JOHN AMOS COMENIUS (Jan Ámos Komenský) was born in 1592 in Nivnice, Moravia, in the area that is now the Czech Republic. Known today as the 'Father of Modern Education,' he pioneered modern educational methods. A contemporary of Galileo, Descartes, Rembrandt, and Milton, Comenius contributed greatly to the Enlightenment. He was the first to use pictures in textbooks (The Visible World In Pictures, 1658), and believed in what might be called a holistic concept of education. He taught that education began in the earliest days of childhood, and continued throughout life. He advocated the formal education of women, an idea which was unheard of in his day. His philosophy of Pansophism (meaning 'all knowledge') attempted to incorporate theology, philosophy, and education into one. He believed that learning, spiritual, and emotional growths were all woven together. What Comenius referred to as the Via Lucis, or 'way of light,' was the pursuit of higher learning and spiritual enlightenment bound together. His educational thought was profoundly respected in Northern Europe. He was called upon to completely restructure the school system of Sweden, and there is some evidence he was asked to become the first President of Harvard, an honor he declined because of his leadership of the troubled Moravian Church.
Comenius was a Bishop of the Unitas Fratrum, commonly known as the Moravian Church during its darkest days. He became its President during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) which decimated the ranks of the Unity. At the close of the war, Bohemia and Moravian were ceded to Rome in the Peace of Westphalia. The few surviving members of the Unity had to either become Catholic or leave their homeland. Comenius led a small band to exile in Poland. This time, known as the 'Hidden Seed' period, continued until a small group resettled in Saxony on the estates of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, a Lutheran noble. There, the denomination was reorganized and entered a period of great missionary endeavor.
Comenius died in Amsterdam in 1670 without ever seeing the 'hidden seed' revived.
During his lifetime, Comenius published 154 books, mostly dealing with educational philosophy and theology. One example which is available online is The Labyrinth of the World, an allegorical novel which predated Bunyan's much better known Pilgrim's Progress. Comenius is buried in Naarden, Holland.
John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) is undoubtedly the most famous Czech humanist in the world. A theologian by profession and a bishop of the Unity of Brethren - by number a small but influential Czech Protestant church - he was forced to leave his homeland in 1628 because the Austrian Habsburgs, who ruled the Czech lands, did not tolerate non-Catholic believers. Comenius first found refuge in Poland, and for the rest of his life lived in the Netherlands. There, he was received even by René Descartes, who was willing to see very few people but was curious about Comenius' philosophical system. Already in the first half of the 17th century, he gained European fame, with kings of Protestant as well as Catholic countries trying to persuade him to be in their service. He was influential in a number of fields, but was acknowledged most for his contribution to education. Until today he is recognized as a founder of pedagogy as an autonomous discipline (Didactica Magna), and he is considered one of the most significant, if not the largest, genius of language education - his text Janua linguarum reserata and Orbis sensualium pictus have been translated into all European and many oriental languages. He also was an excellent linguist (Novissima linguarum methodus), a pioneer of a movement whose goal was the creation of a perfect universal language (Panglottia), an important philosopher and adherent of "pansophia" (a system based on the harmony of faith, rational and sensual knowledge) as the theoretical basis for the grandiose project of non-violent social remedy (De rerum humanarum emendatione consultatio catholica). From Comenius' non-pedagogical works, obviously the most famous is Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart. One could say that in many aspects the 20th century is reminiscent of the time of Comenius (a general crisis of values, challenges to basic values, revolutionary scientific and technical inventions, never-ending wars etc.). The book was published three times over the span of his life, first in 1623, with a revised edition in 1631 and the last, again edited, edition in 1663. Labyrinth is a poetic work abounding with lively enthusiasm and is generally considered one of the top works of Czech literature and a masterpiece of world allegoric literature based on the character of a pilgrim. For francophone readers it is worth mentioning that Labyrinth was translated into French for the first time in 1906 by Michel de Crayencour, the father of the writer Marguerite Yourcenar.
The subject matter of Comenius' Labyrinth is simple: a young man, Pilgrim, walks through the world to understand and find "human things" before deciding on how to arrange his further life. He is accompanied by two guides - Beeneverywhere and Illusion. Along his journey Pilgrim begins to feel as if he were immersed in a labyrinth in which it is absolutely impossible to grasp the true nature of things and events. The dubious wisdom of Beeneverywhere and the rose-colored glasses of Illusion prevent him from understanding what is going on inside and around him and thus to make the right decisions. Thanks to his relentless effort and wit, Pilgrim manages several times to put the glasses aside a bit and see the true nature of things. This gives the author an opportunity to offer a merciless critique of contemporary society. Finally, the young man and his companions arrive at the Palace of Wisdom, where King Solomon reveals to him the "vanity and deception of the world". Pilgrim decides to return to himself and to find "peace and joy" imides himself and Christ, which is what he had been looking for in vain in the world.
The edition of the Labyrinth, is published as part of the complex and ambitious project Orbis pictus or..., designed and realized by the AUDABIAC foundation. The project is closely linked to the work of J. A. Comenius. Its main aim and purpose is to become a means of communication among different nations, social classes and religions. The interactive project Orbis pictus aneb... develops the message of Comenius and all those who believe in the force of creative will for knowledge. The exposition aims to present Comenius' thoughts using interactive instruments and images. The project is designed as an evolutionary composition that reveals itself and is modified according to the space in which it is set up. It is like a journey through a landscape of sound and visual instruments that leads to the very center of the exposition: Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart. The thoughts of Comenius are rather represented on symbolic, on-descriptive and abstract levels. Most parts of the Labyrinth and of other instrumental scenes are directly dependent on the visitor's creativity. The visitors themselves activate particular kinetic, visual and sound components of the exposition; they are thus aware of their co-authorship and intercommunication, something which is in absolute harmony with the pedagogical principles of Comenius.
Jiří Beneš