FROM-THE LIBRARY-OF TRINITYCOLLEGE TORONTO THE WILLIAM CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY DONATED 1926 A.D. THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. LONDON : PRINTED HV GILBERT AND KIVINGTON LIMITED, ST. JOHN'S SQUAKK. THE LIFE IMMANUEL KANT II. AY. STUCKENBKRG, D.I). L>.it c I'rof'ssor in Wittenberg L'ullc-jc, Uhiu MAC.MIIJ.AN ANJ) CO. J - 1 8 19 PHEFACE. WITHIN one hundred years after the publication of the " Kritik of Pure Reason " no biography of its author has appeared in the English language. Even in Germany, where his philosophy is studied so exten sively and has been the occasion of an immense number of works, but little attention has been paid to the life of Kant, and the biographies of him are far from being satisfactory. It is not difficult to. discover the reasons for the neglect of the biography of this great thinker and eminent scholar. The materials for such a work arc widely scattered, and require much researcli ; and one may glean long and on many a field, and, as the result of his labours, bring home only a light sheaf, and even that nearly all straw. The difficulty is by no means over when the materials have been found. Not only are there numerous conflicting statements, owing largely to the contentions occasioned by his philosophy and the prejudices which they aroused, but there is also a lack of the variety and incident which are commonly regarded as essential to an interesting biography. Unfortunately, the friends who were his Vlll PEEPACE. Kant is known chiefly as the author of the " Kritik of Pure Reason." In giving an account of his life, however, a much more comprehensive view of him must be taken ; he must be considered in the various relations he sustained. As his works culminated in ethics and theology, and were intended to establish these on a firm basis, his moral and religious views deserve more attention than they generally receive from English writers on his philosophy, especially since they are so intimately connected with his life. A critical discussion of his abstruse philosophy would be out of place in a biography. The English reader has access to excellent works on the Kantian system, and others, as well as translations of Kant's books, are in process of preparation. This biography aims to con centrate all the light on the man himself and his life. The great interest now taken in Kant's philosophy in England and America justifies the hope that the life of the Father of German metaphysics will be welcomed by English readers. If his works throw light on his life, it will also be found that his life aids materially in understanding his works. While the student of the Critical system is naturally expected to take a special interest in its author, this biography is also intended for students, and scholars in general, and for all who take an interest in intellec tual conflicts and triumphs. As this broad aim has determined the character of the book, some things may be found in it which the student of the Critical Philosophy might be willing to dispense with, but which the more general reader will find indispensable. As PREFACE. IX Kant should be studied in the light of his times, much contemporary history has been considered in the pre paration of this book. The thoughtful reader will prefer to consider the philosopher in his relation to his age, rather than to view him in an isolation which would place him in a false light. I am indebted chiefly to the Royal Library of Berlin for the materials used in preparing this biography. The principal authorities are referred to in the Appendix, especially in the first note. All the translations from Kant's works are made directly from the original. I have generally used " Kritik" to designate the " Kritik of Pure Reason." Unless otherwise stated, " mile " always designates the English mile. The picture of Kant represents the philosopher at the age of sixty-seven, the original having been painted by Dobler in 1791. This biography was intended to appear during the Centennial year of the " Kritik of Pure Reason ;" but the work was so much more laborious, and required so much more time, than was anticipated, that this was found to be impossible. KKKLIN, HEJJKL PLATZ 2. Jan. 16, 1H82. CONTENTS CIIAPTKR I. KANT'S BOYHOOD AND KAULY STKIMINIUNGS, 1721 — 17-10. FACE Konigsbcrg — Relatives — Home influence — The Pastor — Pie tism — The Gymnasium— Its rector, religions influence, and intellectual advantages — Ili.s speciality — Special friends — Sensitiveness — General character of his early life . 1 CHAP IKK II STUDKNT IN T1IK INI VF.RSITY. HKOINNING OF AUTHORSHIP. FAMILY TUTOR. 1740—17.36. Change in the Government — University of Konigsbcrg — Matri culated as Student of Theology — Studies- — Favourite ter.cher — Reasons for not entering the ministry — Struggles with poverty --Recreation — First book— Family tutor — Work on Cosmogony . . . . . . ,'M CIIAPTFR III. TKACHKK IN TIIK UNIVKKSITV. Ilabilitation — Privat-Docent — Subjects and character of his Ice tnrcs — Aim in teaching — Popularity — Testimony of I lerder — Distraction — First Mihuy — Contest for a pri/.e — Promotion to a professorship — Kfl'oits to induce him to leave Konigsbcrg — Condition of the t'niversity — Dean and Rector . f» I Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. TIIYSICAL BASIS. PAGE Appearance — Head — Peculiar experience with his eyes — State of health — Study of his physical condition — View of medi cine — Dietetics — Mastery of mind over body — Art of pro longing life. . . 93 CHAPTER V. MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS. Intellectuality — Memory — Judgment — Opposition to dogma tism, prejudice, and fanaticism — Power of analysis and syn thesis — Sense of the ludicrous — Wit — Abstraction — Origi nality— Union of excellencies — Strange psychological fact — Study and appreciation of other systems — Political views — Imagination — Emotional nature — Transformation — Dogmatic spirit — TE.^thetic culture — Views of music, oratory, poetry, and genius — Reading — Library — Depreciation of history — Polymathist . 106 CHAPTER VI. HOME AND SOCIAL LIFE. The philosopher's home — Regularity — Carefulness in trifles — Lampe — Dress — Recreation — Table-talk — Social power — Self-respect — Relatives — Views of women and marriage — Love-affairs . . ....... 153 CHAPTER VII. KANT AND II1S FRIENDS. Views of friendship — Excellence of heart — Countess Kayser- ling — General Meyer— Green — Motherby — Hamann — Von Hippel — Schellncr — Bowski — Jaronchman — Kraus . . 192 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. KANT'S AUTHORSHIP. i-A(.i; Subjects of his works — Pre-critical period — Book on the Emotions of the Beautiful and the Sublime — Prevalent sys tems of philosophy — Leibnitz-Wolfian system — Popular philosophy — Sentimentality — Descartes — Locke — Newton — Berkeley — Hume — First metaphysical dissertation — Lite rary activity, 175(3-63 — " Dreams of Ghost-seers explained by Dreams of Metaphysics" — Letter to Moses Mendelssohn — Period of silence — Correspondence with Lambert — Inaugural Dissertation — Sensation and understanding — Time and space — Letter from Mendelssohn— Letter to Herz — Labour on the •• Kritik " — Changes in the plan of the work . 210 CHAPTER IX. AUTHORSHIP CONTINUED. Publication of the " Kritik "— Hamann's impressions of the book — Difficulties of the work — Defects and excellencies — Aim — A priori and a posteriori knowledge — Analytic and synthetic judgments — Transcendental esthetics — The Categories — The reason — Charge of idealism — Das Ding an sich — God, the soul, freedom, immortality — Ontological, cosmological, and physico-theological proofs of God's existence — Result of the " Kritik " — " Prolegomena " — " Metaphysical Principles of Natural Science " — "Critique of the Judgment " — " Conflict of the Faculties ' Last manuscript . 2GO CHAPTER X. MORAL AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS AND CHARACTER. Importance of the subject — Freedom — Conscience a sufficient guide — Duty — The practical reason — Its primacy — The good will — Emotionless morality — Categorical Imperative — Maxima — Stoicism — Integrity — Truthfulness — Emotional nature— Basis of his theology — Postulates — Religious dm racter of the age — Rationalism — Historical faith — History depreciated — His religion essentially morality — -View of Scripture -Moral interpretation— Public and private use of XIV CONTENTS. reason — The Trinity — Christ — Sin — Conversion — The Church — Worship — The next world — Ministers — Influence of his rationalism — Explanation of his theology — Called to account by the Government. . 310 CHAPTER XI. INFLUENCE OF KANT. ADVOCATES AND OPPONENTS OF TH K CRITICAL PHILOSOPHY. Early popularity as a teacher — Spread of his reputation — Neglect of the " Kritik " — Its sudden popularity — Poems on Kant and his philosophy — Pilgrimages to Konigsberg — Enthusiasm of disciples— Influence of works following the "Kritik "—Fanaticism of Kantiaus — Opposition: Ilamann, Kraus, Herder — Silence amid abuses — Influence of Kantism at home and abroad — Honours — Subsidence of the excite ment — The return to Kant . . 365 CHAPTER XII. CORRESPONDENCE AND CORRESPONDENTS. Small number of Kant's letters — Numerous correspondents — Lambert — Moses Mendelssohn — Herz — Erhard — Maria von Herbert- — J. G. Ficlite — Kiesewetter — Jung Stilling . . 398 CHAPTER XIII. OLD AGE AND DEATH. Sad life — Early symptoms of old age — Interference with literary projects — Close of his lectures and literary labours — Relation to the academic senate — Wasianski assuming control of his affairs— Loss of memory — Visitors — Undeviating uniformity — Change of servants — Method of retiring — Exercise — Approach of spring — Sleeplessness — Last birth day — Failing sight— His sister— Strange notion of the atmos phere — First sickness — Efforts to rob him — Loss of conver sational power — Longing for death — Extreme feebleness — Death — Funeral — Mementoes — Will — Kant Society —Monu ment . • 423 APPENDIX 4.31 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. CHAPTER I. KANT'S BOYHOOD AND EARLY SURROUNDINGS. 1724 — 1740. Kbuigsberg — Relatives — Home influence — The Pastor — Pietism — The Gymnasium — Its Rector, religious influence, and intel lectual advantages — His speciality — Special friends — Sensi tiveness — General character of his early life. I M MANUEL KANT is so identified with Konigsberg that a sketch of this city is essential to a correct know ledge of the life of her most famous son. Here he was born and educated, here he taught and died ; and this city, with its immediate vicinity, was the scene of all his labours, hardships, and triumphs. Its social, religious, and intellectual condition exerted a potent influence on his character and views ; but lie, on the other hand, gave the city a fame such as it had never be fore enjoyed, and has for ever associated its name with one of the most important epochs in philosophy, so that for liis sake it was called " The Capital of Philo sophy," and also " The City of Pure Reason." Konigsberg is a frontier city of Germany, being situated in the north-eastern corner of Prussia, near B I, IFU OF IM MANUEL KANT. the Russian border. Formerly it was the capital of the province of Prussia ; but when that province was divided a few years ago, it became the capital of East Prussia. The city is built on undulating ground, in an attractive region, and its position is favourable for commerce. It is situated at the mouth of the Pregel, a river which forms an important means of communi cation with the interior of the province and also with Poland, though for its mercantile importance it is mainly indebted to its location on a bay of the Baltic. Last century its extensive commerce brought the city into communication with numerous sea-ports of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, as well as with the whole province of Prussia and the adjoining countries. (2) In the beginning of the eighteenth century Kb'nigs- berg was prosperous and wealthy ; but during the Seven Years' War its prosperity was checked and much of its wealth was lost. In 1800 the city, consisting of the towns of Altstadt, Lobenicht, and Kneiphof, was about nine miles in circumference, and contained 4000 houses. Its inhabitants during last century numbered from 40,000 to 50,000, exclusive of the mili tary. As might be expected in a maritime port, there was considerable variety in the character of the population. The city had been wrested from the Slavs by the Germans, during the Middle Ages, and traces of Slavic elements were still found among the inhabitants. Representatives of different nations were brought to the city by commercial interests ; such as Polish, Russian, Scandinavian, Dutch, and English merchants and seamen. The religious differences were also con siderable. The Catholics were greatly in the minority, 3 having only one church ; the Protestants were princi pally Lutherans, who were, however, divided into the Orthodox and Pietistic; parties there were also ad herents of the Reformed faith. In 1729 the city had fourteen Lutheran and three Reformed churches. Owing to the nearness of Russia, members of the Greek Church frequently came to the city. The active trade also attracted many Jews, who had their own social and religious institutions. Besides its commercial advantages, Kb'nigsberg was the religious, political, judicial, military, and literary centre of the province. It was the home of numerous civil and military officers, as well as of scholars and prominent ecclesiastics. Besides its elementary schools, it contained five gymnasia and a university. In the higher classes of society there was considerable culture and literary inspiration ; even outside of the university there existed a good degree of intellectual activity, and among the merchants were found a num ber of men who cultivated a taste for letters. Ha- mann, Hippol, and others, acquired a reputation by means of their books, and many of the officers took an interest in scholarship. Isolated as the city was from other literary centres, it had in itself many of those elements which are calculated to develop a taste for learning. Even among the poorer classes there was an ambition to give their sons a learned education, an ambition which the schools helped to realize as well as to inspire ; and many sons of mechanics took a university course. His surroundings, as we shall see, had an important influence on Kant. This busy, stirring city afforded variety and inspiration enough to make it a favourable 4 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. abode for a scholar ; and yet it was free from those distracting influences which are apt to interfere seri ously with study. Its advantages and disadvantages must, of course, be judged by last century, not by our age. The merchants from different lands, and the seamen with large, varied, and interesting experience, gave the scholar special opportunities to study men and to gain a knowledge of the world. That Kant highly appreciated the advantages offered by the city, is evi dent from a note to the Preface of his " Anthropology :" " A large city, the centre of a government, in which the officer^ of- the Government are found ; which con tains a university for the culture of the sciences, and is also so situated as to have commerce by sea ; which is favoured with communication, by means of rivers, with the interior of the country, as well as with more distant adjoining lands of various tongues and customs ; such a city, for instance, as Kb'nigsberg on the Pregel, may be regarded as a suitable place for enlarging one's knowledge of men and of the world, a place where this knowledge may be gained even without travel. "(3) Immanuel Kant was born in this city, on the 22nd of April, 1724, in a house in Saddler Street. This house, which has been torn down, stood near the Green Bridge, which was the centre of a lively trade during the summer, where especially the Germans, Dutch, English, Poles, and Jews, carried on an extensive traffic. The boy was thus early brought into contact with representatives of these nationalities, and he had an opportunity for observing the peculiar manners and customs of different nations ; afterwards the study of national characteristics and of different countries became his chief literary recreation and delight. HIS FATHER. 