Page:The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart.pdf/51

Rh words after they have become "true Christians," a term which, to Komensky, always meant a member of the Unity. Yet such criticism is founded on an inadequate conception of Komensky's purpose when he wrote the "Labyrinth." It was not his intention to extol earthly life, even that of the most God-fearing pietist, but to enlarge on the vileness of the world, and to contrast with it the perfect happiness of those who in heaven are united with God.

Though Komensky's works, and the "Labyrinth"—his masterpiece—in particular, have been the object of much interest since the revival of Bohemian literature, yet a critical study of the "Labyrinth," dealing fully with all philological, historical, artistic, and other questions connected with it, is still a desideratum. It is not, therefore, yet quite certain what chapters of the "Labyrinth" formed part of the book as first written, and what are later editions. Dr. Flajshans, in his excellent "Pisemnictvi Ceske," (i.e. Bohemian Literature) suggests that chapters to  did not form part of the book as written at Brandeis, though they already appear in the first printed edition of 1631. The description of a shipwreck in chapter, founded on Komensky's own experience, first appears in the Amsterdam edition of 1663.

It may be of interest to refer to the various editions and translations of the "Labyrinth." They are by no means numerous, if we consider the value of the book. It must, however, be remembered that the suppression of Komensky's creed in