Lector salve!
John Amos Comenius was a Czech scholar who lived in the 17th century and is regarded as a founding father of modern language pedagogy. Ahead of his time, Comenius believed that foreign languages are not learned by memorizing grammar rules or vocabulary, but by using them in everyday situations. He regarded speaking, listening, reading, and writing as the main “channels” through which a language is learned – a theory that gained widespread recognition in the 20th century.
To prove his theory, Comenius authored a series of textbooks for teaching the Latin language. These are as useful today as they have ever been. Most of today’s Latin textbooks are no match for Comenius’ works because they are either very basic or center around grammar rules – the very approach that Comenius criticized in the 17th century. If you are a beginner, the modern textbooks are a good starting point, but if you want to proceed to the advanced level, you need Comenius.
This website was created to give everyone access to Comenius’ Latin textbooks in full text format. Read them, work with them, and bring your Latin to the next level!
Wonder where to start? See the Instructions.