5 In the almanac for Eastern Prussia, the 22nd of April is designated " Emanuel : " this circumstance determined his Christian name at his baptism, which took place the day after his birth. The very meaning of the word commended it to his pious parents ; and Kant also became attached to the name. In his relatives, so far as they are known to us, we find no evidence of extraordinary intellectual endow ments. His parents were plain people, belonging to the class of mechanics, and there was little to distin guish them from others of the same grade in society, except perhaps their eminent morality and piety. But while there is no trace of family genius, we have in Kant a union of the blood of the two nations which are most distinguished for their metaphysical speculations, namely the Scotch and the German. His father, John George Cant (4), born near Memel, in Prussia, was the son of Scotch parents who had emigrated thither from Scotland. Kant himself states that for some unknown reason quite a number of Scotch families emigrated to Sweden and Germany, at the close of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century, and that his paternal grandparents wqre among these emigrants. Of these ancestors, and of Kant's other paternal relations, nothing is known. Even of John George Cant scarcely anything is re corded ; his celebrated son, with his characteristic reticence respecting his early life, rarely referred to him. Kant's father was a saddler in humble circum stances, whose strict morality seems to have been the most striking trait of his character. He was industrious and conscientious, and was specially intent on training his children to habits of industry and to the formation U TlfK I.IFU OF 1MMANUEL KANT. of an upright character ; and as he regarded truthful ness as the most essential of the virtues, he took particular pains to inculcate a love for the truth. Immanuel esteemed his character highly, and on the occasion of his death, in 1746, he wrote in the family Bible : " On the 24th of March, my dear father was taken away by a happy death. May God, who did not grant him many joys in this life, permit him to share the eternal joys." The character of Immanuel' s mother was more positive than that of the father ; and though she died when her son was only fourteen years old, and eight years earlier than his father, she made on him the deepest and most lasting impression. Her parents were German, and her maiden name was Regina Dorothea Reuter. She was an affectionate mother and a devoted Christian, and together with her husband belonged to the Pietistic party in the Lutheran Church. In her character the religious element was predominant, while her husband laid the emphasis on morality. Onthe day of her marriage, November 13th, 1715, she wrote the following in the family Bible : " May the Lord our God be pleased to keep us in constant love and unity, and give to us the dew of heaven and the sweetness of the earth, till He brings us to the marriage of the .Lamb ; for the sake of Jesus Christ His Son. Amen." She was greatly influenced by her pastor, Dr. F. A. Schulz, who in the pulpit and in his pastoral visitations exhorted his people to have stated times for prayer and other religious exercises, to strive earnestly for a change of heart, and to learn definitely the time of this change. She was faithful in following these directions, and strict in attending to religious devotions HIS MOTIIKR. 7 at home and in church. In the training of her children she was most anxious about their spiritual welfare, and it was largely to her influence that Immanuel was indebted for his high ideal of holiness and the develop ment of his character. In harmony with the prevalent low views of woman's intellectual capacities and calling, the facilities for female education were very meagre. When broad intellectual culture was regarded as unnecessary or even inappropriate for women who belonged to the higher classes of society, it is not surprising that a few rudiments of knowledge were thought sufficient for the daughters of mechanics and labourers. We must, therefore, not expect to find Kant's mother a woman of superior education ; but she had more than the ordinary intelligence of the women of her own rank. Kant, who said that he was the picture of his mother, regarded her as a woman of good natural powers, of noble heart, and of devout piety. In his old age he still spoke of her with reverence and even with tenderness, saying, " My mother was a lovely, affectionate, pious, and upright woman, and a tender mother, who led her children to the fear of God by means of pious instruction and a virtuous example. Often she took me outside of the city, directed my attention to the works of God, spoke with pious rap ture of His omnipotence, wisdom, and goodness, and impressed on my heart a deep reverence for the Creator of all things. Never shall I forget my mother, for she planted and nourished in me the first good seed, and opened my heart to the impressions of nature ; she aroused and enlarged my thoughts ; and her instruc tion has had an abiding and blessed influence on my 8 THE LIFE OF IM MANUEL KANT. life." She died December 18th, 1737, her death being an offering on the altar of affection. A friend, whom she tenderly loved, had been engaged to a man who forsook her and married another. This faithlessness so deeply affected the friend, that she was attacked by a fatal fever, during which she refused all remedies. Kant's mother, who attended her during her illness, urged her to take some medicine ; but she declined it, under the pretext that the taste was too disagreeable. In order to convince her that this was not the case, his mother tasted it, using for that purpose a spoon which had already been in the mouth of the patient. A feeling of disgust came over her immediately, she became greatly excited, and the effect on her imagi nation was increased when she discovered spots on the body of her friend which indicated that the disease was spotted fever. She became sick on the same day, and soon died. The peace, morality, and piety of his home exerted a marked and lasting influence on Kant, and to his early training he himself ascribed his moral strictness and his power to resist evil inclinations. The circumstances in which he was placed were calculated to develop strength of character and self-reliance. Without being in absolute need, he was obliged to practise self-denial ; and without insuperable obstacles in the way of an education, he early encountered and mastered difficul ties. The very hardships of his youth served to unfold his powers, and led him to prize the more highly the learning which cost him so much effort. His home was admirably adapted to the development of those qualities which Kant learned to appreciate above all others, and which are really the best ; and he appre- RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF HIS I10ME. 9 ciated its excellence and recognized its beneficial effect on his character. Though he inherited from his parents no money, he received from them treasures inestimably more valuable. His father died poor, but without debts. Only a few years before his own death, Kant described his parents as models of moral propriety. " They gave me," he said, "a training which, in a moral point of view, could not have been better, and for which, at every remembrance of them, I am moved with the most grateful emotions." In compar ing his humble home with others of wealth and of rank, he spoke of its superior excellence. " Kant said that when he contemplated his work as a tutor in the house of a count not far from Konigsberg ... he had often thought, with deep emotion, of the incomparably more excellent training which he had received in his home, where, as he gratefully boasted, he had never seen or heard anything that was immoral. "(5) While in many instances Pietism had degenerated, we have reason to believe that this was not the case with the religion of Kant's parents. From all we can learn of them, we are justified in concluding that they were free from bigotry, hypocrisy, and fanaticism. That their religion was sincere and earnest, and that it moulded their characters and lives, is evident from the testimony of their son. Speaking of his parents, he said, " Even if the religious views of that day, arid the notions of what was called virtue and piety, were not clear and satisfactory, nevertheless the thing itself was found. Let men say what they will of Pietism, those who sincerely adopted it were honourably distin guished. They had the highest which a man can possess — that rest, that cheerfulness, and that inner 10 t, TIIK T.IFI*: UP IMMANUEL KANT. peace, which no passion could disturb. No need and no persecution disheartened them ; no contention could excite them to anger and enmity. In a word, even the mere observer was involuntarily inspired with respect. I still remember how a quarrel about their rights broke out between the guilds of the harness-makers and of the saddlers, from which my father suffered consi derably ; but in spite of this, even in the conversation in the family this quarrel was mentioned with such forbearance and love toward the opponents, and with such firm confidence in Providence, that the thought of it, though I was only a boy then, wall never leave me." (ci) This testimony is the more significant, because Kant had no sympathy with Pietism when it w'as given. The influence of this home must indeed have been exceptional, since Kant, the strict and even severe moralist, frequently said, " Never, not even a single time was I permitted to hear anything improper from my parents ; never did I see in them anything that was wrong." There were ten children besides Immanuel, three sons and seven daughters ; six of these, two sons older than Immanuel, and four daughters, died quite young. He was the fourth child. His only brother who attained years of maturity, John Henry, was eleven years younger, and chose the ministry as his profession, studying theology in the University of Konigsberg. After spending some time as family tutor in Courland, he became the rector of a school in Mittau ; and from 1780 until his death in 1800 he was the pastor of a church in Rahden, Courland. He had an original mind and was well informed ; his attainments in history, of which he made a speciality, were superior, and he HIS DROTHKI!. 1 1 also had a good knowledge of mathematics, was a critical student of the classics, read extensively, and was an admirer of practical philosophy, but not of metaphysics. It is said that in his youth he received instruction from his brother, which probably means that he attended some of his lectures while at the university. He read his writings until his book on " Religion within the Limits of Reason " appeared, then refused to read any more of them, because, he said, his old head could not adapt itself to a new terminology. The early home- training left a moral impression on him similar to that made on his celebrated brother, and he was upright and candid, and had the strictest regard for the truth. He published nothing, his sphere being practical life rather than speculation or literature ; but till the close of his life he was a student of learned works. While conscientious and energetic in the discharge of his duties, he also had admirable qualities of heart. His studies, his religious views, his pursuits, and, in fact, his whole life, were so different from those of his brother that there was little congeniality between them. They rarely corresponded with each other, and for many years not at all. Immanuel seems to have cherished no fraternal affection for his only brother, who was also the only relative who could lay any claim to scholarship ; though after his brother's death he gene rously aided the family, which had been left in poverty. Of the three sisters who survived the age of child hood, one was older than Immanuel and died unmarried; the other two were married to humble citizens of Konigsberg. They had enjoyed only the extremely meagre educational advantages of girls in their circumstances, had no opportunities for refinement and 12 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. culture, and never rose above their lowly station in life. Only one of them, Mrs. Theuer, survived her brother. The early intellectual advantages of Kant were by no means equal to the superior moral ones. It is not easy to transfer ourselves from the enlightened Germany of to-day, with its masterly educational system, to the Germany of the first decades of the eighteenth century. The letters and biographies of that period must be read, in order to form a conception of the people who were still painfully struggling to rise above the ruins of the Thirty Years' War ; a people that had just passed through the saddest century of their history, a century of wretchedness and despair ; a people depressed, depreciating themselves in comparison with other nations, with neither political unity nor independence, with no national literature, and without the conscious ness of intellectual strength. While various de partments of learning flourished in England, France, and the Netherlands, Germany had little or no intel lectual influence among the nations, a fact which will become more evident when we follow Kant to the gymnasium and the university, but which also must be taken into account in connexion with his entire education. The day when Pestalozzi and others radically reformed the educational system of Germany had not yet come. In the primary schools, both in the city and in the country, the instruction was very defective. Girls were taught to read, and perhaps to cipher, and they also received religious instruction, but rarely anything more. There were no schools for the higher education of girls ; hence, unless parents could afford a private tutor, their education was confined to these elements ; and the boys, unless they were to be THE PASTOR. 13 prepared for the gymnasium, generally fared little better. The teachers were frequently incompetent, many of them being mechanics who taught in connexion with their trade, in order to eke out a living. Kant at first attended what was called the Hospital School. The pastor of the family, Dr. Schulz, who was the first to notice the abilities of the boy, called the attention of his parents to his talents, and urged them to promote their development. His connexion with one of the gymnasia as rector, and with the uni versity as professor, made the way for the higher education of Kant more easy ; and the fact that both the gymnasium and the university were in Konigsberg made it possible to give him the advantages of these institutions with comparatively little expense. If it had not been for this faithful pastor, there seems to have been little probability that his parents would have thought of sending him to the gymnasium. Jachmann, one of the biographers of the Konigsberg philosopher, says of this pastor, " Kant is indebted to him for what he became, and the learned world is under obli gation to him for what it gained through Kant's culture." But in spite of the limited expense, his parents could not afford to give him a liberal education ; their pastor, however, gave substantial help by sending them fire-wood free of charge. Whether the powerful influence of Schulz secured stipends, or other pecuniary aid, is not known. Being a devout Pietist, the minister was desirous that Kant should study theology, and this met the wishes of his parents, especially of his mother. \Vhen eight years old, he was accordingly sent to the Collegium Fridericianum, the gymnasium of which the pastor was rector. 11' THE LIFE OF IAIMANUEL KANT. Kant gratefully recognized the services rendered him by this excellent man, and Borowski, his friend and biographer, says, " In Kant's estimation, Dr. F. A. Schulz was one of the first and most excellent of men. During lucid intervals in his old age, and often in former years, he expressed a desire to erect a monu ment to the memory of Schulz, and also thought that others ought to erect one." Late in life Kant regretted that in his writings he had not reared a memorial to the memory of his friend and benefactor. He was also indebted to a maternal uncle, named Richter, a shoemaker of some means, who assisted him while a student and afterwards. Neither of the parents lived to witness the begin ning of their son's fame ; the mother, however, lived to see him in the gymnasium, preparing for the uni versity, and the father saw him complete his course in the university, but died a year before his first book was published. If we examine Kant's youth with the hope of finding some prophecy of his future greatness, we shall be disappointed. This may be due partly to the fact that we know so little about that period of his life ; but there seems to have been nothing extraordinary in it, as otherwise it would probably have been recorded. During the first years at school he manifested no preference for the subject in which he achieved his great fame ; and even during his studies at the uni versity he did not make it a speciality. Impelled by a thirst for knowledge, he was a diligent student, and in some branches his attainments were more than ordi nary ; he, however, gave no evidences of striking brilliancy of intellect, and even his most intimate friends Oil Id IN OF 1MKTISM. 