272 Kant: A Biography
held his silver ware and his cash, and a thermometer. These were all the furnishings,
which covered a part of the white walls. In this way, one reached through a very simple,
even poor-looking, door a just as destitute sans-souci, into which one was invited by a
glad "come in" as soon as one knocked. (How fast my heart beat, when this happened
for the first time!) The entire room exuded simplicity and quiet isolation from the
noises of the city and the world. Two common tables, a simple sofa, some chairs, in¬
cluding his study-seat, and a dresser, which left enough space in the middle of the room
to get to the barometer and thermometer, which Kant consulted frequently. Here sat
the thinker in his wooden half-circular chair, as if on a tripod...^87
Kant's furnishings were by all accounts simple and inexpensive. He was
opposed to opulence in principle. In this, he was quite different from some
of his friends, and most notably from Hippel, who lived in a veritable
palace, with select and valuable furnishings and artwork. Kant found such
ostentation distasteful. Kraus once defended himself for not having ade¬
quate furnishings in his quarters by appealing to Kant, who "had just said
rather unflattering things about people who buy too many things for their
household."^88 The only picture in Kant's house was a portrait of Rousseau
that was hanging over his writing desk.^89 At times, the walls of his study
were blackened by the smoke from his pipe, the stove, and the lights, "so
that one could write with the finger on the wall."^90 Indeed, Scheffner once
did just that while he was listening to a conversation between Hippel and
Kant, whereupon the latter asked him why he wanted to destroy the ancient
patina, and whether such natural wallpaper wasn't better than one that was
bought.^91
In the afternoons Kant visited his old friend Green, who found it in¬
creasingly more difficult to go out of his house because of his gout.^92
Hamann had already reported to Herder in October 1781 that two of his
acquaintances were suffering terribly from gout, that Green was suffering
from it in his abdomen and his intestines, and that he had "chased" it into
his feet with heated wine. He mentioned that he had met Kant at Green's
house and talked to him about the Critique, which he had earlier accused —
much to Kant's consternation — of perpetrating mysticism. In June of 1782,
Hamann wrote again to Herder of another visit to Green's house, where
Kant was present.^93 Indeed, Hamann frequently met Kant at Green's
house.^94 They talked of literary events - for instance, the publication of
Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, which Hamann thought
was full of poetical beauty. While Green could hardly have appreciated
this, he agreed with Hamann that the book was "not at all dangerous."^95
In June 1782, Hamann fulfilled his promise to give to Green "the three