From the pen of
When you think of major influencers of Western Civilization or education, names come to mind like Descartes, Erasmus, Kant, Locke, Milton, Newton, Pascal, and Socrates. Many other contributors could be named for sure. However, the above list does not misrepresent a top echelon of personages who shaped the way we think in culture and society today. What amazes me is that while John Amos Comenius…
What We Owe Comenius Read Post »
From the pen of
John Amos Comenius was known to have been a writing phenom, having more than 140 published works and 40 more unfinished. It is a serious question as to why he chose allegory as his first major writing project. This art form is challenging to pull off in long-form, such as Labyrinth, and he was a relatively young author.
From the pen of
The first five chapters of Comenius’s epic story are a mere 14 pages in this new edition. One could read this section in a mere 20 minutes—even if you were one of the slowest readers in the world. There is nothing fancy about them, yet they are laden with sinister clues, intrigue, and a level of fascination. Finally, Comenius has you confined to the stewpot of his story; he places you over the fire and has thrown on the kindling.
Enter Comenius’s Labyrinth Read Post »
From the pen of
Understanding an author is almost as important as reading what they wrote. In the case of The Labyrinth of the World -and- The Paradise of the Heart, such is an indispensable approach. John Amos Comenius was multifaceted and complex of a writer as any ever was. Unfortunately, this can present difficulty in understanding him, which will short sell our understanding of his first major work: Labyrinth of the World.
Two Kingdoms: How Comenius Understood it Read Post »
From the pen of
In 2020, when I seriously considered adapting Labyrinth of the World, I was first discouraged by one scholar with some relatively strong opinions. The import of his investigative questioning was that there was no value in any work not directly translated from the Czech into English. Yet, after four prior attempts to invent that wheel, I did not figure using that same approach was the way to go. This post is about my motives for adapting The Labyrinth of the World, which is also articulated more extensively in the Front Matters of the new edition of this book.
I Chose to Adapt Labyrinth of the World Read Post »
