der Welt_. Von Julius Beeger.
Leipzig: Zangenberg & Himly, 1892. pp. 84.]
INDEX
Alsted, John H., 43.
Andreæ, John Valentine, 35.
Aquaviva, 3.
Aquinas, Thomas, 7.
Aristotle, _Politics_, 2;
philosophy of, 7.
Arithmetic, 116.
Arts, 99.
Ascham, Roger, on humanism, 12;
the _Scholemaster_, 13.
_Atrium_, 65, 129.
Bacon, Francis, dangers of science, 22;
views on education, 23–28;
criticisms on English education, 56;
education according to nature, 148.
Bardeen, C. W., editor of _Orbis pictus_, 175;
text-book of Comenius, 177.
Barnard, Henry, contributions to the literature of Comenius, 178.
Barnes, Earl, on the reforms of Comenius, 167.
Basedow, Johann Bernhard, educational theories and labors, 149–153.
Bateus, William, the _Janua_, 36, 125.
Baur, G., sketch of Comenius, 179.
Beeger, Julius, relation to the Comenius-Stiftung, 169;
translation of the writings of Comenius, 176.
Benham, Daniel, translation of _School of infancy_, 110.
Bibliography of Comenius, 177–180.
Blodgett, James H., call of Comenius to Harvard, 81.
Bowen, H. Courthope, relation of Fröbel to Comenius, 159.
Browning, Oscar, on humanism, 1;
on the study of Latin, 4.
Bruni, Leonardo, an early humanist, 8.
Buisson, Ferdinand, Vives on pauperism, 18;
the pedagogical writings of Comenius, 180.
Butler, Nicholas Murray, forerunners of Comenius, 15;
meaning of infancy, 86;
permanent influence of Comenius, 165, 177.
Cæsar, _Commentaries_, 2.
Campanella, Thomas, on study of nature, 35.
Comenius, John Amos, forerunners, 15;
relation to Vives, 16;
agreement with Bacon, 23;
influenced by Ratke, 28;
obligations to Bateus, 36;
birth at Nivnitz, 38;
ancestry, 39;
classical training at Prerau, 40;
studies at Herborn, 42;
matriculation at Heidelberg, 44;
teacher in an elementary school, 44;
ordination as a minister, 45;
exile in the Bohemian mountains, 46;
flight from Bohemia, 47;
literary connections, 48;
first call to Sweden, 49;
call to England, 53;
English friends, 54;
failure of English schemes, 55;
second call to Sweden, 56;
relations with Lewis de Geer, 57;
location at Elbing, 60;
ordination as senior bishop of the Moravian Brethren, 61;
ecclesiastical ministrations, 62;
call to Hungary, 63;
organization of the schools at Saros-Patak, 64;
return to Poland, 69;
flight to Amsterdam, 71;
complete edition of his works, 72;
death at Amsterdam, 76;
burial at Naärden, 76;
marriage and children, 77;
alleged call to presidency of Harvard College, 78;
portraits, 81;
the _Great didactic_, 83–108;
the _School of infancy_, 109–122;
the _Janua_, 123–129;
the _Atrium_ and the _Vestibulum_, 129–139;
the _Orbis pictus_, 130–138;
_Methodus novissima_, 138–141;
influence on modern educators, 142;
on Francke, 143–146;
on Rousseau, 146–149;
on Basedow, 149–153;
on Pestalozzi, 153–158;
on Fröbel, 158–162;
on Herbart, 162–164;
permanent influence, 165–171;
bibliography, 177–180.
Comenius-Blätter, 172.
Comenius-Gesellschaft, 170.
Comenius-Stiftung, 169.
Compayré, Gabriel, the _Orbis pictus_, 137;
sketch of Comenius, 177.
Cordier, Maturin, condition of education in France in the 16th century,
4.
Daguet, A., sketch of Comenius, 180.
Davidson, Thomas, relation of Rousseau to Comenius, 146.
De Garmo, Charles, Fröbel and Comenius, 162.
De Geer, Lawrence, aid to Comenius, 71.
De Geer, Lewis, patron of Comenius, 57.
De Schweinitz, Edmund, account of the _Unitas fratrum_, 178.
Discipline of schools, 89, 106–108.
Dunster, Henry, president of Harvard College, 78.
Durie, John, connection with Comenius, 54.
Elbing, the Prussian home of Comenius, 60.
_Émile_, 146.
Erasmus, on classical learning, 8, 24.
Fables, 117.
Fiske, John, meaning of infancy, 86.
Food of children, 116.
Francke, August Hermann, studies at Kiel and Leipzig, 143;
organization of the Pædagogium at Halle, 144;
attitude toward classical learning, 145.
Fröbel, Friedrich, obligations to Comenius, 159;
studies with Pestalozzi, 159;
views on the education of women, 161.
Galileo, opposed by the humanists, 9.
Geography, 116, 138.
Gindely, Anton, life of Comenius, 178.
Girls, education of, 88.
Gotha, Ratke’s experiment at, 31.
_Great didactic_, 36, 63–108.
Groos, Karl, on play, 118.
Hall, G. Stanley, value of the _Orbis pictus_, 137;
influence of Pestalozzi, 156.
