The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius/The Great Didactic/Chapter 13
CHAPTER XIII
THE BASIS OF SCHOOL REFORM MUST BE EXACT ORDER IN ALL THINGS
1. We find on investigation that the principle which really holds together the fabric of this world of ours, down to its smallest detail, is none other than order; that is to say, the proper division of what comes before and what comes after, of the superior and the subordinate, of the large and the small, of the similar and dissimilar, according to place, time, number, size, and weight, so that each may fulfil its function well. Order, therefore, has been called the soul of affairs. For everything that is well ordered preserves its position and its strength as long as it maintains its order; it is when it ceases to do so that it grows weak, totters, and falls. This may be seen clearly in instances taken from nature and from art.
2. Through what agency, I ask, does the world maintain its present condition ? what is it that gives it its great stability? It is this, that each creature, obeying the command of nature, restrains its action within the proper limits; and thus, by careful observation of order in small details, the order of the universe is maintained.
3. Through what agency is the flux of time divided so accurately and so continuously into years, months, and days? Through none but the inflexible order of the vault of heaven.
4. What enables bees, ants, and spiders to do work of such fineness that the mind of man finds it easier to marvel at than to imitate it? Nothing but their natural talent for harmoniously combining order, number, and mass in their constructions.
5. What is it that constitutes the human body such a marvellous instrument that it can perform almost countless functions, even though it have very few resources at its disposal? I mean, that with the few limbs it possesses, it can produce works whose complexity is so wondrous that nothing remains to be desired? It is without question the harmonious disposition of the limbs, and of their constituent parts, that brings this about.
6. What is it that makes it possible for a single mind to rule the whole body in which it dwells, and to direct so many operations at the same time? Nothing but the harmonious order in which the limbs are connected, and which enables them to obey the slightest hint given by the mind, and to set themselves in motion immediately.
7. How is it that a single man, a king or an emperor, can rule whole nations; that, although there are as many wills as there are individuals, all subordinate themselves to the service of that one man, and that, if his affairs go well, the affairs of each subject also must prosper? Again it is order that brings this about. Through its agency all are held together by the connecting bands of law and of obedience, so that some subjects are directly subordinate to and in immediate contact with the supreme ruler, while others in their turn are subordinate to these, and so on down to the meanest serf. The arrangement thus resembles a chain in which each link is intimately connected so that if the first be moved or remain at rest all the others will follow suit.
8. How was it that Hiero, unaided, could move a weight which hundreds of men had in vain tried to stir? Assuredly it was by means of a cleverly-devised machine, in which the cylinders, wheels, and other parts were arranged in such a way that when one worked on the other the force applied was much increased.
9. The terrible operations of artillery, by which walls are broken down, towers are shattered, and armies are laid low, depend on nothing but the proper arrangement of materials, so that the active is placed in close connection with the passive element; that is to say, on the proper mixing of saltpetre with sulphur (the coldest substance with the hottest), on the proper construction of the cannon, on its being skilfully loaded with powder and missiles, and, lastly, on its being correctly pointed at the objects to be hit. If one of these conditions be not properly fulfilled, the whole apparatus is useless.
10. How is it that the processes of printing, by which books can be multiplied quickly, neatly, and correctly, are properly carried out? Assuredly by means of order. The type must be cut, moulded, and polished, placed suitably in the type-boxes, and then arranged in the right order, while the paper must be prepared, damped, stretched, and placed under the press.
11. To take another example of mechanism. How is it that a carriage, a construction of wood and iron, can be so easily drawn by the horses that are fastened to it, and can be of such use for the conveyance of men and burdens? This is brought about by nothing but the skilful arrangement of wood and of iron in the wheels, the axle-trees, and the shafts. If one of these parts give way, the whole construction is useless.
12. How is it that men can trust themselves to the stormy sea in a construction made of a few pieces of wood? How is it that they make their way to the antipodes and return safe and sound? It is nothing but the proper combination of keel, mast, rudder, compass, etc., in the ship that enables them to do so. If any one of these fail in its action, they are in great danger of shipwreck or of foundering.
13. Finally, how is it that the machine for measuring time, the clock, which is nothing but a well-arranged and well-devised disposition of iron parts, moves harmoniously and evenly, and marks off minutes, hours, days, months, and sometimes years? and this not only for the eyes but for the ears as well, that it may give some sign at night and to those at a distance? How is it that such an instrument can wake a man out of sleep at a given hour, and can strike a light to enable him to see? How is it that it can indicate the quarters of the moon, the positions of the planets, and the eclipses? Is it not a truly marvellous thing that a machine, a soulless thing, can move in such a life-like, continuous, and regular manner? Before clocks were invented would not the existence of such things have seemed as impossible as that trees could walk or stones speak? Yet every one can see that they exist now.
14. What is the hidden power that brings this to pass? Nothing but the all-ruling force of order; that is to say, the force derived from arranging all the parts concerned according to their number, size, and importance, and in such a manner that each one shall perform its own proper function as well as work harmoniously with and assist the other parts whose action is necessary to produce the desired result; that is to say, the size of each part must be carefully regulated to suit that of the rest; each part must fit properly into those which surround it; and the general laws that regulate the equal distribution of force to the several parts must be observed. In such a case all the processes are more exact than in a living body controlled by one mind. But if any part get out of position, crack, break, become loose or bent, though it be the smallest wheel, the most insignificant axle, or the tiniest screw, the whole machine stops still or at least goes wrong, and thus shows us plainly that everything depends on the harmonious working of the parts.
15. The art of teaching, therefore, demands nothing more than the skilful arrangement of time, of the subjects taught, and of the method. As soon as we have succeeded in finding the proper method it will be no harder to teach school-boys, in any number desired, than with the help of the printing-press to cover a thousand sheets daily with the neatest writing, or with Archimedes’ machine to move houses, towers, and immense weights, or to cross the ocean in a ship, and journey to the New World. The whole process, too, will be as free from friction as is the movement of a clock whose motive power is supplied by the weights. It will be as pleasant to see education carried out on my plan as to look at an automatic machine of this kind, and the process will be as free from failure as are these mechanical contrivances, when skilfully made.
16. Let us therefore endeavour, in the name of the Almighty, to organise schools in such a way that in these points they may bear the greatest resemblance to a clock which is put together with the greatest skill, and is cunningly chased with the most delicate tools.