Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-21
Kane's Home Life.
From the Introduction TO Max Mu,ler's Translation
Kant.

Kant.
The extraordinary uniformity of Rants life
renders it possible to draw picture of one day
which may serve as type of thousands. Every
morning about five minutes before o'clock his
servant Iampe entered the bedroom and called
Kant with the words. at is time" (Es ist Ztif).
Uniformly. and without exception Con the testi-
mOny of the servant himself. the call was Obcyed,
and at O'Clock Kant was in his sitting-roOm or
study. His sole refreshment was one cup OF
tea sometimes uuconsciously increased to
two). and a single pipe of tobacco. Up to Z
O'Clock he continued to prepare for his lectures
At o'clock he descended to his lecture room.
whence he returned at 0. Thereafter he devoted
himself during the rest of the morning to his lit
erary labors. at & quarter before o'clock he
rose and called out to the cook st is tlrce-quar-
ters!" whereupOn she brought the liquor which
he was to drink after the first course had been
served. At dinner for the last twenty years of his
Iiie-durinG which he occupied house of
his Own-he always had guests-never, if DOS
sible, less than two, aud seldom, If ever more
than five. (The limit of six was due to the fact
that his plate. etc. was provided for O party of
that number.) These guests were invited on
the morning of the day On which they were to
dine Qor Kant either knew the rudencss of
more general invitations, or did not wish his
friends to feel themselves bound by length
ened and formal engagement.) But one thing
Kant expected from his guests, aud that was
punctuaiity. AS soon az the number was COM
riete Lampe entered and announced that the
soup was on the table. The guests proceeded
to the dining-room, talking Of no subject more
profound than the weather. Kant took his
napkin, and with the words, 'NOw, gentlemen
(hnm, meme Hs-reaa), set the example of help
ing himself from the dish set in the midst of
the table. The dinner usually consisted of
three courses-in which fish and vegetables
generally formed paPt-and ended with wine
and dessert. The dinner and its concomitants
lasted from to 4, and sometimes even to 5
O'Clock. Politics was frequent subject of con-
versatiOn, but anything of the nature Of meta
physics was vigorously excluded. According to
Kant the conversation at dinner goes through
three stages-narration, discussion and lest.
When the third stage ended, at f. Kant went
out for his constitutional walk. In later years.
at least after 17S5, this was q solitary prom
cnade.
He had never been strong-never i'll. and vet
never thoroughly well. His chest was flat,
almost hollow, with slight defOrmity in the
right shoulder. which made his head stoop a
little on that side. All his life through he had
managed to keep himself in health by persistent
adherence to certain maxims Of diet and
regimen. One of these was that the germs of
disease might often be avoided if the breath.
ing were Systematically carried on by the nose;
| and for that reason Kant always in his later
! years walked alone with mouth closed He was
stroll was along the banks of the Pregel toward
the Friedrich's Fort; but this s0-called Philoso-
phendamm haa in modern Konigsberg given
place to the railway station and other atera-
tons. Other walks were to the northwest OF
the town, where his friend Hippel. the chief
magistrate (Oberburgermeister) had done much
to embefiish the envirOns by new paths and
gardens. On returning from his walk he
set to wOrk-perhaps first of all arranging any
little matters Of business, reading any novelties
in the way OF books, or possibly the newspapers,
for which his appetite is always keen. AS the
darkness began to fall. he would take his seat
at the stove, and with his eye fixed on the tower
OF Lobelicht Church would ponder on the prob
lens which exercised his mind One evening
however. as he looked, a change had occurred
the church tower was no longer visible His
neighbours poplars had grown so fast that q.
last, without his being aware they had hid the
turret behind them. Kant. deprived OF the ma
terial support which had steadied his specula-
tions. was completely thrown out. Fortunately
his neighbors were generous-the tops of the
pOplars were cut. and Kant could reflect at his
ease again. About 9:45 Kant ceased working
and by 10 o'clock was safely tucked in his elder.
down cover. Till the last years of his life his
bedroom was never heated, even in winter
though his sitting-room is said to have been
kept at temperature of 75o Fairenheint-a
statement which one has some difficulty in &C.
cepting