Johan Amos Comenius

“ Your carefulness is distrust, your foresight cunning, your affability flattery, your truth self-deceit; your zeal is fury, your valour foolhardiness, your love lust, your work slavery, your sagacity mere conjecture, your religion hypocrisy, and so forth. Is it, then, your task to rule the world instead of the Almighty God? God will bring to judgment all deeds and all secret things, be they good or bad. But I will go forth and announce this to the whole world, that it may no longer permit itself to be misguided and misled."
(Solomon proclaims the Vanity of the World to the whole World.) ”

“ THE PILGRIM BEHOLDS THE PALACE OF WISDOM, THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD
Then they take me and lead me on; and behold, the outer walls of this palace gleamed everywhere with divers beautiful paintings; and it had a gate at which guards stood; thus no one except those who had some power or office in the world could enter. To these only, as being servants of the queen and executors of her orders, liberty to go in and out was granted. Others, if they wished to behold the palace, had to gape at it from the outside only. ”

“ Be tender in thy feeling for the suffering of others, but hardy against the wrong that may befall thee. Serve with thy soul me alone, with thy body him whom thou canst or must. What I order thee thou must do; the burden I lay on thee thou must bear. Be to the world unbending, and cling ever to me. Let thy body be in the world, thy heart with me. If thou wilt but act thus, thou wilt be blessed, and wilt fare well. ”

“ I said, and I marvel how rapidly we move on, not indeed without pleasure, but also not without fear; for when I went above to look around me, giddiness overcame me; when I crawled below, the terror of the waves that rushed violently against the planks of the ship encircled me. And then I thought in my mind whether it was not grave foolhardiness to entrust a man's life to such furious elements as water and wind, and thus purposely to encounter death, from which we are separated by the breadth of two fingers; for no thicker is the plank which is between us and the terrible abyss. ”

“ Thou hast seen also what the men in that castle of feigned fortune seek, and in what they glory: riches, pleasure, fame. Heed thou none of these things. They give not peace but disquietude, and they are but the path that leadeth to sorrow. Wherefore shouldst thou value a multitude of goods; why desire it? Life requires but little, and it is my business to provide for those who serve me. Strive, therefore, to collect inward treasures, illumination and piety, and I will grant thee everything else. Heaven and earth will belong to thee by inheritance ”

“ Seeing this from the entrance, I now went farther beyond the screen and viewed all things—first those that were common to all, then those that belonged to the divers callings—with unspeakable delight. I see here that everything was contrary to the ways of the world. In the world I beheld everywhere blindness and darkness, here clear light; in the world deceit, here truth; in the world everything was full of disorders, here there was the purest order; in the world I had seen struggling; in the world care and grief, here joy; in the world want, here abundance ”

“ This only I demand of thee, that whatever thou hast seen in the world, and whatever struggles thou hast witnessed among men, thou shouldst transfer it to me, and lay the burden of it on me. This, as long as thou livest, shall be thy work and thy task; of that which men seek there in the world, but find not—to wit, peace and joy—I will give thee abundance. ”

“ Neither will such things vex thee and oppress thee as do the things of the world; rather will they give thee unspeakable joy.
(The Pilgrim's most dear Companions.)
12. "The worldly ones gladly seek companionship; but thou must absent thyself from noisy striving, and learn to love solitude. Companionship is but an aid to sin, or to senseless fooling, idleness, or waste of time. Yet wilt thou not be alone; fear not, even if thou art alone. I am with thee, and the multitude of my angels; with us wilt thou be able to imparl. ”

“ I saw, I saw, I saw and understood that to have within you God, with His celestial treasures, is so glorious a thing that all the glory, splendour, glitter of the world cannot be compared to it. It is a thing so joyful that the whole world could neither take anything from it nor add anything to it, so great and high that the whole world can neither conceive it nor contain it. ”

“ Thus yearning and turning the matter in solitude in my mind, I came to this decision that I should first behold all earthly things that are under the sun, and then only, having wisely compared one thing with another, choose a course of life, and obtain in some fashion the things necessary for leading a quiet life in the world. The more I thought the matter over, the more this matter pleased me. ”

