Laborum coronis

Laborum scholasticorum Patakini obitorum coronis sermone valedictoriô ad scholam Patakinam ejusque   solertes D.D. scholarchas et visitatores generosorumque et reverendorum magnam panegyrin habitô imposita anno 1654, Junii 2.

The crowing of scholastic labour undertaken at Sárospatak, set forth in a farewell speech given to the Sárospatak school, its ingenious administrators and supervisors and the formal assembly of noble and revered gentlemen in the year 1654 on June 2nd

Origin of the work:
  1654 Sárospatak

Editions:
  (1654 Sárospatak), undated, no place of publication given, in: Primitiae laborum scholasticorum

1657 Amsterdam, in: Latinitatis schola triclassis

1657 Amsterdam, Opera didactica omnia III

1894 Prague, in the collection Řeči potocké, Czech translation by J. V. Novák

1915 Brno, Veškeré spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. IX

1957 Prague, Opera didactica omnia III (phototype edition)

1957 Prague, in: J. A. Comenius scholarum novi ordinis formator. J. A. Komenský tvůrce nového uspořádání škol (in Latin and Czech; Czech translation by M. Klučka)

1960 Prague, Vybrané spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. II, Czech translation by M. Klučka

Contents:

With the death of Sigismund Rákóczi on February 4^th 1652 Comenius lost the main adherent of his didactic endeavours at Sárospatak, and decided to leave. The prophecy of Mikuláš Drabík that the year 1654 would bring political upheavals, however, induced him to remain and continue to devote himself to reorganising the Sárospatak school. Although he spent the year in fruitless attempts to reform the school, the prophecy was not fulfilled, and the counsellors of the new prince had no understanding of scholastic affairs. Comenius therefore made the definitive decision to leave. On June 2^nd 1654 he bade farewell to Sárospatak with this moving speech. He initially recalls the task for which he was originally called to Sárospatak, following this with a thorough and self-critical assessment of the work carried out, from the points of view of language training, general education and moral instruction; he notes that his efforts met with a lack of understanding, and expresses the hope that after his departure the school will not collapse, as some had adjudged, but will flourish if all concerned – the school’s administrators, teachers and pupils – seek to have it do so. For this reason, he uses the conclusion, full of pathos, to call upon all present to accept his ideas, continue with them, and bring the work he begun to its climax.

For further study, see also:

Vybrané spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. II. Prague 1960, pp484-485

J. V. Novák & J. Hendrich, Jan Amos Komenský, jeho život a spisy. Prague 1932, pp487-488

Veškeré spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. IX. Brno 1915, p46l

Jan Kumpera, J. A. Komenský, poutník na rozhraní věků. Prague & Ostrava 1992, p255