Founder of a Metaphysics of Morals 315in this matter in a very noble philosophical way, which did honor to his good
character, which no one can deny him."^174 At the ceremony during which
Kant assumed the office and gave a speech, a former student, who suffered
from mental illness, interrupted him. Just as the student had gotten up on
the podium beside Kant and was beginning to read his announcement, he
was forcibly removed by "a superior number of hands."^175
Kant found the position of rector burdensome. One of the things he had
to do during this time was to prepare and lead the ceremonies of the uni¬
versity at the occasion of the inauguration of Frederick William II on Sep¬
tember 19, i786.^176 This involved a great deal of pomp and circumstance.
On September 18, he and some other members of the university senate
had an audience with the king, but he did not go to the actual ceremony at
the university. Why he did not go is unknown.
Kant also had to see to the distribution of free passes and coins made
for the occasion of the inauguration. Kant let the senate decide by vote,
and he only offered the advice not to allow any rabble to attend the festiv¬
ities. Metzger, with whom Kant had had a run-in during the previous
semester, found it necessary to note in his protocol of the activities to the
senate that Kant failed to do a number of things in regard to the festivities.
He had not invited all the professors and emeritus professors to a church
service in honor of Frederick the Great; he had not asked the senate to rat¬
ify which senators were to attend the king's audience; and the members of
the senate who went to the inauguration festivities had not been properly
elected. Kant's procedure had been chaotic (tumultarisch), and he had not
followed due course and proper procedures.^177 This was not the only dis¬
pute. As rector, he also came into conflict with the Jewish community in
Königsberg about having held up the collection of money for a memorial
picture that was to be put up in memory of Mendelssohn. Hamann said
that Kant was upset about these allegations and let the Jewish community
know that, by law, it was the Jews alone who should bear the cost for a me¬
morial of one of their own.^178
Kant was not the most effective administrator. Hippel observed that,
while the philosopher could recite long passages from mathematical and
philosophical books "almost verbatim or verbatim" and memorize name
registers with lightning speed, he could not even keep track of three differ¬
ent things in administration.^179 One of the earliest biographers observed:
His other academic business as dean of the faculty of philosophy and as a member of
the senate, remained of secondary importance compared with that of teaching and