Johann Amos Comenius

“ For to pack up many words in memory, of things not conceived in the mind, is to fill the head with empty imaginations, and to make the learner more xxi to admire the multitude and variety (and thereby, to become discouraged,) than to care to treasure them up, in hopes to gain more knowledge of what they mean. ”

“ Whereas indeed, we, generally missing this way, do teach children as we do parrots, to speak they know not what, nay which is worse, we, taking the way of teaching little ones by Grammar only at the first, do puzzle their imaginations with abstractive terms and secondary intentions, which till they be somewhat acquainted with things, and the words belonging to them, in the language which they learn, they cannot apprehend what they mean. ”

“ But for as much as the work is now done, though in some things not so completely as it were to be wished, I rejoyce in the use of it, and desist in my own undertakings for the present. And because any good thing is the better, being the more communicated; I have herein imitated a Child who is forward to impart to others what himself has well liked. You then that have the care of little Children, do not much trouble their thoughts and clog their memories with bare Grammar Rudiments, which to them are harsh in getting, and fluid in retaining ”

“ III. Thence a new benefit cometh, that that very English Translation may serve for the more ready and pleasant learning of the Latin tongue: as one may see in this Edition, the whole book being so translated, that every where one word answereth to the word over against it, and the book is in all things the same, only in two idioms, as a man clad in a double garment. ”

“ And this I guess to be the reason, why many great persons do resolve sometimes not to put a child to school till he be at least eleven or twelve years of age, presuming that he having then taken notice of most things, will sooner get the knowledge of the words which are applyed to them in any language. ”

“ Hoole, (whether out of too much scrupulousness to disturb the Words in some places from the order they were in, or not sufficiently considering the Inconveniences of having the Latin and English so far asunder) has made them so much disagree, that a Boy has sometimes to seek 7 or 8 lines off for the corresponding Word; which is no small trouble to Young Learners who are at first equally unacquainted with all Words, in a Language they are strangers to, except it be such as have Figures of Reference, or are very like in sound ”

“ For the Senses (being the main guides of childhood, because therein the mind doth not as yet raise up itself to an abstracted contemplation of things) evermore seek their own objects, and if they be away, they grow dull, and wry themselves hither and thither out of a weariness of themselves: but when their objects are present, they grow merry, wax lively, and willingly suffer themselves to be fastened upon them, till the thing be sufficiently discerned. ”

“ And therefore to exercise the senses well about the right perceiving the differences of things, will be to lay the grounds for all wisdom, and all wise discourse, and all discreet actions in ones course of life. Which, because it is commonly neglected in schools, and the things which are to be learned are offered to scholars, without being understood or being rightly presented to the senses, it cometh to pass, that the work of teaching and learning goeth heavily onward, and affordeth little benefit. ”

“ The “Janua” had an enormous sale, and was published in many languages, but the editions and sale of the “Orbis Pictus” far exceeded those of the “Janua,” and, indeed, for some time it was the most popular text-book in Europe, and deservedly so. —Laurie’s John Amos Comenius, Boston edition, p. 185.
[xi]
Text
[xii] Gen. ii. 19, 20.
The Lord God brought unto Adam every Beast of the Field, and every Fowl of the Air, to see what he would call them. And Adam gave Names to all Cattle, and to the Fowl of the Air, and to every Beast of the Field. ”

“ See here then a new help for schools, A Picture and Nomenclature of all the chief things in the world, and of men’s actions in their way of living: Which, that you, good Masters, may not be loath to run over with your scholars, I will tell you, in short, what good you may expect from it. ”

“ Such Condescensions as these, to the capacities of young Learners are certainly very reasonable, and wou’d be most agreeable to the Intentions of the Ingenious and worthy Author, and his design to suit whatever he taught, to their manner of apprehending it. Whose Excellency in the art of Education made him so famous all over Europe, as to be solicited by several States and Princes to go and reform the Method of their Schools ”

“ Instruction is the means to expel Rudeness, with which young wits ought to be well furnished in Schools: But so, as that the teaching be 1. True, 2. Full, 3. Clear, and 4. Solid.
1. It will be true, if nothing be taught but such as is beneficial to ones life; lest there be a cause of complaining afterwards. We know not necessary things, because we have not learned things necessary. ”

“ To construe, or give the words one by xxiv one, as they answer one another in Latin and English. 2. To Parse, according to the rules, (which I presume by this time) he hath learn’d in the first part of his Accidence; where I would have him tell what part of Speech any word is, and then what accidents belong to it; but especially to decline the nouns and conjugate the verbs according to the Examples in his Rudiments; and this doing will enable him to know the end and use of his Accidence. ”

“ First, make sure that the browser’s “character set” or “file encoding” is set to Unicode (UTF-8) . You may also need to change your browser’s default font.
The two sections numbered CIV use astrological symbols. Most are accompanied by a definition, so the meaning will be plain even if your browser cannot display them. When a symbol is used in place of a word, its meaning is shown in a popup: ☉.
Typographical errors are shown in the text with mouse-hover popups. ”

“ Lock* and 2 or 3 more out of our own Nation, for forming the Mind and settling good Habits, may doubtless be look’d upon to contain the most reasonable, orderly, and completed System of the Art of Education, that can be met with. ”

“ I say, and say it again aloud, that this last is the foundation of all the rest: because we can neither act nor speak wisely, unless we first rightly understand all the things which are xiv to be done, and whereof we are to speak. ”

“ I. First it will afford a device for learning to read more easily than hitherto, especially having a symbolical alphabet set before it, to wit, the characters of the several letters, with the image of that creature, whose voice that letter goeth about to imitate, pictur’d by it. For the young Abc scholar will easily remember the force of every character by the very looking upon the creature, till the imagination being strengthened by use, can readily afford all things ”

“ III. Whence a third good will follow; that children being won hereunto, and drawn over with this xvi way of heeding, may be furnished with the knowledge of the prime things that are in the world, by sport and merry pastime. ”

“ It gives No. 4, the Heaven, practically as in this edition, but puts another cut under it in which the earth is revolving about the sun; and after the statement of Comenius, “Coelum rotatur, et ambit terram, in medio stantem” interpolates: “prout veteres crediderunt; recentiores enim defendunt motum terrae circa solem” [as the ancients used to think; for later authorities hold that the motion of the earth is about the sun.]
Two specimen pages from another edition are inserted in Payne’s Compayré’s History of Education (between pp. 126, 127) . The cut is the representative of No. ”

“ Liber.
119
XCVIII. A School. Schola.
XCIX. The Study. Museum.
C. Arts belonging to Speech. Artes Sermones.
123
CI. Musical Instruments. Instrumenta musica.
125
CII. Philosophy. Philosophia. ”