Hanus, Paul H., call of Comenius to Harvard College, 79;
correlation, 97;
permanent influence of Comenius, 177.
Hark, John Max, personal characteristics of Comenius, 177.
Harris, William T., 126.
Hartlib, Samuel, account of, 51–54.
Harvard College, alleged call of Comenius to the presidency of, 78–83.
Heidelberg, matriculation of Comenius at the university, 44.
Henry VIII, relations with Vives, 19.
Herbert, Johann Friedrich, obligations to Comenius, 162;
effect of instruction on character, 163;
doctrine of interest, 164.
Herborn, studies of Comenius at, 42.
History, 116.
Hoole, Charles, editor of the _Orbis pictus_, 133, 177.
Hughes, James L., Fröbel and the education of women, 161.
Hughes, Thomas, account of Loyola, 5.
Humanism, 1–14.
Hus, John, first bishop of the Moravian Brethren, 38.
Infancy, meaning of, 86;
Comenius’ _School of infancy_, 103, 109–122.
Interest, doctrine of, 163.
_Janua_, of Bateus, 87;
of Comenius, 65, 125–129.
Jena, relations to Ratke, 29;
pedagogical seminary, 145.
Jesuits, the _Ratio studiorum_ of, 5;
devotion to Latin eloquence, 7.
Justinus, Laurentius, bishop of the Moravian Brethren, 61.
Kant, Immanuel, on the labors of Basedow, 152.
Keatinge, M. W., quoted, 39, 57;
edition of the _Great didactic_, 84, 175.
Keller, Ludwig, editor of _Monatshefte der Comenius Gesellschaft_, 170,
178.
Kindergarten, 158.
Komensky, Martin, father of John Amos Comenius, 38.
Kvacsala, Johann, sketch of Comenius, 178.
Language, 100, 123–141.
Latin, schools, 105;
study of, 2.
Laurie, S. S., quoted, 137;
edition of the _Great didactic_, 176;
place of Comenius in the history of education, 177.
Leipzig, study of pedagogy at the university, 145;
national pedagogical library, 169.
Lindner, G. A., edition of the _Great didactic_, 176.
Luther, Martin, 69.
_Magnalia_ of Cotton Mather, 78.
Masson, David, quoted, 52.
Mather, Cotton, call of Comenius to Harvard, 78.
Maxwell, William II., text-books of Comenius, 134, 177.
Melanchthon, Philip, on classical learning, 9, 24.
Mental training, 115–120.
Methods of instruction, 97–103.
_Methodus novissima_, 138–141.
Monatshefte der Comenius-Gesellschaft, 171, 178.
Monroe, Will S., call of Comenius to Harvard College, 81;
edition of the _School of infancy_, 110, 175.
Montaigne, on humanism, 11.
Moral training, 101, 120.
Moravian Brethren, 38.
Mulcaster, Richard, on humanism, 13.
Müller, Joseph, bibliography of Comenius, 110.
Munroe, James P., on Rabelais, 10;
sketch of Comenius, 177.
Music, 119.
Naärden, burial place of Comenius, 76.
Naturalism, 1.
Nature, education according to, 90–97.
Nivnitz, birthplace of Comenius, 38.
Nursing of children, 114.
_Orbis pictus_, 69, 130–138.
Oxenstiern, Axel, 33, 58, 62.
Oxford, university of, 63.
Pædagogium at Halle, 144.
_Pansophia_, 51, 53, 64.
Paulsen, Friedrich, on European universities, 3.
Pestalozzi, anticipated by Comenius, 116;
influenced by the _Émile_, 153;
domestic education, 154;
study of nature, 156;
geography, 157.
Philanthropinum of Basedow, 152.
Physical training, 113–115.
Pictures, use of, 98.
Play, 160.
Portraits of Comenius, 81.
Private education, 87.
Purpose of education, 85–89.
Quick, Robert Hebert, quoted, 9, 169;
estimate of Comenius, 177.
Quintilian, 99.
Rabelais, on humanism, 10.
_Ratio studiorum_ of the Jesuits, 5.
Ratke, Wolfgang, 28–35, 59.
Raumer, Karl von, 5, 6, 16, 17, 128.
Realism, 1.
Rein, Wilhelm, 145, 179.
Religious training, 102, 120–122.
Ritter, Karl, 157.
Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 146–149.
Saros-Patak, 64.
Schiller, Hermann, 145.
_School of infancy_, 103, 109–122, 175.
Science, 98.
Sense-training, 115, 147.
Skyte, John, 58.
Spencer, Herbert, 148.
Sturm, John, 3, 5, 7, 14.
Symbolism of Fröbel, 162.
Trotzendorf, Valentine Friedland, 3.
University, 105.
Vergarius, Petrus Paulus, 8.
Vernier, A. C., edition of the _Janua_, 129.
_Vestibulum_, 129.
Vittorino da Feltre, 8.
Vives, John Lewis, account of educational views, 16–22.
Volkelt, Johannes, 145.
Volksschule of Germany, 158.
Vostrovsky, Clara, 40.
Vrbka, Anton, life of Comenius, 178.
Westphalia, treaty of, 62.
Women, education of, 18, 88.
Zerotin, Karl von, patron of Comenius, 46.
Zoubek, Franz, edition of Comenius’ writings, 176.