224 Kant: A Biography
to and asked Hamann to react to his interpretation, but "if possible in the
language of human beings. For I, poor son of this earth, am not organized
to understand the divine language of intuitive reason. What one spells out
in common concepts and in accordance with logical rules I can indeed
grasp. Also, I just want to understand what the main point {Thema) of the
author is, making no claim to understand it in its entire dignity and evi¬
dence."^135 Irony aside, Kant really was interested. Hamann obliged, an¬
swering the very next day. The book had four points: (i) The history of the
beginning of the world, that is, "the oldest document," is not one that was
originally written by Moses. It originates from the very fathers of human¬
ity. (2) It is not to be understood as a mere poem. Indeed, it is more reli¬
able and more genuine than the most common physical experiment. (3) It
is the key to all mysteries of civilization and the sufficient reason of the
difference between civilization and barbarism. (4) To understand it, we
only need to rid ourselves of modern philosophy. Not surprisingly perhaps,
Kant still did not understand. In his next letter he found Herder's main
point in the claim that God gave language to human beings, and, together
with it, all the rudiments of science. The first book of Moses reveals these.
It is therefore the most reliable and purest document. But: "What is the
sense of this document?," and how do we know that it is genuine and pure?
Hamann answered one more time, but he hardly fulfilled Kant's wishes.
Interpretation or understanding is God's business. To understand nature,
we must accept God's word. The exchange seems to end where their ear¬
lier exchange also ended. Neither a physics for children nor a physics for
adults can do without faith. Hippel wrote to Scheffner somewhat later that
"Kant does not like the Document at all, and my only consolation is that he
does not understand it completely."^136 Kant had nothing to say in re¬
sponse to Hamann.
Kant's answer to Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741—1801) — one of the new
friends of Herder, who also wanted to become a friend of Kant's - can give
us a clue to what Kant thought. Lavater had asked Kant for his judgment
on a treatise on Faith and Prayer. Kant wrote on April 28, 1775: We must
differentiate between the true doctrine of Christianity and its expression
{Nachricht). The true doctrine coincides with a purely moral faith that God
will support all our genuine efforts at doing good, even if their success
might appear not to be in our power. The adulation of the teacher of this
religion (Jesus) as well as the asking for favors in prayer and devotion is
inessential.^137
The entire exchange between Kant and Hamann had a subtext that is