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his country followed its appearance very closely, and that the Bohemian language in which it is written was, for a time, almost extinct. Though finished in 1623, the book, as already mentioned, was first printed in 1631.^[1] A second enlarged edition appeared at Amsterdam in 1663. After this there was no new edition before 1757,^[2] when the book was reprinted at Berlin. Further editions appeared at Prague in 1782 and 1809. The latter edition, though it had appeared with the consent of the "censure,"^[3] which then decided what books might be printed in Austria and Bohemia, was yet suppressed in 1820, and the "Labyrinth," for a time, again became almost inaccessible to Komensky's countrymen. Since the accession of that enlightened ruler, the present Emperor of Austria, Francis Joseph, these petty molestations have ceased. The "Labyrinth" has been frequently reprinted, and is now in the hands of all Bohemian readers, who have the same affection for the book that their ancestors had more than two centuries ago. In consequence of Komensky's great mastery of his language, parts of the "Labyrinth" are read in the Bohemian schools, in which the national language is now largely used. It is not necessary to enumerate the many editions of the "Labyrinth" that have appeared within the last years. The

 

1. According to Mr. Bily, probably either at Lissa or at Pirna, in Saxony.
2. There is a copy of this edition in the library of the British Museum.
3. See my "History of Bohemian Literature," passim, particularly pp. 366-369, and 397-398.