Komenský in »čas skrajnosti« pri Slovencih 1: Velika didaktika in Komenský v zadnji izdaji

Abstract

Komenský and “Age of Extremes” among Slovenes 1: Didactica magna (The Great Didactic) and Komenský in its latest Edition The discussion presents a semantic, rhetorical, historiographical, methodological and editorial analysis of the only edition of Jan Amos Komenský’s fundamental work in the modern Slovene language—Didactica magna or The Great Didactic (Sl. Velika didaktika, Novo mesto, 1995)—that was met with reception (i.e., was accessible to the public). The analysis suggests that this edition—for reasons unexplained—lacks the basic determinants of scientific work and thus cannot be a valid ground for the reception of Jan Amos Komenský, either for the reader-expert or for the general reader. From the editorial point of view, the edition does not provide clear information about the original text, and there is no editorial report or comment on individual passages of the original / translation, e.g. unravelling citations in the original—all of which have been the standard knowledge repertoire of scientific editions of sources, even scholarly critical editions of translations since the early 19th century. The edition is not based on the scientific publication Dílo Jana Amose Komenského 15/1 (Academia: Praha, 1986), which since its publication has been the primary textual base for every reader-expert’s understanding of The Great Didactic and a mandatory textual starting point for re-creative reception in the form of translation. The analysed edition does not include comments, and since it only provides translation without any additional knowledge apparatus, it cannot be considered as popularizing either. The current situation impedes a full reception of Komenský and indicates the need to prepare a new critical translated edition of his selected didactic writings, where optimal results could be achieved by collaboration of experts from various disciplines (different branches of historiography, didactics, pedagogy, history of science). The edition should be 1) written in modern literary language and based on the historical-critical edition of Dílo Jana Amosa Komenského. 2) It should include selected fundamental didactic writings of Komenský, 3) obligatory editorial and translation report, 4) explanatory comments and translations, and 5) European studies on Komenský in his time, as well as 6) discussions on the reception of Komenský in Slovenia. Keywords: Komenský (Comenius), Didactica magna (The Great Didactic), reception, editology, edition