Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart [Paperback]

Johann Amos Comenius (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 1992

What you will read, dear reader, is no fable, even though it may have the appearance of one. It describes real life, as you will perceive when you have gained insight into it." "Fare you well, my dear Christian, and may the leader of light, the Holy Spirit, reveal to you, better than I am able to do, the vanity of the world, as well as the true glory, consolation, and the joy of the elect and God-united hearts." John Amos Comenius. "Comenius's delightful allegory Labyrinth of the World may fitly take its place among the great dramatizations of the ever vital message of mysticism, or with such allegories as the English religious classic, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress." "Comenius shows himself, in this work, a genuine mystic in the succession of Plotinus, Augustine, Meister Eckhart, Garard Groote, and Thomas a Kempis. The message of his work is a dramatized presentation of the eternal theme of all mysticism. The Kingdom of God is within you.

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Language Notes

Text: English, Czech (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC (November 18, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564592936
• ISBN-13: 978-1564592934
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,863,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learn to live in the labyrinth without despair!, October 15, 1997

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[e-mail] (Bergen, Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart (Paperback)

J. A. Comenius: "The Labyrinth of the world and the paradise of the heart" (1623) Comenius gives a representation of his own life experiences in the 17th century. But "The Labyrinth" are in my opinion relevant also to-day, when educators discuss the present situation in our society and culture. Comenius confronts us with a series of critical questions. Examples: Chapter 7.4 : What is the true nature of man, behind the masks, behind the roles? Chapter 7.6 and 9.7-8 : Are the things we do and the things we produce and consume really useful and necessary? Chapter 7.8 : Are our physical surroundings, our institutions and social structures organized to prevent our fellow beings from stumbling and falling? Are we cynical to others and insensitive to the suffering of others? Comenius is not naively optimistic. He describes life as a labyrinth, a more difficult one than the classical Greek model. The entrance is our birth, the exit is our death. Both are blurred in darkness. People are moving towards the east, to the castle of Fortuna, to Happiness seen as wealth, pleasures and honour, and to the queen of the world: "Her Most Gracious Queen Wisdom", in Chapter 33.1 unveiled as Vanity, with painted, swollen face, a foul breath and a disgusting body. The pilgrim in "The Labyrinth" has two "helpers": the inquisitive guide "Find-out-everything" and the interpreter "Mirage" who is blurring all problems by soothing words, so the problems seem to be harmless. Both are the Queen's men. The pilgrim is tempted by the first to a mania for novelty, continuously inquiring new problems; by the second he is tempted to resign, to be satisfied by half-truths. However, he resists seduction by these helpers, thanks to his own personal view. He is not always looking through the glasses they have given him, and therefore he is not led astray by superficial inquiry or accumulated "wisdom". Everywhere searching "the highest good", summum bonum, (Preface to "The Labyrinth"), he finds only a terrible truth: Nothing in life is absolutely good. The famous Czech humanist, Jan Patocka (Die Philosophie der Erziehung des J.A. Comenius, 1971), interprets "The Labyrinth" as a pretheoretical myth or story, anticipating modern existential analysis: Our minds are scattered and directed by others. We fail to comprehend ourselves and try to run away from ourselves and our limited existence. When, in his despair, the pilgrim finally cries to God, though he is not sure of God's existence, he is awakened by a voice calling him to go into his own heart. There he finds an inner ruin akin to the rotten situation in the labyrinth. But to this chaotic heart, Christ comes as a guest, and the personal appearance of Christ immediately attracts the pilgrim. A relationship of trust is founded. He therefore opens his ears to listen to the words of Christ. He is initiated in Christian practice and teaching, makes a total conversion to God, gives his senses, reason, heart and will to God and joins the invisible fellowship of believers. For them all things are relative, except one: to keep the good relationship with God. Therefore the pilgrim gets new glasses through which it is easier to see the vanity in the world and the joy in God. The frame is the Bible, and the lens is the Holy Spirit. (Chapter 36-41). I think we misunderstand "The Paradise of the Heart" by interpreting it as a way out of "The Labyrinth", if this is understood as a way to complete openness. In my reading of "The Paradise of the Heart", I have not found this notion of "getting out of the labyrinth". On the contrary, Comenius' clear message is that the labyrinth has to loose its power within our heart (Chapter 37 and 38). We are not leaving the labyrinth, but the labyrinth should no longer be allowed to occupy and govern us (Chapter 43). If Christ is God, the absolute true and good, he is able to amend the inner labyrinth of man. He creates order within, and gives man strength to live in the world, live in the outer labyrinth without resignation, facing the problems in a flexible and fruitful way. If Christ is not God, then Comenius' insistence on a total surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ (Chapter 38.3 and 39.3), the crucified (Chapter 50.4), is just another variant of fanaticism. Stein M. Wivestad