Page:The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius (1896).pdf/441

 (viii) Physicists, who know the composition of the earth, the force of the elements, the different species of animals, the powers of plants and of minerals, and the structure of the human body, and who, besides knowing these things, can apply them to the various uses of life. Under this head is thus comprised a part of medicine, of agriculture, and of other mechanical arts.

(ix) Geographers, who are well acquainted with the external features of the earth, and know the seas, the islands that are in them, the rivers, and the various kingdoms.

(x) Chronologers, who can fix periods of time, and trace the course of the centuries from the beginning of the world.

(xi) Historians, who possess a fair knowledge of the history of the human race, of the chief empires, and of the Church, and who know the various customs and fortunes of races and of men.

(xii) Moralists, who can draw fine distinctions between the various kinds of virtue and of vice, and who can follow the one and avoid the other. This knowledge they should possess both in its general form and in its special application to the life of the family, of the state, and of the Church.

(xiii) Finally, we wish them to be theologians, who, besides understanding the principles of their faith, can also prove them from the Scriptures.

3. When this course is finished, the youths, even if they have not a perfect knowledge of all these subjects (indeed at their age perfection is impossible, since experience is necessary to complete the theoretical knowledge that they have acquired, and the sea of learning cannot be exhausted in six years), should, at any rate, have laid a solid foundation for any more advanced instruction that they may receive in the future.

4. For the curriculum of six years, six distinct classes will be necessary, the names of which, starting from the lowest, might be as follows:—

The Grammar class.

The Natural Philosophy class.

The Mathematical class.