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8vo, 171 x 107 mms., pp. [xxiv], 211 [212 blank, 213 - 214 index], [66 "Clavis ad Portam," name obscured with ink on title-page.with separate title-page in English, dated 1739 following Latin, "The Gate of Tongues unlocked and opened.," garishly rebound in quarter red-brown morocco, title in gilt on spine, Cockerell boards. The Czech philosopher John Amos Comenius (1592 - 1670) was an important educator and theologian in 17th century Europe, one of his innovations being that of using native language and graphics for school textbooks rather than Latin. "Comenius's Janua linguarum was one of the most successful pedagogical works of the seventeenth century. Initially published in 1631, it was soon translated into a number of European languages, and quickly came to the attention of Samuel Hartlib, who began a correspondence with Comenius in 1632, and published several of his works. Hartlib was unable to obtain the profits of John Anchoran's English-Latin-French edition of 1633 for Comenius, but was more closely involved in the bilingual English-Latin edition of Thomas Horne (1610 54), published in 1636. Horne's translation was revised by John Robotham and by 'W. D.', whom Anthony Wood identified as William Dugard (Athenae Oxonienses, vol. 2, p.106), and went through a total of ten editions by 1659. Originally intended as a first reader, for teaching Latin and the vernacular, the Janua linguarum evolved into a thesaurus, many parts of which were devoted to practical information about daily life and the natural world. It was structured into one hundred chapters, each on a different theme, originally made up of one thousand sentences which drew on about eight thousand of the most common Latin words. As it expanded, the linguistic content of the Janua linguarum became more complex, but its careful philosophical structure was preserved. This began with the creation of the four elements, and the nature of the earth, plants and animals, and moved on to human anatomy and physiology before discussing rustic and mechanical arts, philosophy, civil society, and, finally, religion and divine providence" (The Tower Catalogue Number 39, mhs.ox.ac.uk). Seller Inventory # 9779
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