King — Have you ever
witnessed
the transformation with your own
eyes ?
eyes ?
Warner - World's Best Literature - v15 - Kab to Les
My hands and feet seem to
have lost their power. Well, Love has gained his object; and Love
only is to blame for having induced our dear friend, in the innocence
of her heart, to confide in such a perfidious man. Possibly however
the imprecation of Durvāsas may be already taking effect. Indeed,
I cannot otherwise account for the King's strange conduct, in allow-
ing so long a time to elapse without even a letter; and that too
after so many promises and protestations. I cannot think what to
K
## p. 8467 (#67) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8467
do, unless we send him the ring which was to be the token of recog-
nition. But which of these austere hermits could we ask to be the
bearer of it? Then again, Father Kanwa has just returned from his
pilgrimage; and how am I to inform him of Sakuntalā's marriage to
King Dushyanta, and her expectation of being soon a mother? I
?
never could bring myself to tell him, even if I felt that Çakuntalā
had been in fault, which she certainly has not. What is to be done ?
Priyamvadā [entering joyfully) – Quick, quick! Anasuya! come and
assist in the joyful preparations for Çakuntala's departure to her hus-
band's palace.
Anasūya — My dear girl, what can you mean ?
Priyamvadā — Listen, now, and I will tell you all about it. I went
just now to Çakuntalā, to inquire whether she had slept comfortably.
Anasāyā — Well, well; go on.
Priyamvadā — She was sitting with her face bowed down to the
very ground with shame when Father Kanwa entered, and embracing
her, of his own accord offered her his congratulations. "I give thee
joy, my child,” he said: “we have had an auspicious omen. The
priest who offered the oblation dropped it into the very centre of
the sacred fire, though thick smoke obstructed his vision. Hence-
forth thou wilt cease to be an object of compassion. This very day
I purpose sending thee, under the charge of certain trusty hermits,
to the King's palace; and shall deliver thee into the hands of thy
husband, as I would commit knowledge to the keeping of a wise and
faithful student. ”
.
(Çakuntalā's touching farewell to the hermitage, and her tender leave-
taking of her young friends, are dramatically presented with much delicacy of
feeling. Two hermits, and an aged matron, Gautami, accompany her on the
journey. Her arrival at the palace, in the Fifth Act, is announced to the
King by the Chamberlain of State. ]
Chamberlain— Well, well: a monarch's business is to sustain the
world, and he must not expect much repose; because
Onward, forever onward, in his car
The unwearied Sun pursues his daily course,
Nor tarries to unyoke his glittering steeds;
And ever moving, speeds the rushing Wind
Through boundless space, filling the universe
With his life-giving breezes; day and night
The King of Serpents on his thousand heads
Upholds the incumbent earth: and even so,
Unceasing toil is aye the lot of kings,
Who, in return, draw nurture from their subjects.
## p. 8468 (#68) ############################################
8468
KĀLIDĀSA
Call
piete
thing
Alul
addres
betrar
I will therefore deliver my message. [Walking on and looking about. ]
Ah! here comes the King :
His subjects are his children; through the day,
Like a fond father, to supply their wants
Incessantly he labors: wearied now,
The monarch seeks seclusion and repose;
E'en as the prince of elephants defies
The sun's fierce heat, and leads the fainting herd
To verdant pastures, ere his way-worn limbs
He yields to rest beneath the cooling shade.
(Approaching) – Victory to the King! So please your Majesty, some
hermits who live in a forest near the Snowy Mountains have arrived
here, bringing certain women with them. They have a message to
deliver from the sage Kanwa, and desire an audience. I await your
Majesty's commands.
King [respectfully] – A message from the sage Kanwa, did you
KE
say?
Chamberlain - Even so, my liege.
King — Tell my domestic priest Somarāta to receive the hermits
with due honor, according to the prescribed form.
2007
วง
[The hermits introduce Çakuntalā, accompanied by Gautami; and deliver
the message from her father sanctioning her marriage with the King, and
requesting her honorable reception into the palace. ]
10
al
fa
King — Holy men, I have revolved the matter in my mind; but
the more I think of it, the less able am I to recollect that I ever
contracted an alliance with this lady. What answer, then, can I pos-
sibly give you when I do not believe myself to be her husband, and
I plainly see that she is soon to become a mother?