15 discovered in him no indications of the profound metaphysician or of any extraordinary philosophical genius. While but little is known about him personally during this period, we, fortunately, have the data for a knowledge of the two most important factors in his early life, namely, the religious and intellectual influences to which he was subject. The gymnasium which Kant attended was, like his home, subject to Pietistic influence ; and to a large extent this is also true of the university. At home, therefore, in church, in the gymnasium, and in the university, he was in this religious atmosphere ; and for the sake of understanding his youth, and also his character and life, it is important to examine this powerful religious tendency. When we consider what his pastor and the Pietistic schools did for Kant, it is not too much to say that the world is indebted to Pietism for saving from obscurity the greatest of modern metaphysicians. The great religious movement begun by Spener in the second half of the seventeenth century, called Pietism by its opponents, was a powerful revival of religion, to which in many respects the later Metho dist movement in England was similar. Its influence was by no means confined to the Lutheran Church, in which it originated, but extended to all the churches. Unlike Methodism, it did not organize a new denomi nation, but aimed at the spiritualization of the Lutheran Church. Spencr has been called a second Luther; and the great work begun by him was in many respects a real reformation. Instead of the cold and formal orthodoxy generally prevalent, he wanted to introduce more spiritual life into the churches and a ]6 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEf- KANT. more practical Christianity. While not aiming to set aside the orthodox doctrines, he did not want mere intellectual assent to them to be regarded as consti tuting a Christian ; but he aimed to quicken the doc trines, and to apply them to the heart as well as the head, so that they might form a character which should attest itself in daily life, as well as in profession and in acts distinctively religious. But in giving so much emphasis to the character of the heart and the life, the self-sufficiency of a sterile intellectualism in religion and of a dead orthodoxy was attacked, and the doctrines themselves received a relatively different position and value. By means of such views, and through his efforts to spread them, Spener exerted an almost un paralleled spiritual influence throughout Germany. Among the few signs of life after the Thirty Years' War, Pietism was the most important. Although its direct aim was only religious, it affected all departments of life, stimulated education and government, aroused the latent energies of the masses, and gave the people inspiration, hope, and enthusiasm. In many places, spring with its warm breath, and teeming with life, followed a cold, dead winter. Becoming an absorbing passion, it concentrated all the energies in religious aims. While the nobility and the heads of Government were affected by it, Pietism was essentially a popular movement, and the neglected classes, the masses, were the recipients of its greatest benefits. Catechization, which had been neglected, was generally introduced, and was made a spiritual as well as an intellectual exercise; meetings for prayer and biblical study were held during the week; pastoral visitation, with religious counsel and exhortation, became common ; the preach- NEW RELIGlorS LIFE. 1 7 ing, which had boon coldly intellectual, was quickened ; theological instruction, which had become scholastic, dry, and polemical, was made more spiritual and more ethical; and the whole aspect of the spiritual life was changed. The movement aroused the missionary ac- tivity of the Church, established benevolent institutions, and culminated in founding the University of Halle, and rYancke's Orphan Asylum in the same city. In Prussia, Pietism became a great power, and this uni versity was especially favoured by the Government; and 1'Yancke's Asylum, and the various institutions connected with it, became the model for other Pie- tistic establishments. It is evident that a movement so vigorous, and so radical in the changes it effected, could not escape opposition. The Orthodox party denounced it and persecuted its leaders. A bitter controversy arose between the two parties, in which impure motives, personal attacks, and abusive epithets, bore a pro minent part, produced distraction and religious in difference, and promoted scepticism. Even the most ardent advocate of Pietism cannot deny that in the course of time it laid itself open to serious charges. It lost much of its original freshness, simplicity, and power, and became formal and artificial ; and before the first half of the eighteenth century had closed, the period of its degeneracy had come. Its piety became constrained and affected, and was a matter of rules rather than of spontaneous spiritual life. It developed a painfully anxious spirit, and encouraged an intro spection which frequently led to gloomy brooding over the state of the he-art; those who were obliged to submit to its regulations, and to listen to its frequent c 18 THE LIFK OF 1MMANUEL KANT. exhortations, wore apt to find much in them that was irksome and insipid ; and it is not strange that in many instances the heart, instead of being won by its appeals, turned from them with aversion. The constant playing on the emotions, and the persistent efforts to bring about conversion, sometimes pro duced effects which were very different from those intended. Add to this the fact that many Pietists, in their extreme opposition to amusements, gave to life a gloomy and unnatural aspect ; that learning was frequently spoken of disparagingly, all the emphasis being laid on the heart and its experiences ; that a sup posed superiority to others often engendered a spiritual pride ; and that hypocrisy was apt to assume the garb which seemed to be most devout — and it will readily be understood that the degenerated Pietism, for only that is meant, had a deleterious influence, especially on the minds of the young and the scholarly. It be came too narrow, too little human, and too unhealthy, to satisfy deep and scientific natures. From a per secuted party it grew in many places to be the dominant one, and it also became a persecutor. When through its instigations the philosopher Wolf was obliged to leave Halle, and when it sought to force others to refrain from teaching what it regarded as irreligious, Pietism created the suspicion that it was hostile to freedom in scientific investigation, a sus picion which is specially potent in its influence on students. There were indeed many Pietists during the period of its degeneracy who were free from the faults mentioned ; but their example did not counter act the evil influences of an unhealthy Pietism. The religious influences to which the sensitive, im- THE FRIDKRICIANUM. 10 pressible mind of Kant was subject at home and in the gymnasium were such as were exerted by the better class of the Pietists of that day ; but that these influences were not wholly beneficial is evident from the testimony of numerous reliable witnesses. Ex cesses occurred which bore evil fruit, and there were methods which, in spite of the purity of the motives which prompted them, frustrated their intended aim. The Fridericianum was founded by a dealer in wood, named Gehr, who was a Pietist, and was desirous of having his children educated in his own faith. For this purpose he procured from the celebrated Orphan Asylum in Halle, in 1098, Dr. Lysius, a su perior instructor, who modelled the institution he founded in Konigsberg after the one in Halle, both religiously and intellectually. At first the school was only a private one, intended for the children of the founder, and the teacher was a family tutor; but his extraordinary success led other parents to ask per mission to send their children to him. Besides grant ing this request, Gehr also gave free instruction to some poor children. The popularity of the institu tion soon aroused the opposition of the educational authorities in Konigsberg; and in order to quiet the unfavourable rumours respecting the school, Gehr requested a full examination of its instruction and methods. The committee appointed for this purpose gave an exceedingly favourable report, declaring that they were surprised and gratified at the attainments of the pupils in Latin, Greek, history, geography, and other branches, as well as in the catechism and in the Scriptures. The school continued to be a private institution o 2 20 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. till 1703, when it received the royal privilege of a gymnasium with the name, " Collegium Fridericia- num." In granting this privilege, the king declared that it was his aim " to extend God's glory and to bring souls to heaven." Besides the gymnasium, the institution had a German school for the elementary instruction of boys and girls. It was the only insti tution in Prussia which had a boarding department, a feature which attracted many foreigners, especially Russians, Lieflanders, and Courlanders. In 1732 schools for the poor were also added. Kant spent eight and a half years in this gymnasium, entering it in the spring of 1732. Rejoiced as the poor lad no doubt was that, in spite of his humble condition, his desire for knowledge was to be grati fied, the impression of the institution cannot have been very cheerful. A description of the building a hundred years later shows that its effect must have been gloomy ; for the small rooms, with low ceilings, were " suffocating in summer and cold in winter ;" some of them were so dark as to make study difficult, and " in this semi-twilight, reading and writing injure the eyes and put the mind into a despondent mood." The kitchens of the professors' apartments were contiguous, and sent their fragrance into the cheerless recitation rooms. (7) The rector of the gymnasium, Dr. F. A. Schulz, is of special interest to us on account of the important ser vice he rendered Kant. Like his predecessor, Lysius, he had been educated at Halle, Avhere he was known as an ardent Pietist and a zealous disciple of the \Yolfian philosophy. Having spent some time in pastoral work in other places, he was called to Konigsberg in 1731, to I»K. scurLZ. 21 become the pastor of one of the churches and also a member of the consistory. Other influential positions were soon added, for which lie was indebted to the royal favour; thus, he was appointed Professor of Theology, and he became a member of the academic senate ; lie was made rector of the Fridericianum, and served on important ecclesiastical and educational committees. Schulz was a fine scholar; and at Halle, through the influence of the philosopher Wolf, he obtained permission to deliver mathematical and philosophical lectures in the university before he had taken a degree. lie possessed great mental vigour, superior organizing talent, and indomitable zeal. As pastor, rector, teacher, and administrator, he was emi nently successful. As general inspector of schools his service to the cause of education in Konigsberg and throughout the kingdom Avas of inestimable value ; and it was chiefly through his activity that 1000 new schools were established. After his death, one of his pupils said, " What a great mind Schulz must have had, is evident from the fact that for the greater part of his life he patiently, actively, cheerfully, with great intelligence, and with blessed results, held more than six distinct offices, with all their labours and burdens." (8) This is the man to whose memory Kant was de sirous of erecting a monument. Tie became the pastor of the family when Kant was but seven years old ; and next to the parents he was most influential in forming the character of the boy. His Pietism was the basis and the impulse of all his activities. He was a faithful pastor, was an excellent and a power ful preacher. The pupil already quoted says, " What 22 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KAXT. an impression was made by liis edifying, simple, mov ing eloquence ! He readied the soul, the bones, and the marrow. As little as one with open eye can avoid seeing the lightning, so little could one escape his power to move." Not only at home and in church, but also in the gymnasium, Kant was brought under the influence of Schulz. The rector was too much occupied with other matters to attend to the business affairs of the gymnasium ; these were left to his assistant, Schiffert, who was also a zealous Pietist and a g^ood scholar. o But Schulz was the ruling spirit in the Fridericianum, and his power was especially felt in its religious management. The spiritual element was the most prominent in the institution, and everything had a Pietistic hue. (9) From the character of Schulz, as well as from the testimony of the best pupils of the school, including that of Kant, we infer that the Pietism was sincere and zealous, and was in general o free from fanaticism. (I0) At the same time there is no doubt that there was an excess of effort to arouse religious emotions. One is surprised at the amount of time devoted to devotional exercises in Pietistic schools, which were chiefly emotional and aimed at a conviction of sin and to effect conversion. While in the other schools of the city two hours a week were given to religious instruction, in the Fridericianum the first hour of each day was devoted to it, and every recitation was begun and closed with prayer. Besides the Bible, the catechisms of Luther, Spener, and Dietrich were used in the school. On Sunday there were two sermons and two catechizations in the church connected with the EELIGIOUS EXERCISES. 23 institution. All the instruction had a religious aim, and exhortations were frequently connected with the recitations. The original New Testament was the principal book used in the study of Greek, and the interpretation of that book was the aim in the study of that language. The historical instruction was mostly confined to the history of the Old and New Testaments. And Scheffner, who was a pupil a little later than Kant, states that on every Sunday two boys from the upper classes had to stand before the pulpit, while Dr. Schulz, with a sharp voice and in a severe tone, catechized them on his sermon. The discipline of the institution was stern, and the pupils regarded its severity as an element of the re ligion. (") Whatever benefits might flow from them, Pietism and its discipline in the gymnasium could not fail to excite aversion and opposition, particularly on the part of those who were predominantly intellectual and had a passion for knowledge. These influences were by no means such as were calculated to attract Kant, in whose nature emotional religion never struck a sympathetic chord. Borowski says of him that he " had no taste at all for the forms of piety or religious ness which many of the pupils adopted, sometimes from very impure motives." Whatever excellences there may have been in the religion of his home and the gymnasium, Kant's opinion of Pietism in general was by no means favour able. Sometimes he spoke of it with bitterness; and taking his own words as a commentary on its charac ter, we are not surprised that he turned from it with aversion. Ho says, " Hut it is not contempt for 24 T1IU Llb'E OF IMMANUKL KANT. piety which has made Pietism a name to designate a sect, with which a certain degree of contempt is always associated ; but it is the fantastic and, with all appearance of humility, proud assumption that they are distinguished as the supernaturally favoured children of heaven, though their conduct, as far as can be seen, has not the least advantage over those who are called by them the children of the world." (12) Pietism thus had its favourable and its unfavour able elements, and Kant was subject to both kinds of influence. Its excesses, its emotional character, and its controversies, had a bad effect on many minds. Though powerful in the province, it left no enduring literary monuments, because its sermons and books lacked depth and breadth ; its glory consisted in its ethical features, in promoting education among the masses, and in establishing eleemosynary institutions. In the schools its aims were often frustrated ; and it is probable that both Kant and his friend Ruhnken refused to enter the ministry, though they were sent to the gymnasium by their parents to prepare for that profession, because they were unfavourably affected by Pietism. But while its religious features repelled Kant, its moral elements exerted the deepest influence on him. In his ethical system, especially in his stern morality and in his views of the radical evil in human nature and the need of conversion, Ave see the effect of his early religious training. Pietism did not win his heart, but it moulded his conscience. " The weak ness of Pietism Avas its drill system, into which it fell in its exaggerations. When the religious instruction of children became a strait- jacket, it lost its attractions for the youthful mind ; nevertheless, in its onesided- 1NTKLLKCTUAL CIIAHAUTKK OF THK (JYMNASIUM. VJ5 ness, Pietism forged that brass logical chain whose last link is the Categorical Imperative." (l!) In intellectual character and educational advantages the Fridericianum compared favourably with the other schools of that day. Xot only was it the best of the five gymnasia in Konigsberg, but it was the best and most celebrated in the province. It introduced improvements Avhich were also adopted by other insti tutions, and it sent into the churches, schools, civil offices, and various other spheres, more eminent and successful men than any other school in eastern Prussia. Kant was a pupil in its most flourishing period, namely, during the first years of the rectorate of Dr. Schulz. His predecessor, Lysius, who has been pronounced, next to Francke, the best teacher of his day, devoted thirty years to the development of the school; and Dr. Schulz continued to conduct and develop it in his spirit. Hut notwithstanding its superiority for that day, it was very inferior when compared with the excellent German gymnasia of the present. Owing to the pre ponderance of the Latin language in the gymnasia, they were commonly called Latin schools; but both the Latin and the Greek were, taught mechanically, as a system of rules and as a discipline for the memory, while the spirit of the classics was neglected. "As late as 177(.