The labyrinth of the world and the paradise of the heart
The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart (Czech Labyrint světa a ráj srdce ) is an allegorical novel by Johann Amos Comenius , one of his most important works and his most widely read book. The Czech title of the first edition from 1631 is: Labyrint swěta a lusthauz srdce (= The labyrinth of the world and the pleasure house of the heart). Comenius changed the title in the second edition in 1663.
“ The labyrinth of the world and the paradise of the heart ,
that is a clear description of
how in this world and all its things there is nothing but error and confusion, uncertainty and distress, lies and deceit, fear and misery, and ultimately disgust at everything and Despair; and how only he who lives at home in his heart and closes himself off with God alone in it, comes to true and full peace of his soul and joy. "
Origin and publications
When the Protestant Bohemian estates were defeated by the Catholic League in the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 , the persecution of all Protestant denominations in the countries of the Habsburg monarchy began. Comenius, at that time head of the congregation of the Bohemian Brothers in Fulnek and principal of the local Latin school, had to flee and hid in different places in Moravia . An arrest mandate was issued against him, as well as against other preachers of the Brethren. His wife stayed with their firstborn son in Fulnek and gave birth to their second son there. But the city was sacked and pillaged by imperial mercenaries, and his wife and two sons were killed by the plague in 1622 . In one year Comenius lost everything that a person could lose: his wife, his two children, his house and almost his entire library.
In the spring of 1623 he found refuge on the estate of the Moravian nobleman Charles the Elder of Žerotín in Brandýs nad Orlicí . Žerotín was also a member of the Brethren Congregation and was able to offer not only Comenius but also other persecuted church members protection for several years on his estate in the remote East Bohemian valley. Here Comenius fell into a deep grief and depression and at this personal low point he composed his labyrinth of the world and paradise of the heart . It is a consolation script in which he first of all shows in a poetic way how bad and ugly the world is and that man is hopelessly lost in it. But with the help of his unshakable faith in God, Comenius - the wanderer through the world - finally finds his way out of his depression and receives the longed-for rest and peace in Christ.
Comenius wrote the first version in 1623 and he edited and added to the book several times in the following years. The first edition appeared in 1631, probably in Pirna, Saxony . A copy from 1623, revised and annotated by Comenius, with a dedication to Charles the Elder of Žerotín, survived for centuries in a library in Wrocław ; it is now in the University Library in Prague . The first and second editions (Pirma 1631, Amsterdam 1663) are also preserved in libraries in the Czech Republic .
The labyrinth , like the other writings of Comenius, was forbidden as heretical in his homeland during the Counter Reformation . The labyrinth was printed (together with its consolation writings Kšaft umírající matky, Jednoty bratrské and Truchlivý ) by exiled Czechs in Berlin in 1757 and secretly distributed among the evangelicals living in secret in Bohemia and Moravia. In Prague the labyrinth was not printed until 1782, immediately after the tolerance patent of 1781. Another 53 Czech editions followed by 1988. In German the book was printed four times between 1760 and 1787, then again in 1871. New translation in German by Irina Trend, Burgdorf 1992, in A + O Verlag. Further editions followed: Hungarian (first 1805), Russian (1896), English (1900), French (1906), Portuguese (1917), Dutch (1926), Slovak (1952), Norwegian (1955), also Polish, Serbian and Spanish.
content of the book
In the dedication letter, Comenius himself gives a brief synopsis:
“ The first part of the same describes the vain game of the world, how it zealously does nothing but trivial things and how everything finally turns miserable into tears or becomes mocked. The second part describes, partly uncovered, partly in allegorical garb, the true and lasting happiness of the children of God: how blessed are those who have turned away from this world and its affairs and are only attached to God, indeed have completely united with him. "
The theme of the book is the search for what the deeper meaning of human existence is, its work and toil. It consists of two parts. In the first part (chapters 1–36) the author wanders through the world and realizes that everything is in vain and without any real meaning. In the second part (chapters 37-54) he finds a way out by turning to his own heart, where he finds God. In a close, intimate relationship with God he finds peace and an answer to his search.
First part (chapters 1–36)
The world is described in an allegory as a city resembling a labyrinth . The wanderer (narrator - author) enters them. He wants to find the ultimate meaning of human existence and take up the appropriate profession.
One enters the city through the gate of life (birth), followed by the gate of the choice of profession (profession and class are assigned). The city has a central place and six main streets, they represent the six objects: Marital status (family), commercial status (trade and commerce), scholars state , the spiritual state , the government and the knighthood (soldiers). The poorly accessible Arx Fortunae (Castle of Happiness) rises above the city , where people striving for wealth, lust and fame seek to get.
In the first part ( Labyrinth of the World ) join the hikers two companions: the source added (with nickname Everywhere Here ), an allegory of human curiosity, and blindness , Allegory of the inertia of thinking and the imperfection of knowledge. His companions put on him the bridle of cheek and the glasses of delusion so that he can be guided and so that he can only see a distorted picture of the world. But the glasses sit a little crooked, so that he can see the real world out of the corner of his eye.
The guides lead the hiker through all the streets of the city so that he can observe all the stands and find something suitable for himself. You are constantly trying to convince him that this world is sensibly ordered and beautiful. On the other hand, he sees only deception, futility, bondage, misery and intrigue everywhere. At the end of his hike he is desperate. Nowhere has he found a place that gives him the peace and sense of work he longed for. At the end he is led before the queen of this world, wisdom . But here, too, the hiker recognizes that it is only about apparent wisdom, the "wisdom of this world". Here he meets King Solomon , but he is outwitted and seduced by wisdom.
