The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius/The Great Didactic/Chapter 30
CHAPTER XXX
SKETCH OF THE LATIN-SCHOOL
1. In this school the pupils should learn four languages and acquire an encyclopædic knowledge of the arts. Those youths who have completed its whole curriculum should have had a training as:
(i) Grammarians, who are well versed in Latin and in their mother-tongue, and have a sufficient acquaintance with Greek and Hebrew.
(ii) Dialecticians, who are well skilled in making definitions, in drawing distinctions, in arguing a point, and in solving hard questions.
(iii) Rhetoricians or orators, who can talk well on any given subject.
(iv) Arithmeticians, and (v) geometricians; both on account of the use of these sciences in daily life, and because they sharpen the intellect more than anything else.
(vi) Musicians, both practical and theoretical.
(vii) Astronomers, who have, at any rate, mastered the rudiments, such as the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, and the calculation of their movements, since without this science it is impossible to understand not only physics but also geography and a great part of history.
2. The above are commonly known as the seven liberal arts, a knowledge of which is demanded from a doctor of philosophy. But our pupils must aim higher than this, and in addition must be:
(viii) Physicists, who know the composition of the earth, the force of the elements, the different species of animals, the powers of plants and of minerals, and the structure of the human body, and who, besides knowing these things, can apply them to the various uses of life. Under this head is thus comprised a part of medicine, of agriculture, and of other mechanical arts.
(ix) Geographers, who are well acquainted with the external features of the earth, and know the seas, the islands that are in them, the rivers, and the various kingdoms.
(x) Chronologers, who can fix periods of time, and trace the course of the centuries from the beginning of the world.
(xi) Historians, who possess a fair knowledge of the history of the human race, of the chief empires, and of the Church, and who know the various customs and fortunes of races and of men.
(xii) Moralists, who can draw fine distinctions between the various kinds of virtue and of vice, and who can follow the one and avoid the other. This knowledge they should possess both in its general form and in its special application to the life of the family, of the state, and of the Church.
(xiii) Finally, we wish them to be theologians, who, besides understanding the principles of their faith, can also prove them from the Scriptures.
3. When this course is finished, the youths, even if they have not a perfect knowledge of all these subjects (indeed at their age perfection is impossible, since experience is necessary to complete the theoretical knowledge that they have acquired, and the sea of learning cannot be exhausted in six years), should, at any rate, have laid a solid foundation for any more advanced instruction that they may receive in the future.
4. For the curriculum of six years, six distinct classes will be necessary, the names of which, starting from the lowest, might be as follows:—
(iv)(i) The Grammar class.
(iv)(ii) The Natural Philosophy class.
(iv)(iii) The Mathematical class.
(iv) The Ethics class.
(iv)(v) The Dialectic class.
(vi) The Rhetoric class.
5. I presume that no one can raise any objection to my placing grammar first, since it is the key of all knowledge; but to those who are always guided by custom it may seem strange that I have placed real studies before dialectic and ethics. No other arrangement, however, is possible. It has already been shown that the study of facts must precede that of their combinations, that matter logically precedes its form, that this is the only method by which sure and rapid progress can be made, and that we must therefore learn our facts by observation before we can either pass a sound judgment on them, or enunciate them in well-turned phrases. A man may have the whole apparatus of logic and of eloquence at his fingers’ ends, but of what value can his investigation or his proof be, if he be ignorant of the objects with which he is dealing? It is as impossible to talk sensibly about matters with which we are not acquainted as it is for a virgin to bring forth a child. Things exist in themselves, and are quite independent of their relation to thought and to speech. But thought and speech have no meaning apart from things, and depend entirely upon them. Unless it refers to definite objects, speech is nothing but sound without sense, and it is therefore absolutely necessary to give our pupils a thorough preliminary training in real studies.
6. Though many have held the contrary opinion, it has been conclusively shown by learned writers that the study of natural philosophy should precede that of ethics.
Lipsius,42 in his Physiology, bk. i. chap. i., writes as follows:—
“I am distinctly in agreement with the distinguished authorities who hold that natural philosophy should come first. Its study is productive of great pleasure, stimulates and retains the attention, and forms a suitable introduction to ethics.”
7. It is open to argument whether the Mathematical class should or should not precede the Natural Philosophy class. It was with the study of mathematics that the ancients commenced the investigation of nature, for which reason they gave them the name of “The Sciences”; while Plato forbade those who were ignorant of geometry to enter his Academy. Their reasons for holding this view are easy to understand, since the sciences that deal with number and quantity make a special appeal to the senses, and are therefore easy to grasp; besides, they make a powerful impression on the imagination, and thus prepare the mind for studies of a more abstract nature.