Çakuntalā [aside]—Woe! woe! Is our very marriage to be called
in question by my own husband ? Ah me! is this to be the end of
all my bright visions of wedded happiness?
Çarngarava — Beware!
Beware how thou insult the holy Sage!
Remember how he generously allowed
Thy secret union with his foster-child;
And how, when thou didst rob him of his treasure,
He sought to furnish thee excuse, when rather
He should have cursed thee for a ravisher.
Çāradwata — Çārngarava, speak to him no more. Çakuntalā, our
part is performed; we have said all we had to say, and the King has
replied in the manner thou hast heard. It is now thy turn to give
him convincing evidence of thy marriage.
## p. 8469 (#69) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8469
*****
Çakuntalā — Since his feeling towards me has undergone a com-
plete revolution, what will it avail to revive old recollections ? One
thing is clear,-I shall soon have to mourn my own widowhood.
(Aloud. ] My revered husband - [Stops short. ] But no—I dare not
address thee by this title, since thou hast refused to acknowledge
our union. Noble descendant of Puru! It is not worthy of thee to
betray an innocent-minded girl, and disown her in such terms, after
having so lately and so solemnly plighted thy vows to her in the
hermitage.
[stopping his ears]—I will hear no more. Be such a crime
far from my thoughts!
What evil spirit can possess thee, lady,
That thou dost seek to sully my good name
By base aspersions ? like a swollen torrent,
That, leaping from its narrow bed, o’erthrows
The tree upon its bank, and strives to blend
Its turbid waters with the crystal stream?
Çakuntalā — If then thou really believest me to be the wife of
another, and thy present conduct proceeds from some cloud that
obscures thy recollection, I will easily convince thee by this token.
King - An excellent idea!
Cakuntala (feeling for the ring]— Alas! alas! woe is me! There is
no ring on my finger! (Looks with anguish at Gautami. ]
Gautami — The ring must have slipped off when thou wast in the
act of offering homage to the holy water of Çachi's sacred pool, near
Çakrāvatāra.
King (smiling] – People may well talk of the readiness of woman's
invention! Here is an instance of it.
Çakuntalā — Say rather, of the omnipotence of fate.
I will men-
tion another circumstance, which may yet convince thee.
King — By all means let me hear it at once.
Çakuntalā — One day, while we were seated in a jasmine bower,
thou didst pour into the hollow of thine hand some water, sprinkled
by a recent shower in the cup of a lotos blossom
King -I am listening; proceed.
Çakuntala - At that instant, my adopted child, the little fawn,
with soft long eyes, came running towards us. Upon which, before
tasting the water thyself, thou didst kindly offer some to the little
creature, saying fondly, “Drink first, gentle fawn. ” But she could
not be induced to drink from the hand of a stranger; though imme-
diately afterwards, when I took the water in my own hand, she
drank with perfect confidence. Then, with a smile, thou didst say,
"Every creature confides naturally in its own kind. You are both
inhabitants of the same forest, and have learnt to trust each other. ”
## p. 8470 (#70) ############################################
8470
KĀLIDĀSA
be
FD
Bria
[King Dushyanta vainly tries to recall Çakuntalā to mind, but the fatal
power of the old sage's curse still clouds his memory. All efforts failing,
Çakuntalā is suddenly swept from sight by a whirlwind and carried to a
remote mountain; where in a hallowed spot, she gives birth to a son, the
ancestor of future kings. At this moment the enchanted ring, which had been
swallowed by a fish, is unexpectedly brought to light, and Dushyanta's mental
vision is at once restored. He deeply mourns the loss of his beloved Çakun-
talā, and finds distraction from his grief only in aiding the gods in a holy
war against the demons. Some years elapse, and the god Indra, to reward
Dushyanta's heroic service, transports him through the sky to the far-off
mountain retreat of Çakuntalā and their little son. The reunion of the King
with his wife and child is touchingly presented in the last act of the drama. )
Enter a Child, attended by two Women of the hermitage, and dragging
a lion's cub by the ears.
