Narrative and Miscellaneous PapersDe Quincey, Thomas
General
Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers
De Quincey, Thomas
English essays; English fiction
night, summer and winter,) he guided himself by a rope, which was duly
attached to his bed-post every night, and carried into the adjoining
apartment.
Kant never perspired, [Footnote: This appears less extraordinary,
considering the description of Kant's person, given originally by
Reichardt, about eight years after his death. 'Kant,' says this writer,
'was drier than dust both in body and mind. His person was small; and
possibly a more meagre, arid, parched anatomy of a man, has not appeared
upon this earth. The upper part of his face was grand; forehead lofty
and serene, nose elegantly turned, eyes brilliant and penetrating; but
below it expressed powerfully the coarsest sensuality, which in him
displayed itself by immoderate addiction to eating and drinking.' This
last feature of his temperament is here expressed much too harshly.]
night or day. Yet it was astonishing how much heat he supported
habitually in his study, and in fact was not easy if it wanted but
one degree of this heat. Seventy-five degrees of Fahrenheit was the
invariable temperature of this room in which he chiefly lived; and if it
fell below that point, no matter at what season of the year, he had it
raised artificially to the usual standard. In the heats of summer he
went thinly dressed, and invariably in silk stockings; yet, as even this
dress could not always secure him against perspiring when engaged in
active exercise, he had a singular remedy in reserve. Retiring to some
shady place, he stood still and motionless--with the air and attitude
of a person listening, or in suspense--until his usual _aridity_ was
restored. Even in the most sultry summer night, if the slightest
trace of perspiration had sullied his night-dress, he spoke of it with
emphasis, as of an accident that perfectly shocked him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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