“ The world will believe but in that which it sees, touches, holds in its hand. The Christian, on the other hand, is so wholly absorbed in invisible, absent, future things that those that are before him disgust him. The world ever demands proof; the Christian thinks the Word of God alone sufficient. The world seeks bonds, pledges, pawns, seals; the Christian sets up faith alone as a security for all things. The world examines things for her own purpose in divers fashions, distrusts, tests, suspects. The Christian relies fully on the truthfulness of God. ”

“ Then he rose up and went forth to behold other parts of the world, and entering the street of the tradesmen, he began to wonder at their divers arts, and to find pleasure in them; then with his deep wit he devised for them strange things, such as the artful fashioning of gardens, orchards, fish-ponds, the building of houses and towns, and the furthering of all that delights mankind. ”

“ To have so many good things that you need not heed anything; to put your hand to no labour; to have a plenitude of all things for which the mind craves; and to be not even touched by a breath of cold or evil air, is not that a blessed state?" I answered: "There is indeed more merriness here than in those torture-chambers below; but here, also, not everything pleaseth me." "Of what dost thou again complain?" quoth he. I said: "I see these idlers with prominent eyes bloated faces, swollen bellies and limbs, that cannot be touched, and seem full of sores. ”

“ These are people who—whence they themselves know not—have newly arrived in the world; neither do they as yet know that they are human beings; therefore darkness is around them, and naught but moaning and crying. But while they go along this street, grey light and dawn slowly come to them, till they come to that gate beneath us. ”

“ But when I saw that none would understand the uncertainty of life, and take it to heart—indeed, that though standing close to the abyss of death they behaved as if they were certain of immortality (and it is marvellous that my heart did not burst from grief) —then I desired to raise my voice to exhort and beg them to open their eyes, and to behold Death preparing her arrows, and in some fashion to strive to escape them. ”

“ May but Thy good spirit direct me and lead me through the snares of the world as through an even country, and may Thy mercy guide me on my way, and lead me through the—alas!—doleful darkness of the world to eternal light! ”

“ Oh, wherefore does man exist, if he employs the sharpness of his heavenly talents for such vain and evil endeavours?" "Why vain?" said the interpreter. "Cannot one then see here, as in a looking-glass, how men accomplish everything by means of their talents? One does this, another that." "But all," I said, "work at such useless things, which are not adequate to their glorious eminence." "Do not cavil too much," he again said. "They are not yet in heaven, and in the world they must employ themselves with worldly matters. Thou wilt see in how orderly a fashion everything is done among them." ”

“ Thou hast seen in the world how men imagine vain ceremonies and strife while performing their religious duties. Thy religion shall be to serve me in quiet, and not to bind thyself by any ceremonies, for I do not bind thee by them. If thou wilt—according to my teaching—serve me in the spirit and in the truth, then wrangle no further on these matters with any man, even if men call thee a hypocrite, heretic, or I know not what. ”

“ Firstly, I saw that all these worldly traffics are but labour and vain striving, and that each has its discomfort and danger. I saw, indeed, that those who dealt with fire were sunburnt and sooty like Moors; the clattering of hammers ever hummed in their ears and half hindered their hearing; the gleam of the fires ever sparkled in their eyes, and their skins were blistered and cracked. Those who carried on their trade in the earth had darkness and horror for companions, and not rarely did it happen that they were buried in the earth. ”

“ My son, I dwell in two spots, in heaven in my glory, and on earth in the hearts of the humble. And I desire that henceforth thou also shouldst have two dwelling-places, one here at home, where I have promised to be with thee; the other with me in heaven. That thou mayest raise thyself thither, I give thee these wings (which are the desire of eternal happines and prayer) . If thou dost will it, thou shalt be able to fly upward unto me, and thou shalt have delight in me, and I in thee. ”