+
Child — Open your mouth, my young lion; I want to 'count your
teeth.
First Attendant You naughty child, why do you tease the ani-
mals? Know you not that we cherish them in this hermitage as if
they were our own children ? In good sooth, you have a high spirit
of your own, and are beginning already to do justice to the name
Sarva-damana (All-taming), given you by the hermits.
King - Strange! my heart inclines towards the boy with almost as
much affection as if he were my own child. What can be the rea-
son? I suppose my own childlessness makes me yearn towards the
sons of others.
Second Attendant — This lioness will certainly attack you if you do
not release her whelp.
Child (laughing]-Oh! indeed! let her come. Much I fear her, to
be sure! (Pouts his under lip in defiance. ]
King - The germ of mighty courage lies concealed
Within this noble infant, like a spark
Beneath the fuel, waiting but a breath
To fan the flame and raise a conflagration.
First Attendant - Let the young lion go, like a dear child, and I
will give you something else to play with.
Child — Where is it? Give it me first. [Stretches out his hand. ]
King (looking at his hand] – How's this? His hand exhibits one of
those mystic marks which are the sure prognostic of universal empire.
See!
His fingers stretched in eager expectation
To grasp the wished-for toy, and knit together
By a close-woven web, in shape resemble
A lotos blossom, whose expanding petals
The early dawn has only half unfolded.
## p. 8471 (#71) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8471
Second Attendant — We shall never pacify him by mere words, dear
Suvratā. Be kind enough to go to my cottage, and you will find
there a plaything belonging to Mārkāndeya, one of the hermit's child-
ren. It is a peacock made of china-ware, painted in many colors.
Bring it here for the child.
First Attendant - Very well. (Exit. ]
Child — No, no: I shall go on playing with the young lion. (Looks
at the female attendant and laughs. ]
King - I feel an unaccountable affection for this wayward child.
How blest the virtuous parents whose attire
Is soiled with dust, by raising from the ground
The child that asks a refuge in their arms!
And happy are they while with lisping prattle,
In accents sweetly inarticulate,
He charms their ears; and with his artless smiles
Gladdens their hearts, revealing to their gaze
His tiny teeth just budding into view.
Attendant - I see how it is. He pays me no manner of attention.
(Looking off the stage. ] I wonder whether any of the hermits are
about here. [Seeing the King. ] Kind sir, could you come hither a
moment and help me to release the young lion from the clutch of
this child, who is teasing him in boyish play?
King (approaching and smiling]— Listen to me, thou child of a
mighty saint:
Dost thou dare show a wayward spirit here?
Here, in this hallowed region ? Take thou heed
Lest, as the serpent's young defiles the sandal,
Thou bring dishonor on the holy sage,
Thy tender-hearted parent, who delights
To shield from harm the tenants of the wood.
Attendant - Gentle sir, I thank you; but he is not the saint's son.
King — His behavior and whole bearing would have led me to
doubt it, had not the place of his abode encouraged the idea.
(Follows the child, and takes him by the hand, according to the request of
the attendant. ]
Aside
I marvel that the touch of this strange child
Should thrill me with delight; if so it be,
How must the fond caresses of a son
Transport the father's soul who gave him being!
Attendant (looking at them both] - Wonderful! Prodigious!
King – What excites your surprise, my good woman?
Attendant — I am astonished at the striking resemblance between
the child and yourself; and what is still more extraordinary, he
## p. 8472 (#72) ############################################
8472
KĀLIDĀSA
Fir
S SE
BE
-
min
ki
FC
Che
CA
ei
2.
seems to have taken to you kindly and submissively, though you are
a stranger to him.
King (fondling the child ]- If he be not the son of the great sage,
of what family does he come, may I ask ?
Attendant -Of the race of Puru.
King [aside] — What! are we then descended from the same an-
cestry? This no doubt accounts for the resemblance she traces
between the child and me. Certainly it has always been an estab-
lished usage among the princes of Puru's race –
To dedicate the morning of their days
To the world's weal, in palaces and halls,
'Mid luxury and regal pomp abiding:
Then, in the wane of life, to seek release
From kingly cares, and make the hallowed shade
Of sacred trees their last asylum, where
As hermits they may practice self-abasement,
And bind themselves by rigid vows of penance.
