n that of Ratke or Bacon, there remains no room for
doubt. Compayre says, "The character of Comenius equals his
intelligence. Through a thousand obstacles he devoted his long life to
the work of popular instruction. With a generous ardor he consecrated
himself to infancy. He wrote twenty works and taught in twenty cities.
Moreover, he was the first to form a definite conception of what the
elementary studies should be."[102]

Bacon gave the inspiration and Comenius worked the truth into practical
form; Bacon invented a new theory of scientific investigation, Comenius
employed that theory in education; Bacon originated and Comenius
applied. This does not detract from the merit of Comenius any more than
his work detracts from the merit of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, or Horace
Mann, all of whom gathered inspiration from him.

=Summary of the Work of Comenius.=--(1) He was the author of the first
illustrated text-book, the "Orbis Pictus."[103] The cost of
illustrations was for a long time a serious barrier to their general
adoption in schoolbooks; but modern inventions and improvements have
removed this obstacle, and many of the text-books of to-day are as
valuable for their illustrations as for their text. The "Orbis Pictus"
appeared in 1658.

(2) In his "Great Didactic," he presents a scheme for general
organization of the school system which covers the first twenty-four
years of life. It divides this time into four equal periods of six
years, each as follows:--

1. _Infancy_, or the mother school, from birth up to six years of age.

2. _Boyhood_, the vernacular or national school, from six to twelve.

3. _Adolescence_, the _Gymnasium_ or Latin school, from twelve to
eighteen.

4. _Youth_, the university (including travel), from eighteen to
twenty-four.

"The infant school should be found in every house, the vernacular school
in every village and community, the gymnasium in every province, and the
university in every kingdom or large province." This scheme, with
variation of details, forms the basis of present school systems: first,
the period in the home with the mother till six; second, the period of
general education in the common school, from six to twelve or fourteen;
third, the period of preparation for the professional schools, from
twelve or fourteen to eighteen; and fourth, the professional or
university course, from eighteen to twenty-four. The last is usually
divided into a college and a university course.