>, Frederick the Great found it necessary to enjoin upon the Prussian gymnasia, by means of a, cabinet order, a more diligent and better study of the; Greek and Latin authors, in order that the pupils might get the substance as well as the words, and ideas as well as a good diction." (") The German language was not thoroughly taught ; and the instruo 26 THE LIFE OF TMMANUEL KANT. tion in general was scholastic and formal, rather than real and living. The Fridericianum was not free from the defects then common in the Latin schools, and it also suffered from the fact that, on account of its limited means, it was obliged to depend largely on students of the university, and candidates for the ministry, for its in structors. The employment of so many new and inexperienced instructors made much machinery neces sary. " The frequent change of teachers obliged the directors to follow a certain plan of instruction, which prescribed the lessons for every course, every month, every week, and even for every hour. The teacher was a wound-up watch, which, in the opinion of the Pietists, was set correctly and went right." (l5) It is evident from these facts, that the general character of the gymnasia and the peculiar condition of the Fridericianum give no assurance that Kant en joyed the advantages of a deep and broad culture while preparing for the university. The Fridericianum had the merit of being the first Latin school in the city which introduced history, geography, and mathe matics, as regular branches of study; but the instruction in them was by no means thorough. The course of study included Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, history, logic, mathematics, and geography ; and the German language was taught in connexion with rhetoric and poetry, but the time for its appreciation as a branch of study had not yet come. There was no instruction in natural history or physics. It is not strange that in his mature years Kant's opinion of the intellectual character of the gymnasium was not very favourable. The very thought of the instruction in logic and mathe- STUDY OF THE CLASSICS. 07 matics made him laugh; and in speaking of his teachers in these branches, he said, " These gentle men could probably not have kindled into a fire any spark of philosophy or mathematics which might have been in us." Cunde, his fellow-pupil, to whom he made this remark, answered, " They could blow it out or quench it." Scheffner relates that his teacher used the Greek New Testament as a text-book, and had the translation written between the lines. One teacher, by the name of Heydenreich, was, however, an excep tion to the general rule. He was connected with the school from 17->7 — 171-0, and taught the first Latin class, which had from sixteen to eighteen lessons a week. Besides teaching the language, he explained the text, caught and communicated the spirit of the classics, and interested and inspired his students. Kant rarely referred to his teachers in the gymnasium ; but Borowski says that he spoke with great esteem of Heydenreich more than a hundred times. To this "elegant Latin scholar," as Kant called him, he was indebted for that inspiration which he failed to find in the other branches, and he devoted himself to the study of the Latin classics with great zeal. Not only was this his favourite study in the gymnasium, it was the only one for which he manifested a preference, and in which he made any special progress. Kant, Ruhnken, and Cunde, frequently met to read Latin authors who were not included in the course; and Ruhnken, who had more money at his command than his comrades, took pains to furnish the best editions of the classics. They were all gifted young men, with intellectual tastes and aspirations; they were diligent and success ful students; and in the pursuit of their favourite 28 THE LIFK OF IMMANUKL KANT. study they not only learned tlie Latin language, and cultivated a good Latin style, but they also developed a taste for the spirit and the beauties of the classics. His association and study with these friends made oases in Kant's youth, and he remembered with great pleasure the happy hours spent with Ruhnken and Cunde over his favourites among the ancients. The diligent study of the classics was of great and permanent value to Kant. Not only did it enable him to use the Latin language easily and gracefully, which is evident from his dissertations in that language, but it also laid the basis for that broad humanistic culture which was so noticeable in his conversations and lectures. In his first book, written when the impres sion of the classics was still fresh, Horace, Virgil, and Lucretius, are quoted. In his conversations he fre quently referred to the Latin authors ; and even in old age, when his memory for recent impressions had become very weak, he was still able to quote easily and correctly numerous passages from Latin writers, especially from the work of his favourite author, Lucretius, " De Natura Rerum." In 1801 a friend of Kant, speaking of his association with Ruhnken at the gymnasium, wrote, " Kant never forgot the charming entertainment furnished him by the ancients ; and even now, at his great age, his memory does not merely retain the most beautiful verses and sentences of the Latin poets, orators, and historians, but the remembrance of them frequently inspires him." (1G) When we consider the character of the gymnasium, we are not surprised that Kant manifested no pre ference for the subjects which afterwards engrossed his attention. It is explained by the fact that natural NO PREFERENCE FOR PHILOSOPHY. UO science had no place in the curriculum, and that mathematics and logic were not taught in such a way as to inspire any love for them ; and the boy had not yet developed sufficient taste for these branches to make them subjects of independent study. He was still dependent on his teachers and surroundings for his inspiration and preferences, and there was no evidence of a decided natural inclination or gift in any particular direction. Not until he \vas brought under the influence of other instructors, in the university, was there any indication that his speciality would not be philology. Ruhnken said that at the gymnasium he himself had a preference for philosophy, Kant for philology; yet the former made1 his reputation in philology, the latter in philosophy, and Ruhnken's last work was " Scholia in Platonem," while Kant's last intellectual labour was devoted to the completion of his philosophy. Kypke, another fellow-pupil of Kant, said that at that time they did not, and could not, have the least idea that Kant would ever devote himself to philosophy. And Ruhnken afterwards regretted that Kant had abandoned the green fields of the humani ties, to wander on the barren steppes of metaphysics. Already at the gymnasium Kant was ambitious for authorship. As scholars sometimes Latini/ed their names, he proposed to write his " Kantius," on the titk-pages of his books, while Ruhnken expected to become known as " Ruhnkenius," and (1unde as " Cundeus." Ruhnken was the only one who carried out this intention, and as Ruhnkenius lie attained fame as an authority in classical literature. Kant and Uulmkeii never met each other after they left the gymnasium. The latter went lo Wittenberg, 30 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. to study the classics, philosophy, and law ; then to Ley den, to pursue Greek under the eminent Hemster- huys. Having lost faith in speculative philosophy, he devoted his life to philology, was appointed professor in Ley den, and stood in the front rank of the classical scholars of last century, llulmken was one year older than Kant, and died in 1797. Cunde, Kant's other intimate friend at the gym nasium, was also his fellow-student in the university. After finishing his studies at Konigsberg, he taught for awhile in the Fridericianum, and then became rector of a Latin school in Rastenburg. He was an excellent man and a superior teacher. It is said that he had stupendous learning, " which would have been an honour to any university, an incomparable method in teaching, and a deep insight into human nature." He was a man of strict integrity and sterling worth ; and the three friends were congenial morally as well as intellectually. Overworked while a teacher in the Fridericianum, Cunde's health was already undermined when he went to Rastenburg. The school-building at this place was so bad that its miserable condition was the occasion of his premature death in 1 759. This trio, Kant, Ruhnken, and Cunde, seem to have dis played the most intellectual vigour among the students at that time in the gymnasium, and this, together with their moral character and their aspii^ations, formed the basis of their intimacy. Kant was eight years old when he entered the gymnasium, and sixteen when he left it to enter the university. While he saw the defects of the school, he also saw its excellences, and he was grateful for the advantages which he there enjoyed. He spoke with OBSCUK1TY OF HIS YOUTH. )U appreciation of the paternal spirit of the institution, and of the earnest efforts to form the characters and develop the minds of its pupils. The school at least prepared him for the university, and thus opened the way for him to a learned career. That he was diligent and successful in his studies is evident both from his associations and his attainments. Little else is known of Kant's youth. We have reason to regret this tact, for it is always interesting to watch the first unfolding of the aspirations and powers of one who has moved the world out of its usual course, and we are anxious to learn whether the great man is really found in the boy. Even the biographies of him by intimate friends give very unsatisfactory accounts of his early years. Nearly all who had known him in his youth had died before him ; and the sister who survived him probably remem bered nothing that was striking or characteristic. Kant himself did not like to speak of his youth, its memory evidently having little that was attractive. Being the child of a poor mechanic, small, timid, weak and even delicate, it is not singular that the busy world paid no attention to this boy, who gave no promise of his future greatness. It was a sad period of life, with but few of the pleasures and scarcely auv of the poetry of youth, lie was extremely sensitive ; this is confirmed by the story that he was so annoyed because a boy said that his name " Cant " should be pronounced as if writ ten wit ha " Z," that he after wards wrote it Kant. He was predisposed to melancholy; and his poverty, his self-denial, and the difficulties which beset him, were calculated to deepen his gloom. His family was not so situated as to give him any THK LIFE OF 1MMANUKL KANT. social standing, nor had lie powerful friends to en courage and help him. Thrown almost wholly on his own intellectual resources, his only hope was in achievements resulting from severe personal efforts. Most persons of mature years find a melancholy pleasure in reflecting on the joys, the hopes, the inspirations, and the enthusiasm of the spring of life ; but when Kant had grown to manhood, and had learned to estimate everything from an intellectual standpoint, he looked on youth as the period of weakness. Hippel, Kant's acquaintance for many years, in speaking of the Egyptian bondage in which many children were kept, states that Kant had experienced the miseries of the slavery of youth in full measure, and that he declared that fear and horror seized him when he reflected on the bondage of his youth. This is an exaggeration, but it is, no doubt, based on remarks of Kant. Rink says, " It was not on account of the slavery of his youth that Kant depreciated the years of childhood, but his reasons were deeper, namely, the defective knowledge and judgment of childhood ; for this reason he declared him to be a child who had the vain wish to return from the age of manhood to that of childhood." But the misery of which Hippel speaks probably helped to form Kant's view of youth. Two stories are related of Kant's boyhood : the one an evidence of occasional absent-mindedness ; the other, of unusual presence of mind when aroused. Forgetfulness of ordinary affairs was characteristic of him; and he said that during his whole life absent- mindedness had been one of his failings. When he first went to school he was frequently punished for forgetfulness. Once, when on his way to school, he STORIES OF HIS BOYHOOD. 33 laid down his books to play with other boys, and after the play he went to school, never thinking of the books till the teacher asked for them. But on another occasion his presence of mind probably saved his life. When about eight years old, he attempted to walk over a log lying across a ditch filled with water. He had taken only a few steps when the log commenced to roll and he began to get dizzy. As he could neither retreat nor stand still, he fixed his eyes on a point, on the other side of the ditch, in a line with the log, ran towards it without looking down, and thus escaped. 34 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. CHAPTER II. STUDENT IN THE UNIVERSITY. BEGINNING Ob1 AUTHOK- SHIP. FAMILY TUTOR. Change in the Government — University of Konisberg — Matriculated as Student of Theology — Studies — Favourite teacher— Reasons for not entering the ministry — Struggles with poverty — Recrea tion — First book — Family tutor — Work on Cosmogony. JUST before Kant entered the University of Kb'nigs- berg a change occurred in the Government of Prussia, which seriously affected the religion, the literature, and the life of the kingdom. When Frederick William I. died, on the last day of May, 1740, his son, Frederick II., commonly called the Great, ascended the throne. The predilection of Frederick William for military affairs is charac teristic of the Hohenzollern family; his passion for giants as soldiers was but a whim of that propensity. His military exactness and routine had left their im press on the people, and the age itself was mechanical. For present notions his government was too paternal and too personal. Strictly orthodox himself, he ex pected his people to have the same faith, and he even used constraint to make them devout in his sense; and in governing his people, as in training his son, he ClfANCJK OF GOVERNMENT. 