8. All this is very true, but we have some other considerations to take into account: (1) In the Vernacular-School we advised the education of the senses, and the development of the mind through their means, and as our pupils have by this time been through a course of arithmetic they can scarcely be considered quite ignorant of mathematics. (2) Our method advances step by step. Before proceeding to complex problems of magnitude, we should deal with bodies in the concrete, and thus prepare our minds to grasp more abstract notions. (3) The curriculum of the Mathematical class, as drawn up by us, embodies most of the arts, and these cannot be thoroughly mastered without some knowledge of natural philosophy. But indeed, if others suggest a different order, and justify their preference by theoretical or practical reasons, I have no wish to gainsay them. My own view is opposed to theirs, and I have given my reasons for it.
9. As soon as a fair knowledge of Latin has been acquired (by the aid of the Vestibulum and the Janua, which are to be used in the first class), the pupils should be instructed in the science of first principles, commonly called metaphysics (though in my opinion it should be called prophysics or hypophysics, that is to say, ante-natural or sub-natural). For this science embraces the primary and the most important principles of existence, dealing with the essential hypotheses on which all things depend, their attributes, and their logical differences; and includes the most general definitions, axioms, and laws of nature. When these are known (and by my method the task is an easy one), it will be possible to learn particulars and details with little effort, since, in a way, they will already be familiar, and nothing will be necessary but the application of general principles to particular instances. Immediately after this grounding in first principles, which should not occupy more than three months (for they will be speedily learned, being principles of pure reason and easily grasped by the mind), we may proceed to deal with the visible universe, that the marvels of nature (already set forth in the prophysic) may be demonstrated more and more clearly by particular examples. This will be supplied by the Natural Philosophy class.
10. From the essential nature of things we proceed to the more exact investigation of their accidental properties, and this we call the Mathematical class.
11. The pupils must next investigate man himself, viewed as a free agent and as the lord of creation. They must learn to notice what things are in our power, what are not, and how everything must submit to the inflexible laws of the universe.
This they will learn in the fourth year, in the Ethics class. But this must not consist of an historical course or of a mere statement of facts, as in the Vernacular-School. The reasons which underlie each fact must be given, that the pupils may acquire the habit of concentrating their attention on cause and effect. All controversial matter, however, must be carefully excluded from these first four classes, since we wish this to be reserved for the fifth class that follows.
12. In the Dialectic class, after a brief training in the laws of reasoning, the pupils should go over the whole field of natural philosophy, mathematics, and ethics, and carefully investigate any weighty points that are usually discussed by learned men. This gives an opportunity for explaining the cause and the nature of the controversy, for distinguishing between the thesis and the antithesis, and for showing by what arguments, real or plausible, either may be controverted. The mistakes of the opposite side should then be exposed, and the cause of error and the fallacy of the arguments employed should be clearly shown; while, if there be an element of truth on both sides, the conflicting arguments may be reconciled. The utility of this process will be great, as it will not only comprise the recapitulation of facts already known, and illustrate those that are less familiar, but will at the same time teach the art of reasoning, of investigating what is unknown, and explaining what is obscure, of simplifying ambiguity, limiting statements that are too general, defending the truth with the weapons of truth, unmasking falsehood, and setting in order facts that are confused.
13. Last of all comes the Rhetoric class. In this the pupils should be taught to make an easy and profitable use of all that they have hitherto learned, and here it will be seen that they have learned something and have not spent their time in vain. For, in accordance with the saying of Socrates, “Speak, that I may see your character,” we must train them to speak well, now that we have taught them to think accurately.
14. Therefore, after a preliminary training in the shortest and simplest rules of oratory, they should proceed to put these into practice by imitating the best masters. They should, however, not confine themselves to the subjects that they have already studied, but should traverse the whole field of truth, existence, of human life, and of divine wisdom; that if they know anything which is true, good, pleasant, or useful they may be able to express it in suitable language, or, if necessary, to hold a brief for it. For this purpose they will at this stage be supplied with a mental furniture that is by no means to be despised, namely, a varied acquaintance with the facts of nature, and a good stock of words, of phrases, and of historical knowledge.
15. But of this we can speak more fully elsewhere; that is to say, if it be necessary, since the details will work themselves out in practice. We will only touch on one point further. An acquaintance with history is the most important element in a man’s education, and is, as it were, the eye of his whole life. This subject, therefore, should be taught in each of the six classes, that our pupils may be ignorant of no event which has happened from ancient times to the present day; but its study must be arranged in such a way that it lighten their work instead of increasing it, and serve a relaxation after their severer labours.
16. Our idea is that each class should have its own hand-book, dealing with some special branch of history; for example:
| In class | i. | An epitome of Biblical history. |
| ii. | Natural history. | |
| iii. | The history of art and of inventions. | |
| iv. | The history of morals. | |
| v. | The history of customs, treating of the habits of different nations. | |
| vi. | The general history of the world and of the principal nations; but especially of the boys’ native land, dealing with the whole subject tersely and comprehensively. |
17. As regards the special method to be employed, I will make only one remark. The four hours of daily class instruction should be arranged as follows: the two morning hours should be devoted (as soon as morning prayer has been held) to the science or the art that forms the special subject of the class. Of the afternoon hours the first should be given to history, and, in the second, the pupils should be made to exercise style, declamation, and the use of their hands, in accordance with the requirements of the class.