[Aloud. ] But how could mortals by their own power gain admission
to this sacred region ?
Attendant — Your remark is just; but your wonder will cease when
I tell you that his mother is the offspring of a celestial nymph, and
gave him birth in the hallowed grove of Kāçyapa.
King [aside) - Strange that my hopes should be again excited!
[Aloud. ) But what, let me ask, was the name of the prince whom
she deigned to honor with her hand ?
Attendant — How could I think of polluting my lips by the mention
of a wretch who had the cruelty to desert his lawful wife ?
King [aside] - Ha! the description suits me exactly. Would I
!
could bring myself to inquire the name of the child's mother!
[Reflecting. ] But it is against propriety to make too minute inquiries
about the wife of another man.
First Attendant (entering with the china peacock in her hand] — Sarva-
damana, Sarva-damana, see, see, what a beautiful cakunta [bird).
Child [looking round]— My mother! Where? Let me go to her.
Both Attendants — He mistook the word “çakunta” for “Çakuntalā. ”
The boy dotes upon his mother, and she is ever uppermost in his
thoughts.
Second Attendant — Nay, my dear child: I said, look at the beauty
of this cakunta.
King [aside]— What! is his mother's name Çakuntalā ? But the
name is not uncommon among women. Alas! I fear that the mere
similarity of a name, like the deceitful vapor of the desert, has
once more raised my hopes only to dash them to the ground.
Child — Dear nurse, what a beautiful peacock! [Takes the toy. ]
E
1
## p. 8473 (#73) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8473
First Attendant [looking at the child in great distress] — Alas! alas!
I do not see the amulet on his wrist.
King – Don't distress yourself. Here it is. It fell off while he
was struggling with the young lion. (Stoops to pick it up. ]
Both Attendants — Hold! hold! Touch it not, for your life. How
marvelous! He has actually taken it up without the slightest hesita-
tion. [Both raise their hands to their breasts and look at each other in
astonishment. ]
King – Why did you try to prevent my touching it?
First Attendant - Listen, great monarch. This amulet, known as
« The Invincible,” was given to the boy by the divine son of Marichi
soon after his birth, when the natal ceremony was performed. Its
peculiar virtue is, that when it falls on the ground, no one excepting
the father or mother of the child can touch it unhurt.
King — And suppose another person touches it?
First Attendant — Then it instantly becomes a serpent, and bites
him.
King — Have you ever witnessed the transformation with your own
eyes ?
Both Attendants — Over and over again.
King (with rapture, aside] - Joy! joy! Are then my dearest hopes
to be fulfilled ? [Embraces the child. ]
Second Attendant - Come, my dear Suvratā, we must inform Çakun-
talā immediately of this wonderful event, though we have to inter-
rupt her in the performance of her religious vows. (Exeunt. ] ]
Child [to the King] - Do not hold me. I want to go to my mother.
King – We will go to her together, and give her joy, my son.
Child — Dushyanta is my father, not you.
King (smiling ] - His contradiction convinces me only the more.
Enter Çakuntalā, in widow's apparel, with her long hair twisted into a
single braid.
Çakuntala (aside]—I have just heard that Sarva-damana's amulet
has retained its form, though a stranger raised it from the ground.
I can hardly believe in my good fortune. Yet why should not
Sānumati's prediction be verified ?
King (gazing at Çakuntalā) – Alas! can this indeed be my Çakun-
talā ?
Clad in the weeds of widowhood, her face
Emaciate with fasting, her long hair
Twined in a single braid, her whole demeanor
Expressive of her purity of soul:
With patient constancy she thus prolongs
The vow to which my cruelty condemned her.
## p. 8474 (#74) ############################################
8474
KĀLIDĀSA
Çakuntala (gazing at the King, who is pale with remorse] - Surely
this is not like my husband; yet who can it be that dares pollute by
the pressure of his hand my child, whose amulet should protect him
from a stranger's touch ?
Child (going to his mother]— Mother, who is this man that has been
kissing me and calling me his son ?
King – My best beloved, I have indeed treated thee most cruelly,
but am now once more thy fond and affectionate lover. Refuse not
to acknowledge me as thy husband.