35 seems to have had no idea of tolerance. The spirit of his administration was most powerfully felt in cities like Kb'nigsberg, where the civil officers, who were his instruments rather than his agents, were numerous. In every department of life there was a cramped feel ing, a lack of room for development, and a want of spontaneity. But on the accession of Frederick II. to the tin-one, \vlio himself had keenly felt the galling tyranny of his father, the change, as is usual in re actions, was very marked; in some cases there was a bound from one extreme to the other. Not that his reign was less personal than that of his father, but its spirit was different. For a long time sceptical ten dencies had run parallel with Orthodoxy and Pietism ; the Government had, however, used its power to sup press them. Under the new king there was no longer to be any religious restraint ; for, as he said at the beginning of his reign, every man was to have the liberty to be saved in his own fashion. The era of tolerance which he introduced did not merely affect religion ; he emphasized the freedom of thought, always excepting cases where it conflicted with his political supremacy. Persons who had been exiled during his father's reign were recalled; and it was one of his first acts to invite the philosopher Wolf to return to Halle. His French teachers, as well as the literary tendency of the age, had created in him a preference for the French language and literature; his libraries in Potsdam, consisting almost wholly of French books, still testify to this preference. He corresponded with eminent Frenchmen, invited them to his court, and was greatly under their influence, being especially intimate with Voltaire. The royal 36 THE LIFE OF 1M MANUEL KANT. favour promoted French frivolity and scepticism, as well as the popularity of French literature. The new king inaugurated a new era for Prussia, and during his long reign the revival of letters began in Germany. The literary activity of Lessing, Herder, Jacobi, Hamann, Schiller, Goethe, Winckelmann, and many other eminent men, belongs wholly or in part to this reign, during which the modern literature of Germany had its birth. His great achievements for the enlargement and the glory of Prussia, and his consequent popularity, made his views all the more influential ; and under him who was called the Great, the King, the Royal Philosopher, the Only One (der Einzige), a great change was wrought in the thought and life of his kingdom during the forty-six years of his vigorous reign. The first sixteen years of Kant's life belonged to the reign of Frederick William. During the twenty-seven years of his sovereignty the people became addicted to his mechanical ways; and Kant imbibed this spirit of the times during the formative period of his character, and his life was characterized by a regularity which became mechanical and monotonous. His earliest religious impressions were such as this king himself had fostered. The whole tenor of the Govern ment was changed when Kant entered the university ; and it is probable that by the change his religious views were also affected. We find that he passed from the Pietism by which his youth was influenced, to the free-thinking of the age of Frederick the Great ; just such a reaction is found in his case as that which took place in the Government when the new monarch ascended the throne. Kant, however, retained the UNIVI-RSITY OF KONIGSBERG. o? stern morality which characterized the preceding king, and tliis saved him from the frivolity which was encouraged by royal example under Frederick the Great. The University of Konigsberg, which Kant entered in the autumn of 1740, and with which he was con nected during the greater part of his life, was founded in loll-, by Duke Albert. Melanchthon, whom he con sulted respecting the teachers, sent his son-in-law, Sabinus, who was made rector for life. For the first two centuries the history of this institution was not brilliant; and at the close of its second century, when Kant became a student, it occupied an obscure posi tion among the German universities. Neither its intellectual life nor its educational advantages were such as to give it prominence. (l7) Its strength was in its theological faculty, to which at times nearly one half of the students belonged, while there were com paratively few in the philosophical faculty. The students were mainly from the Province of Prussia, Courland, Pomerania, Silesia, and the Protestant portion of Polish Prussia. Thus its students, as well as its location, belonged rather to the border of Germany than to its heart. If we take a map of Germany and glance at the surroundings of Konigsberg, we are at once struck with its intellectual isolation ; before the introduction of railways, and in the eighteenth century, this was much more complete than at present It was a fron tier city which had little communication with the heart of Germany, being remote from other universities, as well as from Berlin, Weimar, and other intellectual and literary centres. The literature and science from 38 THE LIFE OF IMMAN0EL KANT. other quarters reached it slowly, if at all ; conse quently there was a lack of that inspiration which is communicated by contact and rivalry with intellectual characters and centres. In 1736 Professor Bock, of the University of Kb'nigsberg, wrote, "As is well known, I live where books and periodicals from other places are seen only after long years." As a rule, only books specially ordered by purchasers were brought to Kb'nigsberg by the booksellers, so that it was difficult to keep up with the literature of the day. As late as 1781, another writer, Baczko, said, with refer ence to the Province of Prussia, of which Kb'nigsberg is the capital : " Prussia is decried in Germany as almost a learned Siberia ; and owing to our g»eat distance from Leipzig, the centre of the German book trade, it is natural that we should suffer, since all literary novelties come late to us, and authorship is not favoured by facilities for selling books." Another writer speaks of Kant as working out his system " on the Pregel, in one of the most completely forgotten corners of Europe." This isolation particularly af fected the life of the university, and it partly accounts for the fact that the first books of Kant were almost wholly unnoticed. Other facts must also be taken into account in con sidering Kant's studies at the university, and his whole intellectual career. In the universities of Germany, as well as in the gymnasia and the other schools, the instruction, both as respects matter and method, was far from being satisfactory. The lectures were gene rally prosy and lifeless, dealing rather with the forms of thought than with thought itself, making nice but useless scholastic distinctions, rich in tedious subtleties STATE OF GERMAN LITERATURE. 39 concerning matters of little importance, and burdened with a method which made a show of learning with out real, living scholarship. A stiff and stilted pedantic mannerism still prevailed. The teachers were often incompetent, and many of the lectures were delivered in Latin which was anything but classic. Instead of promoting genuine and thorough scholar ship, it seemed rather to be the principal aim of the instruction to furnish the student with the means of successfully passing the examination required by the state. The German language was greatly neglected, and it was depreciated by Germans themselves, when com pared with the Latin, French, and English ; indeed, it was still a matter of dispute, which of the various dialects should be used for a national literature. The right to use the German language for scholarly works was just beginning to assert itself. When C. F. "Wolf published the first philosophical work in German, it created surprise ; and in an appendix he explained German words by means of the Latin. A vigorous, independent literature hardly seemed to be a desidera tum in the estimation of writers, so persistently were foreign models chosen for imitation. Gottschcd, who left Konigsberg for Leipzig in the same year that Kant was born, contended for French models, while Bod mer and the Swiss preferred the English; and it required men of genius like Lessing, Schiller, and Goethe, to reveal the power of the German language and to prove the possibility of an independent German literature. The founder of aesthetics as the science of the beautiful, Baumgarten, was indeed living, but his system was not published till the middle of the century, 40 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. and then it gave elements rather than a science. The literary disputes of the day prove that the whole subject of taste and criticism was involved in con fusion and uncertainty. Lessing, Winckelmann, Kant, and Schiller, introduced light and order. In the natu ral sciences, the mechanical views of nature absorbed the attention of philosophers, the chief authorities being Newton and his school, together with Descartes and Leibnitz, and their followers. In metaphysics, the dogmatism of the Wolfian school held almost undis puted sway. The revival of letters was imminent when Kant entered the university, but he did not have the benefit of it during his studies. Klopstock was born in the same year as Kant, but he began his university course five years later ; Winckelmann entered the university of Halle two years before Kant entered that of Kb'nigs- berg; Lessing was five years younger than Kant, and was still a school-boy when the latter was already a student ; Kant had ended his university course several years before Goethe's birth, and had been a teacher four years when Schiller was born ; Herder, "Wieland, Jacobi, and, in fact, the whole galaxy of Germany's brightest literary period, belong to a later time than Kant's student life. These names, however, indicate the character of the period which was about to be inaugu rated, a period in which Kant's name was one of the most eminent. With all the disadvantages of the day, it was a time of fermentation and of grand oppor tunities. As an epoch was approaching, it was an age when great problems demanded solution, when doubts developed the intellect, Avhen sharp conflicts aroused thought, and when the confusion itself created oppor- INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER OF THE UNIVERSITY. 41 tunities for a master-mind. The man who could master the different tendencies, and could harmonize their conflicting elements, would find the crisis itself the occasion for the greatest intellectual results. Only when we consider the difficulties, on the one hand, and the rare opportunities, on the other, can we com prehend the career of Kant. The University of Konigsberg suffered more than many others from the evils enumerated. At the opening of the century the Aristotelian philosophy was still taught ; in the second decade a Privat-Docent intro duced the Wolfian system. In 1729 Professor Bock wrote, " The university is in so miserable a condition that it does not seem unlike a trivial school ; philosophy is afflicted with a hectic fever, and the other sciences are also badly enough cultivated." The affliction of philosophy was probably connected with the fact that Wolf was expelled from Halle and Prussia in 1723, and it was dangerous to teach his system in the uni versities of the kingdom. A few years later, however, an alliance was formed between Pietism and the Wolfian philosophy in Konigsberg, mainly through the influence of Dr. Schulz, after which this philosophy prevailed in the university. For the study of mathematics no superior advan tages were afforded. Professor Kraus, who taught mathematics in the university many years later, de clared that Konigsberg had always had men who under stood mathematics, and still has ; but that as long as the sun had shone on the city, it had not been able to boast of a good mathematician. Nor did chemistry, natural history, technology, or political science, fare any better. The division of labour was far less com- 42 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. plete than at present, and the exclusive devotion of a teacher to a speciality, and the consequent great pro ficiency in it, were exceptions. Even theology and mathematics were taught by the same man, Langhausen being professor extraordinary of theology and professor in ordinary of mathematics. (18) J. G. Bock was at the same time professor of speculative philosophy and of poetry, an evidence that speculative philosophy was not made very prominent. It was, however, charac teristic of the age to apply philosophy to everything , and two professors were appointed to teach practical or applied philosophy. Most of the professors in the philosophical faculty were unknown in science and letters, and not one of them was celebrated. There were among them men of respectable scholarship ; but in general the teaching had become lifeless, and was little calculated to arouse and inspire the intellect. (1!)) Kant's preference for the Latin language and litera ture might have continued at the university if he had there found a good instructor in Latin. The revival of interest in the classics, which had begun in Leipzig and Gottingen, did not yet affect the University of Kb'nigsberg. Probably Ruhnken went to Wittenberg, after graduating at the Fridericianum, because Konigs- berg offered few attractions in his favourite depart ments, especially in philology. Kant, who was greatly influenced in his intellectual preferences by the ability of his instructors, now made specialities of other subjects, in none of which the gymnasium had offered any advantages. He was matriculated as a student of theology, though it is doubtful whether even then he had any inclination FAVOURITE PROFESSORS. 43 for that study. His mind and his preferences were too little developed, and he knew his own powers too little, to determine finally his intellectual course. At that time parents generally decided the calling of their children, even without consulting them. He had been sent to the gymnasium to prepare for the ministry ; and it is probable that the memory of his mother, and the influence of his father and of Dr. Schulz, deter mined his matriculation in the university as a theological student. This did not interfere with the hearing of lectures in other departments, nor did it oblige him to make a speciality of theology ; and whenever he desired it, lie could be transferred to another faculty. Indeed, theological students were expected to take a course in philosophy first, in order that they might be the better prepared for theology. Professor Teske, who was a good scholar, had the department of physics. Kant attended his lectures, and was more indebted to him than to any other professor in ordinary. But Martin Knutzen, professor extraordinary, more than any one else, moulded his intellect and determined his preferences and his future career. Born in 171^, he was appointed professor extraordinary at the age of twenty-one, was twenty- seven years old when Kant entered the university, and was never promoted to a professorship in ordinary. (20) His lectures extended over many subjects of philosophy and physics, including logic, metaphysics, rational psychology, natural philosophy, morals, natural law, rhetoric, mnemonics, and mathematics. Kant not only attended his lectures, but also took part in the meet ings which he held for disputations and for the examination of students on the subjects of his lee- 44 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. turcs. Knutzen was a disciple of the Leibnitz- Wolfian philosophy, and in religion was a Pietist ; his attain ments were unusual, his reading was varied and extensive ; and as his gifts as a teacher were extra ordinary, he was deservedly popular with the students. Besides being a laborious student, he lectured four or even five times a day, and overwork is supposed to have been the cause of his death, in 1751, when only thirty-seven years old. His activity was not confined to the university, but he extended his reputation by means of writings on philosophical, theological, physical, and mathematical topics. (21) Professor Knutzen' s lectures embraced the subjects which Kant pursued with most pleasure while a student in the university; and after he finished his course, mathematics, physics, metaphysics, and morals were his specialities. Kant, however, did not at this time make the study of metaphysics prominent. Now and for years afterwards he devoted himself chiefly to mathematics and physics. The influence of his mathe matical studies is apparent in his great works, being evident from his frequent references to mathematics, and from his demand for exact definitions and for demonstrations which have mathematical certainty ; and his entire philosophy reveals the mathematical mind. The personal intercourse of a professor may be more influential than his learned lectures, in giving the student intellectual inspiration, and in developing his mental tastes and his moral character. The young teacher who can enter with warmth into sympathy with an eager student, may have a decided advantage over the aged professor. Kant entered into closer PROFESSOR KNUTZEN. 