Q6 Kant: A Biography
of means he became a private teacher (Hofmeister), and took up employment
first with the reformed preacher Andersch in Judtschen, then at the estate
von Hülsen close to Arensdorf, and finally with the Count Keyserlingk."^155
This decision to become a private teacher was not directly caused by the
death of his father.^156 Nor could it have been simply "lack of funds," be¬
cause that had always been a problem. It is doubtful that it was his first
choice to leave Königsberg to teach young children in the country. Why
did he not try to find a place as a teacher at one of the schools in Königs¬
berg? To be a Hofmeister, or a "lackey companion and teacher," who usu¬
ally was not much better than a servant, could not have been a desirable
prospect.^157 It may have seemed to him to be the only way to support him¬
self. Indeed, it was usually the only way for young and poor academics, who
had neither a future at the university nor the right kind of letter of rec¬
ommendation, to bridge the gap between the years of study and a position
as a pastor, teacher, or official of the government. It was meant to be an
"interim position."^158 Yet, this wait was usually long, and success was far
from assured.
Kant was uncommonly lucky in his choice of employers, Pastor Andersch,
Bernhard Friedrich von Hülsen, and the Keyserlingks. He was probably
in Judtschen between fall 1748 and fall 1751.^159 Judtschen was close to
Königsberg, and Pastor Andersch belonged to the Reformed Church, that
is, to the Calvinist denomination, not the Lutheran one. He ministered to
the French Huguenots, who had come to Prussia under Frederick William
I.^160 Judtschen was a fairly prosperous town, settled by these Huguenot
immigrants. Both the pastor and judge were usually French-speaking, and
so the German-speaking pastor was an oddity. He had been given his po¬
sition over the protests of his French-speaking congregation in 1728. Over
the years he had become more and more acceptable to them, and was even¬
tually well liked by many of the farmers. On the other hand, Andersch had
problems with his Lutheran colleagues.
Having a good income, Andersch could afford to educate his five sons
well. Kant was hired to teach three of them. One of Kant's charges was
Timotheus (1736-1818), who later became a wine merchant in Königsberg.
He also became Kant's friend. His older brother, Ernst Daniel (1730—
1802), had already left the house to go to high school in Berlin. He later
studied theology and became a pastor of the Reformed Church in Königs¬
berg. Not much is known about Kant's stay in Judtschen, but he had some
social relations with the members of the congregation, being asked twice