Comenius, Millenarianism, and the Project of a Universal Language. John Amos Comenius, “Via Lucis, Chap. XIX, The Foundation of the Universal Language”, Trans. from Latin and Comm. by Anton V. Karabykov

Abstract

The Russian studies of John Amos Comenius’ works rarely go beyond the limits of history of pedagogy. Meanwhile, the Czech thinker’s legacy is wide and mul­tifaceted. The aim of the article is to explore a linguo-philosophic aspect of his teaching subjected to goals of global reform of the world in a context of Come­nius’ eschatological views. It is shown that the aspect was developed in a form of the “universal culture of language”. Main directions of that culture and their or­ganization according to which relatively simple and feasible projects devoted to cultivation of national as well as classic languages were subordinated to the most difficult and problematic one, namely creation of a universal, purely rational and artificial language, are considered. The system of beliefs and presumptions un­derlying that ultimate scheme is analyzed: firstly, its core including epistemic and theological convictions shared by Comenius with other designers and sup­porters of universal language schemes, and, secondly, its periphery which com­prised religious and metaphysic views distinguishing the Czech reformer’s modus cogitandi. The research is supplemented with a translation of the chapter XIX ‘The foundation of the Universal language’ of Comenius’ important treatise ‘The Way of Light’ (Via Lucis) (publ. 1668).