Cakuntală [aside] -- Be of good cheer, my heart. The anger of
Destiny is at last appeased. Heaven regards thee with compassion.
But is he in very truth my husband ?
King – Behold me, best and loveliest of women,
Delivered from the cloud of fatal darkness
That erst oppressed my memory. Again
Behold us brought together by the grace
Of the great lord of Heaven. So the moon
Shines forth from dim eclipse, to blend his rays
With the soft lustre of his Rohini.
Çakuntalā — May my husband be victorious
[She stops short, her voice choked with tears. ]
King – O fair one, though the utterance of thy prayer
Be lost amid the torrent of thy tears,
Yet does the sight of thy fair countenance
And of thy pallid lips, all unadorned
And colorless in sorrow for my absence,
Make me already more than conqueror.
Child — Mother, who is this man?
Çakuntala - My child, ask the deity that presides over thy destiny.
King (falling at Çakuntala's feet) -
Fairest of women, banish from thy mind
The memory of my cruelty; reproach
The fell delusion that o'erpowered my soul,
And blame not me, thy husband, —'tis the curse
Of him in whom the power of darkness reigns,
That he mistakes the gifts of those he loves
For deadly evils. Even though a friend
Should wreathe a garland on a blind man's brow,
Will he not cast it from him as a serpent ?
Çakuntalā Rise, my own husband, rise. Thou wast not to blame.
My own evil deeds, committed in a former state of being, brought
down this judgment upon me. How else could my husband, who
## p. 8475 (#75) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8475
-
was ever of a compassionate disposition, have acted so unfeelingly ?
[ The King rises. ] But tell me, my husband, how did the remem-
brance of thine unfortunate wife return to thy mind?
King — As soon as my heart's anguish is removed, and its wounds
are healed, I will tell thee all.
Oh! let me, fair one, chase away the drop
That still bedews the fringes of thine eye;
And let me thus efface the memory
Of every tear that stained thy velvet cheek,
Unnoticed and unheeded by thy lord,
When in his madness he rejected thee.
[Wipes away the tear. ]
Çakuntalā (seeing the signet-ring on his finger]– Ah! my dear hus-
band, is that the Lost Ring ?
King — Yes; the moment I recovered it, my memory was restored.
Çakuntalā — The ring was to blame in allowing itself to be lost at
the
very time when I was anxious to convince my noble husband of
the reality of my marriage.
King – Receive it back, as the beautiful twining plant receives
again its blossom in token of its reunion with the spring.
Çakuntalā — Nay; I can never more place confidence in it. Let
my husband retain it.
Enter Mātali
-
Mätali — I congratulate your Majesty. Happy are you in your
reunion with your wife; happy are you in beholding the face of your
own son,
Translation of Monier Williams.
A
I.
FROM THE MEGHADUTA. ? OR CLOUD MESSENGER
CERTAIN Yaksha [Divine Being) neglectful once of his mas-
ter's task, and stript thus of his glory through his lord's
curse, which was to last a year and was the more grievous
because of separating him from his Beloved, had taken up his
abode amid the hermitages on Rāma's Hill, dense in shade trees
and whose waters were hallowed by [the fair] Sītā's having
bathed in them.
Upon this mountain the love-lorn wight, from whose
wasted arm the golden bracelet had slipped down, had already
spent eight weary moons, separated from his consort; when, on
2.
## p. 8476 (#76) ############################################
8476
KĀLIDĀSA
the first day of the Ashādha month, he caught sight of a cloud
clinging to the mountain peak and resembling an elephant with
lowered tusks butting at a bank of earth.
3. Scarce checking his tears in the presence of the cloud
which was a source of emotion to him, the servant of Kubera
[Lord of Wealth] stood long wrapt in thought: [for truly] at
the sight of a cloud the heart even of a person in happiness is
stirred, but how much more when one is longing to throw his
arms about [the loved one's] neck and is absent far away.