The first part of the book is inspired by the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes , traditionally attributed to King Solomon. It also begins with a motto from Pred. Cape. 1, verse 14: "I saw everything that was done under the sun, and, behold, it was all vain and chasing after the wind." The book Ecclesiastes is quoted or paraphrased in several places . And both works have the same point: Nothing in this world has any real value, not even wisdom (i.e. wisdom of this world).
Second part (chapters 37-54)
While the Old Testament Solomon finds no solution for the desperate human situation in his book Preacher (because Solomon was also outwitted and deceived by the wisdom of this world), the wanderer - the author - finds the solution in the figure of Jesus Christ and in the close relationship to him. He flees into the chamber of his heart, where God calls him. There he is visited by Christ himself, who shows him the true meaning of his life.
As a transformed one he can now join the true invisible church and get a new view of the world. He throws off the glasses of delusion and sees the world through new glasses, these are the Word of God and the Holy Spirit . He also throws away the bridle of cheekiness and puts on a new bridle - that is obedience to God. The six estates are described again, but now the true Christians there perform their duties in peace and in harmony with the will of God.
The book closes with a hymn extolling the glory, beauty and love of God.
Comenius took the inspiration for the second part from the New Testament , especially from the Gospels , from which he often quotes. Some longer passages are paraphrases of New Testament texts. Comenius also had some thoughts from St. Augustin taken over, z. B. on the visible and invisible church and he quotes (chap. 54) from the confessions of St. Augustine.
Poetic stylistic devices
Comenius writes in a richly embellished poetic language. He describes the world of his time in a shrewd and witty way. He uses onomatopoeia and word chains. Some word chains were already mentioned in the title, the links of which are connected by "and". Not counting these, 582 word strings with 3 to 13 links can be found in the labyrinth . His word chains are not just a combination of words with a similar meaning ( synonyms ). Comenius also uses stylistic devices of alliteration (identical sound of the word beginnings) and Homoioteleuta (identical sound of the word ends).
" Pounding and hammering, rolling and rattling, creaking and snarling, whistling, whizzing and roaring "
The richness of his language is difficult to preserve through translation into foreign languages or through translation into today's Czech. Modern editions therefore often contain detailed explanations of the terms used in the original.
reception
The labyrinth is one of the so-called consolation writings by Comenius and was of great importance for the Bohemian and Moravian exiles. This is shown by a song verse from Vyhnanci (German: The Displaced ), which is attributed to the exiles from the time of the Thirty Years' War :
“ Nevzali jsme s sebou nic, po všem je veta!
jen Biblí Kralickou, labyrinth světa. "
German:
“ We took nothing with us, everything is over,
only the Kralitz Bible and the labyrinth of the world. "
This song was probably not actually sung by the exiles of the 17th century, but only composed and put into their mouths in the first decades of the 19th century. "But also as fictional poetry it makes clear how vividly after two centuries the togetherness of the Czech exiles with the Kralitz Bible and the labyrinth was felt."
Individual evidence
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↑ a b c The labyrinth of the world and the paradise of the heart , translated by Zdenko Baudnik, Diederichs, Jena 1908. Digitized edition
and in a 2007 edition in the catalog of the German National Library - ↑ January Kumpera: Jan Amos Comenius, Poutník na rozhraní věků . Amosium Servis, Ostrava 1992, ISBN 80-85498-03-0 , p. 46-47 (Czech, 372 pp.).
- ↑ Article by Jiri Polma (Czech)
- ↑ a b January Kumpera: Jan Amos Comenius, Poutník na rozhraní věků . Amosium Servis, Ostrava 1992, ISBN 80-85498-03-0 , p. 256 (Czech, 372 pp.).
- ↑ January Kumpera: Jan Amos Comenius, Poutník na rozhraní věků . Amosium Servis, Ostrava 1992, ISBN 80-85498-03-0 , p. 158, 161, 253 (Czech, 372 pp.).
- ^ Afterword by Klaus Schaller in: Johann Amos Comenius: Das Labyrinth der Welt und other masterpieces , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt München, Klaus Schaller (Ed.), 2004, ISBN 3-421-05256-5 , p. 448
- ^ A b Afterword by Klaus Schaller in: Johann Amos Comenius: The labyrinth of the world and other masterpieces . Ed .: Klaus Schaller. Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-421-05256-5 , pp. 444-445 (461 pp.).
literature
- The book in German: Johann Amos Comenius: The labyrinth of the world and other masterpieces , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt Munich, Klaus Schaller (Ed.), 2004 ISBN 3-421-05256-5
- The book in German: Jan Amos Komenský: Labyrinth of the world and paradise of the heart. Translated from the Czech by Irina Trend . A + O Verlag, Burgdorf (Switzerland) 1992, ISBN 3-905086-00-X (195 pages). on-line
- Jan Kumpera: Jan Amos Komenský, Poutník na rozhraní věků (= Johann Amos Comenius, wanderer in the upheaval of times) . Amosium Servis, Ostrava 1992, ISBN 80-85498-03-0 , p. 256-257 (Czech, 372 pp.).
