Page:The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius (1896).pdf/161

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INTRODUCTION—HISTORICAL
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6. Universal history should be studied, and in particular the history of the Church, for whose sake the world exists.

7. In this class some training should be given in oratory. The future minister must learn how to address a congregation, and should be taught the laws of sacred oratory. The future politician must be taught how to appeal to the reason of his hearers.

8. The accessory study is Hebrew, which must be studied in such a way that before the end of the year the pupil shall be able to read and understand the original text of the Scriptures.

9. Recreation is to be allowed, but must not interfere with the theological studies.

10. Religious plays dealing with the character of, say Abraham or David, may be acted.

Thus ends the detailed description of the Pansophic school. A few general remarks follow. Each class is to have its own master, and in addition there is to be a headmaster, whose duty it will be to enter each class daily, superintend the school, and take the place of any master who may be kept away by illness. The headmaster must be well paid, as indeed should the class-masters, since this is the only way to make them contented with their positions and prevent them from seeking more remunerative work in some other profession.

Comenius then pertinently asks, “Where is the money to come from?” It is not his business, he replies, to answer this question, but he suggests that citizens should give a fixed proportion of their incomes for educational, as they already do for charitable purposes, and that it is the duty of princes and of wealthy citizens to assist schools in every way.