15 personal relations with Knutzen tlian with his other teachers. Besides hearing his lectures and taking part in his reviews and discussions, he also consulted him about his studies, and conversed with him on learned subjects. The teacher, pleased witli his abilities and thirst for knowledge, placed his library at Kant's disposal, and gave him directions in his reading; and it was in this way that the eager student became acquainted with the works of eminent scholars, including those of Newton. But this favourite teacher did more than influence his students to become learned ; he aimed to make them originators of thought, not mere imitators ; and thinkers, instead of mere learners. There was a striking resemblance between this teacher and his aspiring and susceptible pupil; and much that has been said of Knutzen might also be said of Kant. Their intellectual specialities were the same till the end of life; but in religion they differed, since Kant did not adopt his teacher's Pietistic views. They were both laborious students; both were learned and were polymathists ; both were thinkers, and both aimed to make their students thinkers. While Kant, at the age when Knut/en died, had probably displayed more originality than his teacher, it is doubtful whether on the whole he had revealed more mental breadth or greater intellectual vigour. The pupil, however, attained a lasting and world-wide fame, while the teacher was forgotten. In the university, Professors Knut/en and Teske took the place of Heydenreich in the gymnasium; and mathematics and physics took the place of the classics. A writer, speaking of Kant, says, "His teachers in 46 THE LTFK OF 1MMANUEL KANT. mathematics and physics, Professors Knutzen and Teske, were among the clearest and most learned men in Kb'nigsberg. Kant not only heard all their lectures most attentively, but he also took pains to obtain explanations of difficult points by means of private conversations with both, and to procure books from them for the independent study of these branches. During his academic course he still kept philosophy proper in the background ; and Kant's university friend, Kypke, afterwrards his colleague as Professor of Oriental Literature, remarked that at that time he showed little inclination for metaphysical studies." (") Kant no doubt attended many lectures of which no mention is made ; but we know that he heard those of Professor Schulz on dogmatics, though he did not take a full course in theology. It was his aim to include all the sciences in his investigations, and he regarded some knowledge of theology necessary for a complete education, even if the ministry was not chosen as a profession. Heilsberg, who was his fellow-student at the university, states that this breadth of culture was Kant's object. " For this purpose, Wlomer, Kant, and I, decided to attend the public lectures of Dr. Schulz during the next half year. We did not miss an hour, diligently wrote the dictations, reviewed the lectures at home, and in the examinations which the worthy man frequently held with his numerous hearers, our answers were so satisfactory that at the close of the course he requested us to remain. He asked for our names, inquired about our knowledge of languages, and desired to know what professors we were hearing, and what was the aim of our studies. Kant answered that he intended to devote himself to medicine; LECTURES OF SCHULZ. -17 Wlomer, that lie had chosen the law ; I was unde cided." The professor then asked why they heard theological lectures ? Kant replied, because they had a desire to loarn. Dr. Scliulz informed them that if they concluded to enter the ministry, they should come to him with confidence, and they should have the choice of places in the country and cities, adding, " This I promise you ; and if I live, I will keep my word. Here is my hand ; go in peace." (23) From this it is evident that Kant had not yet found the sphere of his future activities. He may have had serious intentions of studying medicine. Later in life he manifested a preference for medical works, and his first book was dedicated to Bohlius, a medical pro fessor. In the undecided state of his mind he may sometimes have inclined to one profession and then to another. But why did Kant fail to comply with the desire of his parents to enter the ministry ? His lack of sympathy with the prevalent religion was no doubt one of his strongest reasons. His inquiring mind could hardly escape agitation through religious doubts, which Schulz's lectures, highly as Kant appreciated them, were not calculated to remove. They contained a strange mixture of Pietism and mathematical demon strations of Christian dogmas, such as might have been expected from the man of whom Wolf said that if any one understood him, it was Schulz of Konigsberg. Hippel, who was one of Dr. Schuly/s students, gives a hint of his method in teaching theology : — " This remarkable man taught me to look at theology from a new point of view; for he introduced so much philo sophy into it that one would have thought that Christ 48 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. and His apostles had all received instruction from Wolf in Halle." It was an age of theological agitation, of religious inquiry and doubt ; and the unsettling of faith had a strong influence 011 the young men in the universities. It is a significant fact that Winckelmann, Lessing, Rulmken, and Kant, were all sent by their parents to the university to study for the ministry, and that not one of them entered that profession. There was much in the university during Kant's student-life which was calculated to alienate him from religion. The quarrels of the religious factions produced distractions, and made an unfavourable impression on the students. The theological faculty was the most powerful, and exercised an authority which some of the other pro fessors regarded as oppressive. Dr. Schulz, who became the most influential man in Konigsberg soon after his arrival in the city, was the leading spirit in the theological department, aud had warm adherents in the other faculties ; but he also met with decided opposition, and his supremacy was disputed by those who rejected his religious views. When Frederick II. began his reign, the royal favour bestowed on Dr. Schulz by his predecessor was withdrawn, and the king, displeased with his Pietistic zeal, deprived him of some of his offices, and greatly curtailed his power ; and he was also energetically opposed by a strong party in the churches of Konigsberg. This change in his influence occurred about the time when Kant entered the university. The hot disputes in the churches embittered the feelings of the different parties, and also affected both the professors and the students. Professor Fisher had been banished from REASONS FOR NOT ENTERING THE MINISTRY. 49 Konigsberg in 1725, because he ventured to advocate Wolf's philosophy, and to defend some of the very tenets for which, on pain of death, that philosopher had been banished from Halle. He had also spoken in uncomplimentary terms of the Pietism in Konigs- berg. A royal decree banished him from the city within twenty-four hours, and from the province within forty-eight. As the new king had restored AVolf to Halle, so he permitted Fisher to return to Konigsberg. In 1743 he published a book on " Nature," in which he advocated deistic and pan theistic views. The Pietists, including Dr. Schulz, .secured the prohibition of the book; the author was severely attacked, and was not permitted to partake of the communion. The sensation thus produced could not fail to affect the students, so easily aroused to indignation even by the semblance of intolerance. It is not difficult to imagine its influence on Kant, absorbed in the study of mathematics and physics ; and these early experiences no doubt had much to do with his later hatred of all forms of oppression, and particu larly of religious intolerance. If aversion to Pietism already began in the gymnasium, it could only be increased by the contentions which occurred during his studies in the university. Taking into account these facts, together with his intellectual preferences, we need look no farther to discover his reasons for not entering the ministry. (2*) Kant's quiet, uneventful lite was marked by a regular and steady development of his powers, without abrupt inner or outer changes. Hungry for knowledge, and absorbed in its acquisition, he pursued the even tenor of his way, apparently little affected by distracting or i: 00 THE LIFE OF IMMANGEL KANT. disturbing influences. The conflicts of his life were mostly inner and hidden from the world. Even the processes of his mind in producing his great meta physical speculations are very imperfectly known ; with the exception of his works, we have hints about them only in his letters. We know nothing of his mental conflicts and religious struggles in youth ; but he could not pass through the Pietistic influences without mental agitation, and it no doubt required much earnest thought to determine his vocation. It was not in his nature to break easily with the religious associations of his early life, and it must have cost him a severe struggle to resolve not to comply with the ardent- desires of his parents and helpful pastor. Kant was obliged to contend with poverty while at the university, and he found the road to learning beset with difficulties. He, however, mastered the lectures, especially those of Knutzen and Teske, so successfully that he could aid other students in reviewing them. Sometimes he rendered this assistance as a matter of friendship ; but his necessities also compelled him to give instruction for which he received compensation, the students paying him what they pleased. He occu pied a room, for some time, with Wlomer, an intimate friend, probably receiving his lodging gratis. Heils- berg says, " Kallenberg, now councillor of war, gave him free lodging and considerable support when Wlomer went to Berlin. From the deceased Dr. Trummer, whom he also instructed, he received much help, but more from his relative, the manufacturer Richter, who paid the expenses of his promotion to the degree of magister." Kant lived very economically, an art which he was obliged to learn early and to practise 1'OVKHTV. 51 long. Although he did not absolutely suffer from want, Heilsberg informs us that when an article of Kant's clothing was sent away to be mended and he was obliged to leave the house, "one of the students would remain at homo while Kant sallied forth with the coat, pantaloons, or boots borrowed from him. If a gar ment was entirely worn out, the party " (those to whom K;mt gave lessons, and perhaps other friends) " made contributions, of which no account was kept, and which were never refunded." There may be more than a compensation for poverty in the very discipline it gives a man while mastering the difficulties he encounters; and it may prove a blessing to many a mind by leaving open but one way to emi nence- — that of intellectual supremacy, — though that mav lie through deserts, or over mountains almost impassable. There are victories whose greatest bless ing is in the battle. Kant's necessities proved to be blessings in disguise4. In pursuing his purpose reso- lutclv, he learned self-denial, mastered circumstances, and developed remarkable will-power ; and his poverty obliged him early to cultivate the gift of communi cating instruction. He was only a student when he became a teacher. I le shared but few of the common joys of life. Mow- ever much a hostile fortune was to blame for this, his tastes seem to have been too predominantly intellectual to seek the ordinary pleasures of youth. His friend lleils- berg says, "Kant \vas fond of no pleasures, and still less was he inclined towards any species of fanaticism ; and he imperceptibly accustomed those who heard him to similar views. His only recreation consisted in play ing billiards, a game in which Wlomer and 1 were K 2 52 THE LIFE OF 1MMANUEL KANT. his constant companions. We had developed our skill almost to the utmost, and rarely returned home without some gain. I paid my French teacher altogether from this income. As a consequence, persons refused to play with us, and we abandoned this way of making money, and chose Thombre, which Kant played well." Study was the main source of his enjoyments, and when afterwards he advised young men to cultivate a love for work, and to deny themselves pleasures so that they might the longer retain the power of enjoyment, he gave them a rule which he himself had adopted. Kant probably ended his university course in 1744, at the age of twenty. In this year he began the pre paration of his first book. In harmony with his pre ferences and principal studies at the university, the book is mathematical, treating of the kinetic forces. (25) The title-page bears the date 1746; but the dedi cation was written on his birthday, April 22, 1747, and in the book itself there is a reference to a work which appeared in the spring of 1747, so that the publication may have been delayed till the autumn of that year or still later. As he was too poor to pay for the printing, he was aided by his uncle Richter. The book has only historic interest, which consists in the fact that it gives us a knowledge of the mind and views of young Kant; but in this respect it is in valuable. It is characteristic that at the age of twenty lie chose a subject so abstract and necessarily involving much dry discussion. The book throws light on his university course, showing what studies chiefly occu pied his attention, and it also reveals the tendency to abstract reasoning which is so marked in his meta physical works. HIS FIKST BOOK. The standpoint of the book is essentially that of his teacher, Knntzen. (2G) In the Wolfian philosophy, of which the teacher was a disciple, a pure mechanism prevailed, and a dogmatism that was defended by mathematical demonstrations, which it applied to every subject. Both in the natural sciences and in meta physics this method promoted a lifeless formalism. Kant is not wholly satisfied with this method, and he subjects it to criticism ; but he does not transcend it, and has no other to put in its place. The author is bold and self-confident, and yet modest ; he is critical, and at the same time positive ; and he reveals a fear less, energetic mind and a resolute will. " If I venture to reject the thoughts of Leibnitz, Wolf, Herrmann, Bernoulli, Buelfinger, and others, and to give my own the preference, I would not like to have worse judges than these men ; for I know that if their judgment rejected my opinions, it would not condemn my aim/' There is much in the book which in a youth just out of his teens may savour of impertinence, and of this Kant is aware. " My freedom in contradicting emi nent men will produce unfavourable results for me. The world is much inclined to believe that he who is better informed on some points than a great scholar, imagines himself superior to him. I venture to say that this is a mistake." Connected with this freedom, which characterizes the independent thinker, there is also respect for great men and their opinions; but it is not a reverence which makes their authority final. We have here a mind striving to emancipate itself from the bondage of authority while respecting those who imposed it ; hence there is a mingling of the. defiant tone with modesty, and the wrestling of a critical 54 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. spirit with the system in which it is entangled. He is convinced that the time is past when the opinions of great men can be regarded as settling disputed questions. " One can now boldly hold as nothing the authority of the Newtons and Leibnitzes if it conflicts with the discovery of the truth, and can fearlessly resolve to yield to no persuasion but that of the under standing." And in a characteristic passage he says, " In the pursuit of this discussion I shall not hesitate to reject freely the proposition of any man, however celebrated he may be, if to my understanding it appears to be false." As he is well aAvare that a pigmy in learn ing may in some department surpass a scholar who excels him in every other, he of course does not claim to be superior to the eminent men whom he criticizes. He admits that there is presumption in the decla ration, " The truth for which the greatest masters of human knowledge have striven in vain, first of all presented itself to my mind ; " but he significantly adds, " I do not venture to justify this thought ; but, on the other hand, I would not like to disclaim it." He thinks it important that a man should have a noble confidence in his powers, since it inspires the mind and gives it a degree of exaltation which is advan tageous in the investigation of the truth. The author is convinced that by means of this book he has done science considerable service, and thinks that his views will help to settle one of the greatest controversies at that time dividing the geometers of Europe; and he ventures to predict that the contro versy will either be settled soon, or that it will never end. But aside from its spirit there is nothing espe cially striking in the book, and there are no new FAMILY TUTOIi. 