4. Now, desirous to cheer the heart of his Beloved, for the
rainy month was nigh at hand, and eager to send by the cloud a
message to her, telling of his welfare, the Yaksha, filled with
joy, bade the cloud welcome, in loving terms, after he had wor-
shiped it with fresh jasmine sprays, saying:-
6. “I know that thou art born of a world-renowned race of
clouds, Indra's chief counselor and assuming any shape at will,
so I, who am separated from my consort by Fate's cruel decree,
come as suppliant to thee; for better is a fruitless boon if asked
of a noble person than an answered request made to a craven.
7. « Thou art, O Cloud, a refuge for the sore-distressed;
deign therefore to bear a message for me whom the wrath of
Kubera has banished. It is to Alakā, abode of the Yakshas'
Lord, that thou must fly, where the palaces gleam with the
moonlight that glances from the head of god Çiva, whose statue
stands in the outer garden.
9. "A favoring breeze will gently, gently waft thee, and this
proud Chātaka bird upon the left doth carol sweetly; the cranes
in wreathed curves in the sky, and eager for the mating-time,
will wait in attendance upon thee, for thou art the herald of
joy.
13. « First hear me tell the path that is to be thy journey,
and where on the mountain-tops thou shalt rest thy foot when
worn and weary, quaffing the light creamy nectar of the stream,
when tired out: afterwards, O Watery Minister, thou shalt hear a
message that is fit for thine ears to drink in. "
[And in fairest colors of a poet's brush he paints the northward journey
of the cloud to the home where the lonely spouse awaits her banished lord's
return. ]
Translation of A. V. W. Jackson.
## p. 8476 (#77) ############################################
## p. 8476 (#78) ############################################
GRUP
Die rosii
KANT
## p. 8476 (#79) ############################################
. ; ܀
LiMANLIL
(124
BY JUST
3
SIE externi irents of the in:
n:11CI1S
!
1
༣*，་,་ །
1107 startiing:
Fást Prysasiat, in the yeni
died in his native place on the 1. ';
trained beyond aveita uistance o*
e'er occupied except as scholar, 1
and writer. He saw very littie of
Il Was not clelinted in any 27. 1!
Sity years of . . His personal resion
* mil his liter pears, amost is rin
starles. lle was in aii the early "t
i
By dint of very strict economy he i
774;** ** before his death, but lit
a ti sini ail roads to purely worll'y porsal:
1.
of intellectual prowess, furtitied by a ſrui ;**
although one somewhat coldly austere', -
over the thourit first of his country, annet
!
been in mar. y ways transtornirg. Amonșrat ! ! !
stands in the first rank in the very sinail groups
wo can be regarded as genuine originators. Is 2?
in fact, he is the only modern philosopher whos.
Pi. t', and Aristotle. Otiler mociorn thinkers te
villal ideas of more or less independence 2. 1
al 11. has the honor of having transformed by ilin nila
most fundamentai tedencies of modern speculation,
Of Kut the mani, numerous characterizations he's
by his friends and admirers. Most of these account serile cope!
to his appearance and life in his later years. Of his youth We know
in ich less On his father's side hit way of Scottish descert, bis
grandparents having emigrated iron Scotland to East Prussia. Kartis
parents were members of the Pietistic party in the indtheran Church,
ward Kant's eariy education was thus under inriences decidediy emen
toral in their religious character,-- although the poverty. the haul
bet hun , and the sterling character of his parents prevented the waring
## p. 8476 (#80) ############################################
.
tra
3
3
རྔུ།།
## p. 8477 (#81) ############################################
8477
IMMANUEL KANT
(1724-1804)
BY JOSIAH ROYCE
10. G
He external events of the life of Immanuel Kant are neither
numerous nor startling. He was born in Königsberg in
LÔ East Prussia, in the year 1724, on the 22d of April.
He
died in his native place on the 12th of February, 1804. He never
traveled beyond about a distance of sixty miles from the city; was
never occupied except as scholar, private tutor, university official,
and writer. He saw very little of the great world at any time.
He was not celebrated, in any national sense, until he was nearly
sixty years of age. His personal relations were for the most part,
and until his later years, almost as restricted as his material circum-
stances. He was in all the early part of his life decidedly poor.
By dint of very strict economy he acquired a moderate amount of
property before his death, but he was never rich.
