One should follow the 'method of nature,' which accomplishes all things "with certainty, ease, and thorough ness." The analogy of the bird. The Method of Nature Thus at every stage of education Comenius believes that there should be pansophic instruction. The way in which this knowledge is to be acquired, he intends also to have in full accord with sense realism. He insists that, in order to reform the schools of the day, which were uninteresting, wasteful of time, and cruel, the 'method of nature' must be observed and followed, for "if we wish to find a remedy for the defects of Nature, it is in Nature herself that we must look for it, since it is certain that art can do nothing unless it imitate Nature." He then shows how Nature accomplishes all things "with certainty, ease, and thoroughness," in what respects the schools have deviated from the principles of nature, and how they can be rectified only by following her plans. These principles concerning the working of nature were, however, not established inductively by Comenius, but laid down a priori, and were mostly superficial and fanciful analogies. The following quotation from the First Principle that he gives under the 'certainty' of nature, may serve as a specimen of his method: "Nature observes a suitable time. For example, a bird that wishes to multiply its species, does not set about it in winter, when everything is stiff with cold, nor in summer, when everything is parched and withered with heat; nor yet in autumn, when the vital force of all creatures declines with the sun's declin 1 I.e. certo, facile, solide. See Didactica, Chap. XIV-XVIII. ing rays, and a new winter with hostile mien is approaching; but in spring, when the sun brings back life and strength to all." The schools deviate from this method of nature, he claims in the first place, because "the right time for mental exercise is not chosen," and to rectify the error, — "(I) The education of men should be commenced in the springtime of life, that is to say, in boyhood (for boyhood is the equivalent of spring, youth of summer, manhood of autumn, and old age of winter). (II) The morning hours are the most suitable for study, for here again the morning is the equivalent of spring, midday of summer, the evening of autumn, and the night of winter." It is not remarkable that, with all his realistic tendencies, Comenius did not employ the inductive method to any extent. He had inherited the notion that not all truth can be secured through the senses or by reason. He claimed that even Bacon's method could not be applied to the entire universe, all of which is included in his pansophia. There are, he held, three media for knowledge, - the senses, the intellect, and revelation, and "error will cease if the balance between them is preserved." The natural sciences were young in the day of Comenius, and he was very limited in his grasp of their content and method. It is a sufficient merit that, imbibing the spirit of sense realism, he had for the first time in history applied anything like induction to teaching, and produced the most systematic and The induc tive method was not em ployed to any extent. How the principles for following nature may be made effective; the application of the general method to the sciences, arts, lan guages, mo rality, and piety. Impression must be in sured by expression. thorough work upon educational method that had been known. After working out in the Didactica these general principles for following nature, Comenius renders his work much more practical by showing how such principles may be made effective in the ordinary schools. He then applies his general method to the specific teaching of various branches of knowledge, sciences, arts (including reading, writing, singing, composition, and logic), and languages, and to instruction in morality and piety. On this practical side of his method, he applies more fully the induction of Bacon. After showing the necessity for careful observation in obtaining a knowledge of the sciences, he gives nine useful precepts for their study, and while they are stated as general principles, they are clearly the inductive result of his own experience as a teacher. Similarly he formulates rules for instruction in the arts, languages, morality, and piety. The description of special method in sciences, too, is thoroughly in harmony with realism in its insistence that, in order to make a genuine impression upon the mind, one must deal with realities rather than books. The objects themselves, or, where this is not possible, such representations of them as can be conveyed by copies, models, and pictures, must be studied. In the case of the languages, arts, morality, and piety, impression must be insured by expression. "What has to be done, must be learned by doing." Reading, writing, and singing are to be acquired by practice. The use of foreign languages affords a better means of learning them than do the rules of grammar. Practice, good example, and sympathetic guidance teach us virtue better than do precepts. Piety is instilled by meditation, prayer, and self-examination. As would be expected from the threefold interrelated aim and the encyclopædic content of education, Comenius everywhere in his method intends that all subjects shall be correlated. In particular, he holds: "The study of languages, especially in youth, should be joined to that of objects, that our acquaintance with the objective world and with language, that is to say, our knowledge of facts and our power to express them, may progress side by side." 1 In the matter of discipline, as a natural accompaniment of his improvements in method, Comenius was in advance of his time. He holds that the end of discipline is to prevent a recurrence of the fault, and it must be inflicted in such a way that the pupil will recognize that it is for his own good. Severe punishment must not be administered for a failure in studies, but only for a moral breach, and exhortation and reproof are to be used before resorting to more stringent meas ures. 1 This principle, it has been seen (pp. 28 ff.), Comenius carried out in his series of Latin textbooks. The study of languages to be correlated objects. with that of Discipline ministered only for a should be ad moral breach. To sense real ism Comenius added the endowment of piety. Education The Influence of Comenius upon Education Such was the work of Comenius, who may in the fullest sense be considered a great educational reformer and the real progenitor of modern education. His position grew out of sense realism, but to the encyclopædic content and the natural method of Bacon, Ratich, and others, which he rendered more elaborate, consistent, and rational, he added his natural endowment of innate piety and a sense of the 'brotherhood of man.' Comenius made it evident that education should be a natural, not an artificial and traditional, process in harmony with man's very constitution and destiny, and that a well-rounded training for complete living should be everywhere afforded to all, without regard to sex, social position, or wealth, because of their very humanity. He outlined a regular system of schools and described their grading, and was the first to suggest a training for very Physical edu- young children. He held that bodily vigor and physisense training cal education were essential, and made sense training should be in harmony with one's nature, and should be universal. cation and should be part of the course. All subjects should be correlated. an important part of the course. He further broadened and enriched the entire curriculum by subordinating Latin to the vernacular, and insisting upon geography, history, the elements of all arts and sciences, and such other studies as would fit one for the activities of life. He correlated and coördinated all subjects, and combined even the training in Latin with a knowledge of |