Ambassador, diverting him another way, that Incomparable Moravian became not an American."

The following evidence makes improbable this call:

1. Some years ago the writer asked Professor Paul H. Hanus to ascertain for him if the records of Harvard College corroborated Mather's statement. After examining the proceedings of the overseers and all other records of the college during its early history, he reported that he could not find the slightest corroboration of Mather's statement, and that he seriously doubted its accuracy.

2. The historians of the college-Peirce, Quincy, and Eliot. do not allude to the matter. And President Josiah Quincy,' in his complete and standard history of the institution, refers to the "loose and exaggerated terms in which Mather and Johnson, and other writers of that period, speak of the early donations to the college, and the obscurity, and not to say confusion, in which they appear in the first records of the seminary."

3. Careful examination has been made of the numerous lives of Comenius printed in the German language, as well as those printed in the Czech; and, although less noteworthy distinctions are recorded, there is no mention of a call to Harvard College or America.

4. In the Journals of Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts, there are no allusions to Comenius. Governor Winthrop died in 1649; and it was not until 1653 that President Dunster fell "into the briers of

1 The history of Harvard university. By Josiah Quincy. Boston, 1840. 2 vols.

He

Antpædo-baptism," when he bore "public testimony in the church at Cambridge against the administration of baptism to any infant whatsoever." And the historians of the college report that up to this time (1653) Dunster's administration had been singularly satisfactory, so that there could have been no thought of providing his successor before the death of Governor Winthrop. Mather is either in error or he does not refer to Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts. may refer to Governor Winthrop of Connecticut, the eldest son of the Massachusetts governor, although evidence is wanting to show that the Connecticut governor had anything to do with the management of Harvard College. Young Winthrop was in England from August the 3d, 1641, until the early part of 1643. It will be recalled that Comenius spent the winter of 1641-1642 in London, and the fact that both knew Hartlib most intimately would suggest that they must have met. In a letter which Hartlib wrote to Winthrop after the latter's return to America, he says, "Mr. Comenius is continually diverted by particular controversies of Socinians and others from his main Pansophical Worke."1

5. Mather is clearly in error in regard to the date of the call of Comenius to Sweden. The negotiations were begun in 1641 and were completed in August of the next year, so that the "solicitations of the Swedish Ambassador diverting him another way" took place more than twelve years before the beginning of

1 Correspondence of Hartlib, Haak, Oldenburg, and others of the founders of the Royal Society with Governor Winthrop of Connecticut, 1661-1672. With an introduction and notes by Robert C. Winthrop. Boston, 1878.

the troubles at Cambridge which led to the resignation of Dunster.

With so many flaws in Mather's statement, and the absence of corroborative evidence, it seems altogether improbable that Comenius was ever called to the presidency of Harvard College.1

In closing, brief mention may be made of his most dominant physical and personal characteristics. Several excellent portraits of Comenius are in existence, the best perhaps being by Hollar and Glover. From these it is apparent that he was a man of imposing figure, with high forehead, long chin, and soft, pathetic eyes. It is not difficult to read into his sad, expressive countenance the force of the expression in his last published utterance, "My whole life was merely the visit of a guest; I had no fatherland."

There is no conflicting evidence on the personal life of the reformer; but rather unanimous agreement on the sweetness and beauty of his character. Says Palacky: "In his intercourse with others, Comenius was in an extraordinary degree friendly, conciliatory, and humble; always ready to serve his neighbor and sacrifice himself. His writings, as well as his walk and conversation, show the depth of his feeling, his goodness, his uprightness, and his fear of God. He never cast back upon his opponents what they meted out to him. He never condemned, no matter how

1 For further discussion of the question see my article, "Was Comenius called to the presidency of Harvard?" in the Educational Review, November, 1896, Vol. XII, pp. 378–382, and the article by Mr. James H. Blodgett in the same Review for November, 1898, Vol. XVI, pp. 390-393; also the closing chapter in Professor Hanus' Educa tional aims and educational values (New York, 1899), pp. 206–211.

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great the injustice which he was made to suffer. At all times, with fullest resignation, whether joy or sorrow was his portion, he honored and praised the Lord." Raumer says of him: "Comenius is a grand and venerable figure of sorrow. Wandering, persecuted, and homeless during the terrible and desolating Thirty Years' War, he never despaired, but, with enduring and faithful truth, labored unceasingly to prepare youth by a better education for a better future. His unfailing aspirations lifted up in a large part of Europe many good men prostrated by the terrors of the times and inspired them with the hope that by pious and wise systems of education there might be reared up a race of men more pleasing to God." Well might Herder say: "Comenius was a noble priest of humanity, whose single end and aim in life was the welfare of all mankind."

CHAPTER VI

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

The Great didactic - Conditions under which produced - Aim of the book. Purpose of education - Man's craving for knowledge -Youth the time for training - Private instruction undesirable -Education for girls as well as boys - Uniform methods. Education according to nature How nature teaches - Selection and adaptation of materials — Organization of pupils into classes — Correlation of studies. Methods of instruction - Science - Arts -Language-Morals - Religion. Types of educational institutions-The mother's school-School of the mother-tongue — Latin school-University. School discipline - Character and purpose of discipline - Corporal punishment only in cases of moral perversity.

The Great Didactic

Most comprehensive of all of the educational writings of Comenius is the Great didactic. It was planned in 1628, while yet in the full possession of his vigor, before misfortune had hampered his usefulness and persecution had made him a wanderer. Written originally in the Czech, it was translated into the Latin and published at Amsterdam in 1657. The original Czech manuscript was discovered at Lissa in 1841, and presented to the museum at Prague; but the Austrian censors of the press forbade its publication because Comenius was a Bohemian exile (!). Through the exertions of the museum authorities, however, it was allowed to be printed in 1849. Professor Laurie gave English readers a summary of the Great