Comenius and the instructive power of angels

Abstract

Juan Amos Comenius, a Moravian educator of the XVII century, produced several texts about education, philosophy, theology, science, among others. Following the tradition of hermetic, cabalistic and Rosicrucian studies, Comenius considered that the angels are not only guardians, but also teachers, who, in some cases, teach people directly. Starting with the questions raised by the texts of Frances Yates and Maria Lucia Spedo Hilsdorf about this specific angelic trait, we analyze the way that the angels are quoted in six different Comeniu’s books, namely, O labirinto do mundo e o paraíso do coração, Didática magna, Orbis sensualium pictus, A escola da infância, Pampaedia and O único necessário. We conclude that, for Comenius, the angels are an object of knowledge, beings who are present and teach through inspirations and dreams, but in extraordinary situations (and necessary) as the ones they lived, they could do their instructive action in a more incisive and present way. We also point to the inseparability (and continuity) between the questions of the divine and mundane realm in the Comenius’view of knowledge and education.