Page:The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius (1896).pdf/247



1. To cure deep-seated maladies is difficult and often well-nigh impossible. But if any one offer an efficacious remedy, does the sick man reject his services? Does he not rather wish to obtain aid as quickly as possible, and especially if he think that the physician is guided not by mere opinion but by solid reason? We, at any rate, in this our undertaking, have reached the point at which we must make plain (1) what we actually promise, and (2) on what principles we intend to proceed.

2. We promise, then, such a system of education that

All the young shall be educated (except those to whom God has denied understanding).

And in all those subjects which are able to make a man wise, virtuous, and pious.

That the process of education, being a preparation for life, shall be completed before maturity is reached.

(iv) That this education shall be conducted without blows, rigour, or compulsion, as gently and pleasantly as possible, and in the most natural manner (just as a living body increases in size without any straining or forcible extension of the limbs; since if food, care, and exercise are properly supplied, the body grows and becomes strong, gradually, imperceptibly, and of its own accord. In the same way I maintain that nutriment, care, and exercise,