works of Andrea weakens Dr. von Criegern's argument. It is not my purpose to enter into this matter here. It is certain that the first chapter of the "Labyrinth" is little but a paraphrase of the opening part of Andrea's "Peregrinus," that the pilgrim's visit to the philosophers (chap. xi.) is largely founded on a passage of Andrea's "Mythologia Christiana," and that his visit to the Rosicrucians[1] is mainly copied from Andrea's writings concerning that community.[2] Yet this but slightly detracts from Komensky's originality of thought. It has already been noted that the conceit of a pilgrim travelling through the world, as well as the conception of an ideal city, are world-old ideas which belonged to Komensky, as rightly as to Andrea, whose "Republicæ Christianopoli Fanæ" is, as I have already noted, an adaptation of the "Civitas Solis." Even at a slight glance at Andrea's ponderous writings, it will be seen how Komensky has enriched and vivified those conceptions that he borrowed from him. Dr. von Criegern goes so far as to declare that even the pessimism of the "Labyrinth" is due to the influence of Andrea. "Andrea," he writes, "was
- ↑ De Quincy, in his "Historico-Critical Inquiry into the Origin of the Rosicrucians and Freemasons," has conjectured that Andrea himself was the originator, or at least the reviver, of that community. His armorial bearings—a St. Andrew's Cross and four roses—were undoubtedly their emblem.
- ↑ How little Komensky feared the accusation of plagiarism is proved by the fact that he gives the name of one of Andrea's books, "Fama Rosæorum," to one of the divisions of chapter xiii. This, according to the custom of the day, was equivalent to declaring the passage to be a quotation,
