420 Kant: A Biographymissing word, which he then added."^156 When Jachmann left, Kant asked
him to tell his sister who he was so that she could later explain. Hasse, who
told the story that Kant "apologized" to his friends for his sister's lack of
culture, was therefore more than just disingenuous; and Metzger's insin¬
uation that Kant was morally defective because he did not let his sister eat
at his table was even more so. Either Hasse was not able to see how far gone
Kant was, or he had other motives than he stated.^157
On October 8, 1803, Kant's condition became life-threatening. Accord¬
ing to Wasianski, this was a result of Kant's diet. He had eaten badly dur¬
ing the last few years, not liking any of the traditional dishes. On the other
hand, he had developed a craving for a sandwich with grated dry English
cheese (cheddar), which Wasianski considered bad for him. On October 7,
he ate, against Wasianski's advice, a large quantity of it:
He for the first time made an exception in his customary approval and acceptance of
my suggestion. He insisted excitedly on the satisfaction of his craving. I do not think
I err when I say that this was the first time I noticed a certain kind of animosity against
me, which was meant to suggest that I had stepped over the line he had drawn for me.
He appealed to the fact that this food had never harmed him and could not harm him.
He ate the cheese - and more had to be grated. I had to be silent and give in, after hav¬
ing tried everything to change his mind.^158
At 9:00 A.M. the next morning, being led by his sister on a walk through
the house, Kant lost consciousness and fell to the ground. He was put to
bed in his study, which was heated. The doctor came. Kant made noises,
but he could not articulate words. Later that day he managed to speak, but
he slurred the words. Though he had probably suffered a stroke rather than
an attack of indigestion, he got no more cheese at Wasianski's order.^159
Still, it might have been the cheese that caused Kant's "sickness" — at least
indirectly. The excitement over the forbidden food might have raised his
blood pressure and brought on the stroke. Whether or not this was the case
we will never know, but what we can know is that Wasianski felt responsible.
Scheffner wrote on October 27 to a friend: "Kant is now almost without
soul, yet he still lives; often he does not know his daily acquaintances."^160
In March he had already written that Kant could "no longer utter three
connected words ... he seems to have lost the rational soul entirely."^161
"After this sickness Kant never was happy to the degree he was before."
His dinner parties were resumed, but he no longer enjoyed them. He hur¬
ried his guests along, and while Kant's friends still showed up to his din¬
ner parties, it was more a chore done from duty than it was a pleasure — at
least for most of them. Some, like Hasse, seem to have enjoyed it as a kind