“ On the other hand, these preachers, that I may speak the truth, pleased me, being men of fervent mind and continent body, men who were lovers of celestial things, but heeded not earthly ones. They were careful of their flock, forgetful of themselves, moderate in wine, though their minds were intoxicated by the spirit of holiness, modest of speech, though plentiful in good deeds; and each one among them strove to be first in work, last in good deeds; in all their deeds, words, and thoughts, they cared but for their spiritual progress. ”

“ Then twenty-four elders fell on their knees before the throne, laid down their crowns at the feet of Him who lives in all eternity, and sang with a loud voice: "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power, for according to Thy will do they abide, and have they been created." ”

“ For there were there people from the whole world, of every language and nation, of every age, growth, sex, estate, class, and profession. When first gazing at them, I see how strangely they sway to and fro, like the swarming of bees, and, indeed, far more wondrous. ”

“ Most serene queen of the world, most brilliant ray of God's light, magnificent Wisdom! This young man whom we bring before you has had the good fortune to receive from Fate (the regent of your Majesty) permission to view all the ranks and conditions in this kingdom of the world, over which the great God has placed you as His representative, that you may by your prudence rule it wisely from one boundary to the other. He has been led by us, who, through your prudent decision, have been appointed the guides of such men, through all the estates of mankind. ”

“ If these reformers of philosophy had existed for hundreds of years, why, then, had they not appeared before? If they were certain of what they affirmed, why, then, did they not appear boldly in the light, but express their opinions in the dark, and in corners, as if they were whizzing bats. Philosophy, they said, is already well established, and requires no reform. If you allow this philosophy to be torn from your hands, you will have none whatever. Others also reviled and cursed the reformers and declared them to be divinators, sorcerers, and incarnate devils. ”

“ If worldly things obscure Thee to me, I die. May I but behold Thee, be with Thee, never lose Thee again! Uphold me, O Lord, guide me, support me, that I may not stray from Thee and slip! Grant that I may love Thee with an eternal love, and that I may love besides Thee no other things, except for Thy sake, and in Thee, O Infinitive Love! ”

“ Go, then, among the learned men—go among the learned. Their life hath a charm for thee; it is easier, quieter, and more useful to thy mind." "Yes, that is true," said the interpreter; "for what could be more delightful than that a man should, abandoning and no longer heeding the struggles of this material life, employ himself in studying these manifold beautiful things? Verily, it is this that makes mortal men like unto the immortal God, and almost equal to Him; thus do they become almost omniscient, exploring everything that is in heaven, or earth, or the depths, or was or will be. ”

“ And I look at this bridle, and behold it was stitched together out of straps of pertness, and the bit was made out of the iron of obstinacy; and I understood that I should now no longer behold the world freely as before, but that I should be drawn on forcibly by the inconstancy and disconsolateness of my mind. ”

“ Now, when Solomon entered the street of the married people, Pleasure cunningly led to him all the most beautiful maidens, adorned in the most beauteous manner with divers sweet-sounding music. She told some of the most lovely to welcome the king solemnly, and they greeted him as the light of the human race, the crown of the Israelite nation, the jewel of the world ”

“ For they have a twofold remedy; one is the thought of a happy future, which is of greater value than the troubles of the world, and which awaits them. That which befalls here is but temporary; it appears and again vanishes, is lost, disappears; therefore is it unbeseeming to crave any of these worldly things much, or to grieve much at their loss, for such things are but as the clatter of a moment. The other remedy of the godly is that they have ever a guest in their homes, and if they converse but a little with Him, they are able to drive away every grief, even the greatest. ”

“ I wander through the whole world, peep into all corners, inquire about the words and deeds of all men, see everything that is visible, spy out and discover everything that is secret; generally, nothing can befall without me. It is my duty to survey everything; and if thou comest with me, I shall lead thee to many secret places, whereto thou wouldst never have found thy way. ”

“ For how can anything be otherwise than sweet and joyful to a man who possesses this divine light within him through the Spirit of God, such freedom from the world and its slavery, such certain and ample divine protection, such safety from enemies and accidents ”