Childhood and Early Youth 37a calling" (unberuffene Winckelprediger) in Königsberg. They were accused
of founding illegitimate schools at street corners (Winckehchulen), which
constituted an unfair competition with legitimate schools, and also of
preaching heresy. Only when the Collegium Fridericianum became an offi¬
cial institution and its director was appointed as a professor at the univer¬
sity did Pietism become a real threat to the orthodox forces in Königsberg.
When part of the school was transformed into a church, where Pietistic
preaching "drew huge audiences," it began to meet with official resistance.^42
The orthodox clergy of Königsberg, the faculty of theology, and the ad¬
ministration of the city did everything they could to curb the success of
the Pietists in the city. Lysius was accused of spreading "Chiliasm" and an
"unfounded hope for better times," perverting both his followers and the
word of God. His followers were "simple-minded and common citizens and
artisans," who, "like today's Quakers, Mennonites, enthusiasts, and other
fantastic misled souls (Irrgeister), were allowed to open up the Holy Bible
in their meetings. They could find a text or saying in it, and explain, gloss,
or interpret it according to their concepts. He [Lysius] prostitutes the pre¬
cious word of God and puts a waxen nose on it, as it were." Early on, most
students and professors at the university ridiculed the Pietists, and the city
administration and nobility were almost uniformly opposed to them. Even
after the arrival of Franz Albert Schulz in 1731, Pietism remained in an
embattled position.^43 Though Schulz became one of the most important
figures in the intellectual and social life of Königsberg, he had to overcome
great resistance. It would therefore be wrong to say that Königsberg's cul¬
ture was ever completely characterized by Pietism, even if the new move¬
ment was very successful with ordinary citizens such as Kant's parents.^44
It appears that Kant's parents, and especially his mother, sided with
Schulz and were indebted to him. Kant's mother often took her older chil¬
dren to Bible study sessions held by Schulz, and Schulz often visited the
family and even helped them by supplying firewood. Kant's earliest reli¬
gious instruction outside the home came from this man, and Schulz's brand
of Pietism formed the background of Kant's first formal religious instruc¬
tion. For better or worse, through his parents - and especially his mother —
Kant was part of the Pietistic movement in Königsberg. The conflicts
between the Pietists and the more traditional elements of Königsberg so¬
ciety became to a certain extent his own. When the Pietists were vilified,
his parents — and to some extent he himself, as well — must also have felt
discriminated against.
Schulz was a complex character, marked by great ambition and a "geheime