The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius

John Amos Comenius

• Publisher: Bonhopai Books
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781779791818
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

 John Amos Comenius's The Great Didactic stands as one of the most influential educational treatises of the 17th century and a foundational text in the history of pedagogy. Written during an era of religious conflict and intellectual upheaval, the book outlines Comenius's radical vision for universal education based on reason, nature, and the innate dignity of every human being. He believed education should begin at birth and be available to all—regardless of class, gender, or nation—making him a true pioneer of democratic, inclusive schooling. Structured as both philosophy and method, the work discusses how knowledge should be taught in stages aligned with human development, emphasizing sensory experience, repetition, and joy in learning. Comenius advocated instruction in the vernacular and the use of illustrations and real-life examples to make abstract concepts accessible. He also believed that schools should be nurturing environments—not prisons for the mind—and that teachers must be compassionate guides, not authoritarian enforcers. His educational model was spiritual as well as intellectual, seeking to cultivate wisdom, virtue, and reverence for divine order. The Great Didactic influenced generations of thinkers and laid groundwork for modern education systems worldwide. For educators, historians, and philosophers alike, Comenius's work remains a profound call to reform learning not merely as an academic process, but as a sacred and universal human right. 

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• GREETING TO THE READER
• DEDICATORY LETTER
• THE USE OF THE ART OF TEACHING
• CHAPTER I—MAN IS THE HIGHEST, THE MOST ABSOLUTE, AND THE MOST EXCELLENT OF THINGS CREATED
• CHAPTER II—THE ULTIMATE END OF MAN IS BEYOND THIS LIFE
• CHAPTER III—THIS LIFE IS BUT A PREPARATION FOR ETERNITY
• CHAPTER IV—THERE ARE THREE STAGES IN THE PREPARATION FOR ETERNITY: TO KNOW ONESELF (AND WITH ONESELF ALL THINGS); TO RULE ONESELF; AND TO DIRECT ONESELF TO GOD.
• CHAPTER V—THE SEEDS OF THESE THREE (LEARNING, VIRTUE, AND PIETY) ARE NATURALLY IMPLANTED IN US
• CHAPTER VI—IF A MAN IS TO BE PRODUCED, IT IS NECESSARY THAT HE BE FORMED BY EDUCATION
• CHAPTER VII—A MAN CAN MOST EASILY BE FORMED IN EARLY YOUTH, AND CANNOT BE FORMED PROPERLY EXCEPT AT THIS AGE
• CHAPTER VIII—THE YOUNG MUST BE EDUCATED IN COMMON, AND FOR THIS SCHOOLS ARE NECESSARY
• CHAPTER IX—ALL THE YOUNG OF BOTH SEXES SHOULD BE SENT TO SCHOOL
• CHAPTER X—THE INSTRUCTION GIVEN IN SCHOOLS SHOULD BE UNIVERSAL
• CHAPTER XI—HITHERTO THERE HAVE BEEN NO PERFECT SCHOOLS
• CHAPTER XII—IT IS POSSIBLE TO REFORM SCHOOLS
• CHAPTER XIII—THE BASIS OF SCHOOL REFORM MUST BE EXACT ORDER IN ALL THINGS
• CHAPTER XIV—THE EXACT ORDER OF INSTRUCTION MUST BE BORROWED FROM NATURE, AND MUST BE OF SUCH A KIND THAT NO OBSTACLE CAN HINDER IT.
• CHAPTER XV—THE BASIS OF THE PROLONGATION OF LIFE
• CHAPTER XVI—THE UNIVERSAL REQUIREMENTS OF TEACHING AND OF LEARNING; THAT IS TO SAY, A METHOD OF TEACHING AND OF LEARNING WITH SUCH CERTAINTY THAT THE DESIRED RESULT MUST OF NECESSITY FOLLOW.
• CHAPTER XVII—THE PRINCIPLES OF FACILITY IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
• CHAPTER XVIII—THE PRINCIPLES OF THOROUGHNESS IN TEACHING AND IN LEARNING
• CHAPTER XIX—THE PRINCIPLES OF CONCISENESS AND RAPIDITY IN TEACHING
• CHAPTER XX—THE METHOD OF THE SCIENCES, SPECIFICALLY
• CHAPTER XXI—THE METHOD OF THE ARTS
• CHAPTER XXII—THE METHOD OF LANGUAGES
• CHAPTER XXIII—THE METHOD OF MORALS
• CHAPTER XXIV—THE METHOD OF INSTILLING PIETY
• CHAPTER XXV—IF WE WISH TO REFORM SCHOOLS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF TRUE CHRISTIANITY, WE MUST REMOVE FROM THEM BOOKS WRITTEN BY PAGANS, OR, AT ANY RATE, MUST USE THEM WITH MORE CAUTION THAN HITHERTO.
• CHAPTER XXVI—OF SCHOOL DISCIPLINE
• CHAPTER XXVII—OF THE FOURFOLD DIVISION OF SCHOOLS, BASED ON AGE AND ACQUIREMENTS
• CHAPTER XXVIII—SKETCH OF THE MOTHER-SCHOOL
• CHAPTER XXIX—SKETCH OF THE VERNACULAR-SCHOOL
• CHAPTER XXX—SKETCH OF THE LATIN-SCHOOL
• CHAPTER XXXI—OF THE UNIVERSITY
• CHAPTER XXXII—OF THE UNIVERSAL AND PERFECT ORDER OF INSTRUCTION
• CHAPTER XXXIII—OF THE THINGS REQUISITE BEFORE THIS UNIVERSAL METHOD CAN BE PUT INTO PRACTICE
• APPENDIX—THE WORKS OF COMENIUS, ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF COMPOSITION