Orbis Pictus by John Comenius

[Judith Crabb]

I quite enjoyed my Latin lessons in high school sixty years ago but thought I remembered hardly anything except a couple of declensions and the 'Caesar adsum iam forte, Brutus (or was it Pompey) aderat' joke. 'Orbis Sensualium Pictus', (The Visible World) first published in the mid seventeenth century, was designed as a book to teach general knowledge and the Latin language to pre-grammar-school children, with pictures on every page. It was published first in German and Latin. There are many facsimiles of different editions. I'm reading a facsimile of the twelfth edition in English and Latin (1777). On the left is the English, on the right is the Latin corresponding and above both texts is the woodcut illustration of the text. Living through the ghastly Thirty Years' War, Comenius believed that in education lay hope for peace. The book was a huge best-seller for almost 200 years. I'm afraid the Comenius would be disappointed that his best efforts were in vain. However I'm sure a lot of children must have been grateful to learn from such an entertaining volume. I find that I can still pronounce Latin - at least as I was taught it - maybe my efforts would not be intelligible to Comenius!