322 Kant: A Biographysystem ... far from carried with it that apodictic conviction requisite for compelling
an unqualified acceptance.^217Hamann wrote to Herder on April 4, 1786, that Kant had been "in an ex¬
traordinarily bad mood" about the review, but that Schulz had defused the
situation by visiting Kant first. They had a long conversation, and they
parted on friendly terms. "The clergyman had looked into the philosopher's
cards and Kant... was more bitter in the heat of the moment than he him¬
self would have liked. This weakness was betrayed by his amanuensis and
was afterwards covered up. In any case, Kant is in spite of his impetuous-
ness {Lebhaftigkeit) a naive {treuherzig) and innocent man. But he is just as
little able to keep silent as Jachmann, who is of the same sort and also a
very young and sanguine person."^218 Schulz, who had been a lecturer at the
university for the longest time, became professor of mathematics in 1786.The Death of His Best Friend and the Consequences:
A "Changed ... Way of Life"
It is often assumed that Kant's life changed when he bought his own house,
and that he no longer went out in the evening but sought society only in the
afternoon.^219 Part of the reason for this was not his change of residence
(in 1783) but the death of his best friend Green on June 27, 1786.^220
During the final months Kant was "very worried about his old friend Green,
with whom he is every day punctually until 7:00 P.M. and on Saturdays un¬
til 9:00 P.M. He is as much as accounted for; and he is incapable of leaving
his bed, where alone he finds life bearable."^221 Green's death "changed
Kant's way of life to such an extent that he never attended another socie¬
tal event in the evening {Abendgesellschaft), and that he entirely gave up
evening meals. It appeared as if he wished to spend the time of day that
was previously devoted {geheiligt) to the most intimate friendship as a sac¬
rifice to his close friend {Busenfreund) quietly alone until the end of his
life."^222 Just as the death of Funk had led to a fundamental change in Kant's
life, so now the death of Green led to new changes. Though he still went to
Motherby's house every Sunday, and though he had many other friends, he
lived a much more withdrawn life from now on. It is almost as if a part of
himself died with his friend; he seemed to withdraw from the kinds of ac¬
tivities that they had enjoyed together. This is also the time at which Kant
began set up "his own economy." He no longer took his meals outside the