55 theories which claim attention. It received little notice when it appeared, created no reputation for its author, and is not now prized by mathematicians. Greatly as he was indebted to his teachers Knut/en and Teske, the work must have cost him much re search and earnest thought, and it proves that at the university he laid a solid foundation for his eminent career. We look in vain for the profundity and the peculiar views of the " Kritik," which appeared thirty- four years later; but the independent and critical spirit of his first book is the germ from which the " Kritik " could grow. There can scarcely be a doubt that at this time Kant had already chosen the sphere of his activity, and that he was intent on fitting himself for it. With a resoluteness peculiar to him, he says in this book, " I have marked out for myself the course which I have determined to take. I shall begin my career, and nothing shall keep me from continuing it." Tie chose the learned career of a teacher in the university, though years of toil were still necessary before he could enter that sphere. His father died in 17-MJ, and in the same year he became a family tutor. ]t may be that his father's death threw him more completely on his own resources, and made it necessary for him to support himself. In order to become a teacher in the university, he was obliged to take a degree and to habilitate, and this required money; he may also have found it advisable to prepare himself more thoroughly for the degree and for the delivery of lectures. It was common for young men after completing their course, whether they were candidates for the ministry, or aimed at the 56 THR LIFE OF IM MANUEL KAXT. position of a teacher in the university, to become family tutors ; frequently this was the only available means of support. The position was far from being an enviable one. The pay of such a tutor was small, and frequently he was regarded as scarcely more than a servant, received but little respect from the children, and was expected to attend to other matters besides teaching. (27) Kant, however, seems to have been unusually favoured while family tutor ; still, the nine years which he spent in this position could not have been otherwise than irksome. He had no taste for teaching the mere rudiments of knowledge, and his own confession indicates that the occupation was not congenial. Speaking humorously of the matter, he declared that there probably never was a worse tutor, and said that he had never been able to acquire the art of adapting himself to the capacities and views of children. Kant was at first tutor in the family of a Reformed preacher near Konigsberg ; then in the family of Yon Hiillesen, at Arnsdorf, about sixty miles south-west of Konigsberg. This was the limit of his travels. He visited Pillau, about thirty miles distant, and other places in the vicinity; but Arnsdorf is the greatest distance he ever journeyed from his native city. His friendly relations with the family of Von Hiillesen were continued after he ceased to be tutor, and his work there cannot have been a failure. The letters of his pupils proved their warm regard for their teacher, and after he left the house he was invited to participate in the most interesting festivities of the family. One of the young men was afterwards placed in his charge at Konigsberg while pursuing his COUNTESS KAYSERLING. O/ studies at the university. His pupils in this family were among the first in Prussia to free their peasants from the subjection in which they were at that time held ; and for this act the king conferred on them the title of count. The third and last family in which he lived as tutor was that of Count Kayserling, whose residence was near Konigsberg, and who lived much of the time in the city. This position was of great advantage to him, and had much influence on his social relations. The count, who had studied at Leipzig, Halle, and in other universities, was a man of admirable qualities of mind and heart, and had gained a reputation in diplo matic service in various countries. The countess was a woman of unusual talent, with superior culture and attractive manners. She aided her husband in literary work, and also translated a Compend of Philo sophy into French. Her rare talent in painting pro cured for her the distinction of an election to honorary membership in the Berlin Academy of the Arts and Mechanical Sciences. In one of his books Kant calls her " the ornament of her sex." It was in this family that he became acquainted with the rules of refined society. Here he met many persons of rank and distinction ; and owing to his superior mental powers and his scholarship, he soon became a favourite guest in the most cultivated families of Konigsberg. At table, French, Italian, and English literature, as well as political affairs, were discussed ; this stimulated him to master these subjects thoroughly, and gave him an opportunity to use his excellent con versational powers. His experience in this family was of great value; here he gained an ease, culture, and 58 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. polish, which could hardly have been expected in a man with his early associations and his. studious habits. If we judge Kant's tutorship, not by his estimate, but by the esteem in which he was held by the two noble families in which he lived, we must conclude that it was eminently successful. It cost him an effort to adapt himself to those under his charge ; but this had its value in preparing him for his future career. " This long residence in strange families, the various social relations he entered, and to which he soon adapted himself admirably ; the necessary victory over his bashfulness ; the fact that he was thrown on his own intellectual resources ; the many demands made on him by his duties as tutor, and the conscien tiousness with which he strove to perform them ; all this was calculated to exert an extraordinary influence on his life, especially in developing the marvellous versatility of his mind." (28) The union of scholarship and refinement in Kant is noticed by the same writer : " We now recognize in him the thorough scholar and the cultivated man of the world, without any inter ference of the qualities of the one with those of the other." These nine years of tutorship also afforded him opportunities for the pursuit of his favourite subjects. His first book, which appeared soon after he became family tutor, was probably finished while occupying this position. The time which was his own he devoted chiefly to mathematics and physics, astronomy perhaps receiving most attention. In 1754 he pub lished a brief discussion of the question, " Has the Earth been subject to any Change in its Revolution COSMOGONY. O(J on its Axis? " In the same year lie briefly considered the question, " Is the Earth growing Old r " But the work to which he devoted most of his energies, and which is the most important of all his earlier publications, is the astronomo-geological book which appeared in 1 755, with the title, "General Natural History and Theory of the Heavens ; or an Essay on the Constitution and Mechanical Origin of the Whole Universe, discussed according to Newtonian Prin ciples." o The great astronomers had given the laws of the motions of the heavenly bodies ; Kant goes farther back and attempts to account for the very origin of these bodies, and his book is really a cosmogony of the uni verse. Supposing matter to have been originally in a state of chaos, he proceeds to give a purely mechanical explanation of the formation of the celestial bodies according to Newton's laws of attraction and repulsion. He regards matter, created by God, as originally hovering in a nebulous state. First the sun is formed by the attraction of particles of matter ; then the chaotic matter which still hovers around the sun is formed into the planets and their moons. Kant was the first to propose this theory of the origin of the universe, but a few years later, Lambert, without knowing anything of Kant's book, advocated the same theory in Ins " Cosmological Letters;" and later still, Laplace, in his " Exposition du Systeme du Monde," proposed and more firmly established the same theory, without knowing anything of the books of his predecessors. In Germany it is still called the Kant-Laplace theory. While Kant adopts the great laws discovered by Newton, and applies them in explaining the construction GO THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. of the universe, lie criticizes and transcends some of the principles of the great English philosopher. Newton accounts for the order in the world by the direct interposition of God ; but Kant thinks that it can be accounted for by the laws of matter. These laws were placed there by God, but they work without the necessity of divine interposition. God is still regarded as the author of all things ; His activity is, however, put farther back. Law, not chance, rules the universe, and this makes it so harmonious in its organization and movement ; and God has so consti tuted this law that it works without His interposition. This hypothesis of the origin of the world is not the only significant feature of the book. Near the beginning he expresses the conviction that there may be planets beyond Saturn, and also a planet between Mars and Jupiter. When, twenty-six years later, Herschel discovered Uranus, Kant rejoiced at the confirmation of his prophetic view. It is, however, strange that Kant's suspicion that there are planets beyond Saturn, which is often praised as revealing a deep insight into the planetary system, rests on an hypothesis which was proved false by the discovery of those planets. It is Kant's theory that the eccentricity of the orbits of the planets increases with their distance from the sun, the exception to this rule in the case of Mercury and Mars being regarded by him as due to disturbinginfluences; consequently, the further a planet is removed from the centre of the system, the more will its orbit resemble that of a comet. He therefore regards it probable that there are planets beyond Saturn whose orbits are still more eccentric than that of Saturn, and, consequently, still more closely related CHARACTER OF THE BOOK. 01 to those of comets, so that, by a regular gradation, the planets at last become comets. When, however, Uranus and Neptune were discovered, it was found that their orbits were less eccentric than that of Saturn. \Vhile the book discusses the mechanical forces, Kant does not regard them as capable of explaining organisms ; they are, however, much better understood than the organic powers. He thinks that, in a certain sense, it may be said without presumption, " Give me matter, and I will construct a world ! That is, give me matter, and I will show you how a world may originate therefrom; for if the matter exists, it is not difficult to discover the causes which have co-operated in the formation of the world." Hut insuperable diffi culties appear when we begin to deal with organisms. " Can we boast of the same ability with respect to the least plant or insect ? Can we say, Give me matter, and I will show you how a caterpillar can be produced?" Among other things, the book also discusses the density of the different planets, the origin of the comets, the revolutions of the planets on their axes, the origin of Saturn's rings, the zodiacal light, and the history of the sun. Kant thinks it very probable that most of the planets are inhabited; and he holds that in proportion as a planet is distant from the sun, its inhabitants, animals, and plants, will be formed of lighter material, and their form and structure will be more perfect. He ascribes vice, error, and the inert ness of thought to the coarseness of the material from which the body is formed ; man must therefore be more perfect if the material of his physical nature is finer. He consequently reasons that in proportion as human beings are removed from the sun, their bodies 62 THE LIFE OF 1MMANUKL KANT. will be fine, and the power of thought, the quickness of the intellect, the clearness and vividness of their impressions from external objects, their skill in executing their purposes, and the whole range of their endowments, will be perfect. This seems to him so probable that lie regards it as almost certain. The highest intelligences would therefore be found on Jupiter and Saturn, and the lowest on Venus and Mercury ; on the former, a Newton would be regarded as an ape, and on the latter, a Greenlander or a Hottentot w^ould be esteemed a Newton. In speaking of the blessings of the most fortunate inhabitants, he gives a loose rein to his speculations, and this part of the work abounds in what may be called illustrations of a speculative imagination. The style of the book is easy, and between the arguments beautiful passages are interspersed. Those who are familiar only with his dry speculations are not prepared for the perspicuity and beauty of style in his earlier works. He calls worlds and systems " mere sun-dust," as compared with the whole of creation ; and among others this poetic passage occurs, " A view of the starry heavens on a brilliant night inspires noble souls with ecstatic delight. Amid the universal still ness of nature and the peace of the spirit, the mysterious activity of the soul utters an indescribable language, which thrills, but which human tongue cannot express." Kant had consecrated his life to thought, and the time spent by so many in idleness or dissipation was devoted by him to severe mental toil. The following words were evidently written from the fulness of his heart : " The discernment of the understanding, when FATE OF THE BOOK. ()-> it possesses the proper degree of completeness ami clearness, has far more lively charms than sensuous allurements have, and is able to conquer these com pletely and trample them under foot." In judging of the merits of the book, it should be remembered that its author was only thirty-one when it was published, and that he had never been connected with a university except as a student. It was chiefly the product of his diligent study as family tutor. The work was dedicated to Frederick II. , who, however, probably never saw a copy of it. The publisher failed while the book was in the press, his entire stock was seized by the court for the creditors, and in this way the circulation of the book was hindered. When Lambert published his " Cosmological Letters" they excited much attention, while Kant's book was scarcely known. 