John Amos Comenius - The Labyrinth of the World and The Paradise of the Heart, 1905

Page 280

NOTE

^lo different

works of Andrea

weakens

It is not Criegern's argument. enter into this matter here. It

is

Dr

von

purpose to

my

certain that

chapter of the "Labyrinth" is Httle but a paraphrase of the opening part of Andrea's the

first

"Peregrinus," that the pilgrim's

visit

to the

philosophers (chap, xi.) is largely founded on a passage of Andrea's *' Mythologia Christiana,"

and that his visit to the Rosicrucians i is mainly copied from Andrea's writings concerning that 2 Yet tliis but slightly detracts from community. It has Komensky's originality of thought. already been noted that the conceit of a pilgrim travelling through the world, as well as the conception of an ideal city, are world-old ideas

which belonged to Komensky, as rightly as to " Andrea, whose Republicas Christianopolitanae "

as I have already is, Descriptio " Civitas Solis." adaptation of the

noted,

Even

an

at a

slight glance at Andrea's ponderous writings, it will be seen how Komensky has enriched and

he borrowed from von Criegern goes so far as to declare that even the pessimism of the " Labyvivified those conceptions that

him.

Dr

1 De Ouincy, in his " Historico-Critical Inquiry into the Origin of the Rosicrucians and Freemasons," has conjectured that Andrea himself was the originator, or at least the reviver, of that community. His armorial bearings a St Andrew's Cross and four roses were undoubtedly their emblem. 2 little Komensky feared the accusation of plagiarism is proved by the fact that he gives the name of one of Andrea's books, *' Fama RosjBorum," to one of the divisions of chapter xiii. This, according to the custom of the day, was equivalent to declaring the passage to be a quotation.

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