Narrative and Miscellaneous PapersDe Quincey, Thomas
General
Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers
De Quincey, Thomas
English essays; English fiction
Here I must mention a little circumstance which does honor to Kant's
benevolence. In his last will, on the assumption that Lampe would
continue with him to his death, he had made a very liberal provision
for him; but upon this new arrangement of the pension, which was to take
effect immediately, it became necessary to revoke that part of his will,
which he did in a separate codicil, that began thus:--'In consequence of
the ill behavior of my servant Lampe, I think fit,' &c. But soon after,
considering that such a record of Lampe's misconduct might be seriously
injurious to his interests, he cancelled the passage, and expressed it
in such a way, that no trace remained behind of his just displeasure.
And his benign nature was gratified with knowing, that, this one
sentence blotted out, there remained no other in all his numerous
writings, published or confidential, which spoke the language of anger,
or could leave any ground for doubting that he died in charity with all
the world. Upon Lampe's calling to demand a written character, he was,
however, a good deal embarrassed; his stern reverence for truth being,
in this instance, armed against the first impulses of his kindness. Long
and anxiously he sat, with the certificate lying before him, debating
how he should fill up the blanks. I was present, but in such a matter I
did not take the liberty of suggesting any advice. At last, he took
his pen, and filled up the blank as follows:--'--has served me long and
faithfully,'--(for Kant was not aware that he had robbed him,)--'but did
not display those particular qualifications which fitted him for waiting
on an old and infirm man like myself.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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