Praecepta morum

Praecepta morum in usum juventutis collecta

Precepts of conduct established for the young

Origin of the work:
1653 Sárospatak

Editions:
  1657 Amsterdam, Opera didactica omnia III

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 J. Kopecký and M. Klučka)

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

Contents:

In earlier times schools concerned themselves with the courteous and refined behaviour of pupils through the setting out of moral codes, drawn up either by themselves or copied from elsewhere. Such regulations were also created by Comenius for the students at the Sárospatak school. His Praecepta morum briefly considers first the behaviour of pupils generally, physical appearance, social bearing, care for the body, dress, gaits and manners of speaking, before moving on to behaviour throughout the day from morning to evening, in school, in personal relationships, in churches and during meals, entertainments and games. The majority of these instructions hold true today, although others are conditioned by the lower level of the social culture of them time, as for instance when considering blowing the nose and satisfying bodily needs, things which are now regarded as self-evident.

For further study, see also:

Vybrané spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. II. Prague 1960, pp482-483

Jan Kumpera, Jan Amos Komenský, poutník na rozhraní věků. Prague & Ostrava 1992, p287