61 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. CHAPTER III. TEACHER IN THE UNIVERSITY. Habilitation — Privat-Docent — Subjects and character of his lectures — Aim in teaching — Popularity — Testimony of Herder — Dis traction — First salary — Contest for a prize — Promotion to a professorship — Efforts to induce him to leave Konigsberg — Condition of the University — Dean and Rector. MOST of the instructors in German universities are included under the classification of tutors, professors extraordinary, and professors in ordinary. (30) A tutor may become a professor in ordinary without passing through the intermediate grade of professor extra ordinary ; but it is unusual to appoint any one a professor who has not been a tutor. Kant desired to become a tutor in the philosophical faculty, and for this purpose it was necessary for him to present to the dean of that faculty two Latin dissertations. These he was obliged to defend before the dean and profes sors against any one who might see fit to attack them. Persons were also appointed to dispute with the author, the whole proceeding being conducted in Latin. Kant's first dissertation was presented for the purpose of taking the degree of magister. It was a treatise on " Fire," (31) and was defended before the faculty on the 12th of July, 1755. Teske, his fdVmer teacher, DISSERTATIONS. bo was much pleased with it, and declared that it had been instructive to him. To secure the privilege of lecturing in the university, he presented and defended another dissertation, on the 27th of September, en titled, " A new Explanation of the First Principles of Metaphysical Knowledge ;" (32) which was the first metaphysical discussion from his pen. According to a royal decree of 1749, no person was to bo proposed for the position of professor extraordinary who had not presented and defended three Latin dissertations. To prepare the way for a professorship, Kant accord ingly prepared a third treatise, " On the Advantages to Natural Philosophy of a Metaphysic connected with Geometry," (;i3) which he defended in April, 175G. Ft is worthy of note that in these dissertations there is a discussion of mathematical, physical, and meta physical principles, and that they belong to the departments of which he made a speciality while a student and also afterwards. But it is evident that at tliis time his strength still lay in mathematics and physics. His books and treatises show that he was thoroughly prepared for his new sphere. He had mastered the results of the researches of Newton, Leibnitz, Hales, Boerhave, and others; and the com prehensiveness of his knowledge is as surprising as his penetration, his bold speculation, and his ability to systematize the results of his investigations. He, however, never made experiments in physics. Any one who has a good character and the requisite scholarship, can become a tutor in a German university by complying with the conditions of habilitation ; but after the laborious preparation necessary, and after passing through this severe ordeal, he has nothing 66 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. but the privilege of delivering lectures. He is thrown entirely on his own resources, and on the assistance of friends ; from the university he receives no remunera tion. Only a professor in ordinary is eligible to the position of rector, dean, or member- of the academic senate ; in the management of the university the tutor is not consulted. For his income he depends on the fees of the students who hear his private lectures, the public ones always being free ; and necessity may compel him to give private lessons, or to resort to other means for a livelihood. No student is obliged to hear his lectures ; and while the exalted position of a pro fessor is likely to attract students, that of a tutor is too humble to be attractive. He is, in fact, simply a private teacher, with the privilege of lecturing if lie can get an audience. Until the year when Kant became professor, neither his name nor that of any other tutor appeared in the catalogue, so that even the subjects on which he lectured were not published by the authority of the institution. But the first year of Kant's professorship was also the first in which the catalogue contained the names of the tutors, and the subjects of their lectures, thus giving them public and official recognition. (3*) Among the uncertainties of a tutorship is the pro motion to a professorship. It may be a long time before a vacancy occurs ; in case of a vacancy, other tutors may be preferred to him, or may have stronger claims because they have waited longer ; and thus years and life itself may be spent, without attaining the coveted goal. The history of German universities furnishes examples of fine scholars who have worn out their lives in toil, with but dim hopes of promo- FIHST LECTUKK. 67 tion. But the difficulties connected with the position are a spur to effort and they arouse the mind to the utmost exertion ; and it is not surprising that among those who overcome these obstacles, so many stand in the front rank of deep and broad scholarship. It would be difficult to create a sphere more desirable or more advantageous for the intellectual man than the position of a teacher in a German university; and well is his course called pre-eminently " the learned career." The vocation which Kant chose was the one to which he was best adapted by his tastes, his habits, and his scholarship ; but on account of his poverty his position was peculiarly trying. Considerable expense was connected with his promotion, such as the payment of fees, and the printing of the disserta tions; in meeting this he was aided by his uncle Kichter. The ordinary difficulties of the position were increased soon after he became tutor, by the Seven Years' War, by .means of which Konigsberg, being near the Russian border, suffered greatly. Kant's books were no doubt known at the university. He had aroused expectation, and when his treatises were presented, he was honoured by unusually large audiences. In the autumn of 1755 he began his first course of lectures, delivering them in a large hall in the house where he lodged. Borowski, who was present at the first lecture, says that this hall, " together with the vestibule and steps, was filled with an unusual number of students. This seemed to embarrass Kant exceed ingly. Bring unaccustomed to the affair, he almost lost his composure, spoke less audibly than usual, and frequently repeated himself, lint this only served to increase our admiration for the man who, in our v 2 68 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. opinion, had the most extensive knowledge, and who impressed us as not fearful, but only very modest. In the next hour everything was different. Then and afterwards his lectures were not only thorough, but also easy and agreeable." The same writer informs us that there was so exalted an opinion of his attain ments, that he was thought capable of teaching any thing belonging to the philosophical faculty. For his first courses of lectures he, however, chose subjects to which he had thus far specially devoted himself. During that winter he lectured on mathematics and physics. At that time compends were generally used as the basis of the lectures ; and he chose a compend by Wolf for his lectures on mathematics, and one by Eberhard for those on physics. To the two courses of the first winter he soon added lectures on logic and metaphysics, using for the former a compend of Meyer, for the latter that of Baumeister and afterwards that of Baumgarten. Soon he lectured regularly three or four times a day. He was not con tent with giving theoretical knowledge, but wanted also to give it a practical application ; accordingly, he prepared lectures on fortification, applying to this subject his knowledge of mathematics. From the very beginning of his connexion with the university he aimed to connect the practical with the theoretical, a tendency which characterized his whole life after wards, but which is largely ignored, because his emi nence in speculation has obscured his practical efforts. The lectures on fortification were intended for military men, and by means of them he extended his influence beyond the limits of the university. The numerous military officers in the city made such a course im- SUBJECTS OF LKCTUKKS. |:. H5 him solemnly, " Do you in your heart fear God r " The academic senate, to which the application was made, however decided in favour of Dr. Buck, who had been a tutor longer than Kant. The city was then in the possession of the Russians, whose commanding general confirmed the choice of the senate. But his merits were too conspicuous and his reputation too extensive for the general government to lose sight of Kant. In 1703 he was a contestant for a prize offered by the Berlin Academy of Sciences. His dissertation was entitled, " Investigations respecting the Clearness of the Principles of Natural Theology and Morals." (") The first prize was given to Moses Mendelssohn, the most eminent representative of the Popular philosophy ; the second was awarded to Kant. This distinction intro duced his name to the Government, as well as to scholars in Berlin. From various official documents it is evident that in Government circles he was highly esteemed on account of his scholarship, and that the authorities intended to appoint him to the first vacant professor ship in the philosophical faculty. Accordingly, in 1704, when the professorship of rhetoric and poetry became vacant, the minister of education wrote to the authorities at Konigsberg to inquire into Kant's fitness for the appointment, and his willingness to accept it if tendered. The letter says, " A certain magister, Ini- manuel Kant, lias become known to us through his works, which give evidence of thorough scholarship." Kant was not yet the abstract metaphysician, and he had given sufficient evidence that he could write beauti fully ; and it was perhaps thought that his varied attainments fitted him for any posit ion. But to imagine the mathematical and metaphysical Kant as spending OO THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. the remainder of his days on rhetoric and in versifica tion, and in trying to teach aspiring geniuses the art of torturing words into metre and rhyme, and of giving to airy nothing a local habitation and a name ! The incumbent was obliged to prepare the official poems for the special occasions and numerous celebrations connected with the university ; and it is self-evident that neither nature nor his education had adapted him to this professorship. The minister, being informed that he did not desire the appointment, wrote to the Ko'nigs- berg authorities that the Government had decided to offer him some other position in the university, saying, " The very able magister Kant, who teaches with such general approval, shall be promoted at the first oppor tunity, and you are to announce this to him; and when such an opportunity occurs you are to propose him immediately." Nevertheless he was obliged to wait six years longer before a suitable vacancy occurred. Meanwhile his reputation attracted the attention of other universities to his superior abilities. In 17 09 an effort was made to secure him as professor of logic and metaphysics in Erlangen, and a correspondence with him took place on the subject. Seeing no hope of a speedy promotion to a professorship in Konigsberg, he thought seriously of accepting ; and the report that he was coming excited much joy among the students in Erlangen. At the same time he was urged to accept the professorship of philosophy in Jena. If the professorship of mathe matics in Konigsberg had not become vacant at that time, Kant would probably have been lost to this city. This position was, however, placed at his disposal. In view of his early preference for mathematics, he might PROFESSOR. 87 have accepted it, and then the world would probably never have known him as the great metaphysician ; but Professor Buck desired the chair of mathematics, and offered Kant his professorship of logic and meta physics. Kant accepted this offer, and in 1 770, after fifteen years of toil as a humble tutor, and when forty- six years of age, he became professor in ordinary of logic and metaphysics, never having occupied the intermediate position of professor extraordinary. In order that he might become a professor, it was necessary for him again to present a Latin dissertation. In its subject and treatment the one prepared for this occasion was worthy of the man who was called to teach metaphysics, and it is historically significant from the fact that in it Kant for the first time publicly gave some of the most important principles afterwards developed in the " Kritik." It was a discussion of the difference between sensation and understanding, with the title, " The Form and Principles of the World of Sense and of the Intellect," (") After he became a professor, he could lecture on subjects not immediately connected with his professor ship, for in this, as in so many other respects, there is great freedom in German universities. But a professor must lecture on the subjects for which he is appointed, is expected to make a speciality of them, and is sup posed to have for them a preference and special adaptation. Kant's position now in a measure de fined the sphere of his intellectual activity ; and from his correspondence we learn that for years he had given particular prominence to the study of meta physics. Henceforth he is less a mathematician and physicist than formerly, and in his thoughts and lectures 83 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT. and books he restricts himself mainly to speculative and moral philosophy. Kant began his career as professor under the most favourable auspices. He was in his best years, had the favour of the Government, had learning which was as extensive as it was solid, and had acquired an enviable reputation for scholarship. The popularity which he en joyed while a tutor was increased after he became a pro fessor, and culminated when the "Kritik" gave him cele brity. In May, 1 786, Hamann wrote that ho Avent with his son at six in the morning to Kant's lecture-room, an hour before he read, the attendance being so large in the first months of a semester as to make this necessary in order to secure a place. A few years before this, Hamann stated that Kant was reading on philosophical theology, and that the rush to hear him was astonish ing. At the time when his fame was at its height, manypersons not connected with the university attended his lectures, and numbers came from a distance to hear him. His position as professor not merely gave him greater influence arid authority, but also an opportunity to concentrate his efforts, since he was no longer obliged to lecture so frequently for the sake of a livelihood ; still, when he began his professorship he was very busy, partly in preparing new lectures. A letter written at this time states that a literary project was neces sarily delayed on account of his " laborious academic work." His salary was four hundred thalers ; besides this, he had an income from those who attended his private lectures. This was more than enough for a man with so few wants, and whose whole life had been disciplined by an enforced economy. The king, in SALARY. 89 1 789, increased the sum by the addition of 220 thalers, making his stated income 620 thalers, or about 90/., the highest salary ever received by Kant. As the attendance at his lectures was large, this must have been a source of considerable revenue ; and in his later years he also received an income from his books. it is not surprising that Kant's extraordinary popu larity aroused some opposition to him in the faculty ; his religious views may also have given occasion for attacks. Some of his older colleagues, finding them selves overshadowed by Kant, made insinuations against him in their lectures ; but by his younger colleagues, most of whom had been his pupils, he was respected and kindly treated, one only excepted. This one was a tutor and an enthusiastic follower of the philosopher Crusius. Having made rude attacks on Kant in his lecture-room, just as he had on Wolf and others, he was silenced for awhile ; when he proposed to read again, the students, who had come for that purpose, interrupted and so disconcerted him that he was obliged to desist, and he abandoned his lectures altogether. About a year after Kant was appointed a professor, Von Zedlitz became minister of public instruction. He took great pains to improve the condition of the universities. A letter from him to the civil authorities in Konigsberg gives an idea of the condition of the university in that city, and also of the esteem in which Kant was held by the Government. The minister finds fault with the institution because modern litera ture seems to be ignored in the lectures; because1 the professors, with the exception of Kant and Rcuss, read on compends which are antiquated; because on 90 THE LIFE OF IMMANUEfj KANT. some important subjects no lectures are announced— such as Public and German Law, Botany, and Prussian and Brandenburg History ; and because the philosophy of Crusius is still taught by some, though generally it has been found to be unsatisfactory. The teachers who are disciples of Crusius are ordered to abandon their lectures on philosophy, unless they can free themselves from his system, and are to chose some other topics. Another professor is admonished to avoid verbosity " as much as possible, since the discourse which has been most thoroughly elaborated is always the most condensed." The teachers are also exhorted to accumu late new stores of knowledge by diligent study. Sad indeed must have been the intellectual character of the university to make such a letter necessary or even possible ; but the general stagnation made Kant's broad learning, and fresh, vigorous, and profound thoughts all the more powerful, and his position the more con spicuous. Yon Zedlitz, who was a warm admirer of Kant, in 1778 offered him the professorship of metaphysics in Halle, where the number of his students would have been much larger than in Konigsberg, and his in fluence much greater; he, however, declined the position. The minister, who was very anxious that he should accept, renewed the offer, and presented for his consideration the advantages of Halle, hoping in this way to induce him to accept the place. A salary of 800 thalers was offered, just double the amount which he was then receiving ; Von Zedlitz also states that the climate of Halle is much healthier than that of Kooigsberg, and that the number of students is from 1000 to 1200, or more than twice as many as in the INDUCEMENTS TO