Page:Englishhistorica36londuoft.djvu/629

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

1921 SHORT NOTICES 621 1920). Hartlib is probably best known to-day from the fact that he was the man to whom John Milton addressed his tractate Of Education. He was par excellence the great encourager of educational effort and thought. It was he who urged John Dury to write The Reformed School. William Petty associates his Advancement of some particular parts of Learning with Hartlib. So, George Snell, The Right Teaching of Useful Knowledge. And, again, Hezekiah Woodward wrote his Light to Grammar and all other Arts and Sciences at Hartlib's entreaty. But, most noteworthy, it was Hartlib who introduced John Amos Comenius to English readers. It was he probably who induced the parliament to invite Comenius to this country, with a view to organize (if this be not too strong a term) education in England. Though a foreigner, his educational influence in England was unparalleled. As Masson says : ' Everybody knew Hartlib.' In his con- vinced belief ' schools are to be looked upon as the main Foundation of a Reformed Commonwealth, without which no other work of Reformation will ever be effectual Schools should be provided, according to Hartlib, for ' the vulgar ', for ' the gentry ', for scholars, and for the ' sons of the Prophets ', or seminaries for the ministry of religion. J. A. Comenius, John Dury, and Samuel Hartlib were an educational triumvirate who bound themselves to act in common in matters educational. Their plan, substantially, was the reunion of the churches throughout Europe, and the promulgation of schemes for common aims and methods of education, on a puritan basis parallel with the churches. They were, in fact, educa- tional internationalists of an evangelical type. Dr. Turnbull examines, in a very exact and comprehensive piece of research, the relations between the two, Hartlib and Comenius. He introduces John Dury, but in view of his close relations with Hartlib with scarcely sufficient treatment. Hartlib, of course, has received a good deal of attention. But Dr. Turn- bull has certainly done excellent service in bringing together all the facts gathered by others as to Hartlib's life, and has succeeded in adding a considerable amount of further detail. We are glad that he has brought forward to English readers the substance of Joseph Webbe's two letters, and in the appendix appears William Brooke's criticism of Webbe's use of the ' clausulary ' method of teaching languages, which is of considerable pedagogic interest. Dr. Turnbuli's monograph throws valuable light on Hartlib's proposals for an ' Office of Address ', an international bureau, for communication ' in matters of the mind ' amongst the scholars and teachers, as well as thinkers and men of progressive ideas. F. W. Mr. Edgar Prestage has added to his valuable contributions to Portu- guese diplomatic history A Embaixada de Tristdo de Mendonga Furtado a Holanda em 1641 (Coimbra : Imprensa da Universidade, 1920), in which he works out clearly the story of the mission which concluded the truce of 1641, the first mission of King John IV to the Dutch after the Restora- tion. Although he has been unable to find more than one letter of the ambassador himself, he prints as appendixes a narrative and a later justification of the truce by the secretary Antonio de Sousa de Tavares, the relevant extracts from the French diplomatic records and the Portu-