He carefully
avoided all roads to purely worldly position or power. Yet by dint
of intellectual prowess, fortified by a profound moral earnestness,
although one somewhat coldly austere, — he acquired an influence
over the thought, first of his country, and then of Europe, which has
been in many ways transforming. Amongst philosophical thinkers he
stands in the first rank in the very small group of those philosophers
who can be regarded as genuine originators. As an original thinker,
in fact, he is the only modern philosopher who can be put beside
Plato and Aristotle. Other modern thinkers have represented indi-
vidual ideas of more or less independence and importance; Kant
alone has the honor of having transformed by his work some of the
most fundamental tendencies of modern speculation.
Of Kant the man, numerous characterizations have been given
by his friends and admirers. Most of these accounts relate especially
to his appearance and life in his later years. Of his youth we know
much less. On his father's side Kant was of Scottish descent, his
grandparents having emigrated from Scotland to East Prussia. Kant's
parents were members of the Pietistic party in the Lutheran Church,
and Kant's early education was thus under influences decidedly emo-
tional in their religious character,-- although the poverty, the hard
labor, and the sterling character of his parents prevented the wasting
## p. 8478 (#82) ############################################
8478
IMMANUEL KANT
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13
of time in devotional extravagances such as often characterized the
Pietistic movement; and the philosopher later looked back upon his
early training not only with a deep feeling of devotion, but with
a genuine intellectual respect. The family was large. There were
three sons and seven daughters. One of Kant's brothers later became
a minister. One of the sisters survived the philosopher. But six of
the children died young; and Immanuel himself inherited a delicate
constitution which had a great deal to do, in later years, both with
the sobriety and with the studious contemplativeness of his life's
routine. At eight years of age, Kant attended the gymnasium called
the Fredericianum, in KönigsbergHere he spent eight years and a
half, much under the eye and the influence of the director of the gym-
nasium, Dr. F. A. Schultz, — Pietist, professor of theology, and pastor.
Schultz was a scholarly, independent, and extremely active man,
severe as a disciplinarian, stimulating as a thinker and worker. As
Kant himself grew into youth, he formed literary ambitions, showed
skill as a Latin writer and reader, but gave no evidences as yet of
philosophical tendencies. He was not regarded as an especially prom-
ising boy: he is said to have been sensitive; he was certainly weak
in body and small in stature. He entered the University in 1740;
struggled with poverty and pedantry for about four years; was influ-
enced by the philosophical teaching, especially of Martin Knutzen;
and earned some necessary means as private tutor. A familiar
anecdote of his university period relates that Kant occasionally was
obliged to borrow clothing from his friends while his own was mend-
ing; and the story adds that on such occasions the friend might be
obliged to stay at home himself. In any case, Kant's university life
is described as one of ew recreations and of pretty constant labor.
Its result was seen at once after graduation, however, in the some-
what ambitious publication with which Kant's literary career opened.
This was a study of the then current problem of the theory of kinetic
forces,— or “living forces, as in the terminology of that time the
title-page of this essay calls them. The essay was at once philo-
sophical and quasi-mathematical. It was not in any positive sense
an important contribution to the discussion; but it was obviously the
work of a man in earnest. It was written in a spirit that combined
in an attractive way ambition and modesty; and it contained in one
passage a somewhat prophetic statement of the course that Kant had
laid out for himself.
Kant's mother died in 1737. In 1746 his father followed. The
years immediately subsequent to his university course, and to the
publication of the foregoing treatise, were passed as private tutor;
and it was at the beginning of this period that Kant traveled farthest
from his native city. Our philosopher's work as tutor in private
uts b
Some
atten
near
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of
ta
DE
.
## p. 8479 (#83) ############################################
IMMANUEL KANT
1
8479
families was of considerable advantage for his knowledge of the
world, and brought him into contact with somewhat distinguished
local magnates. Nine years in all were passed in this occupation.
The year 1755 begins a new and important period of Kant's
career. In this year he became tutor, or privat-docent, at the Univer-
sity, defended a dissertation upon metaphysics as he took his place
in the University, and published a treatise on the Natural History
and Theory of the Heavens. In the latter essay he not only showed
in various ways the most important features of his earlier methods
of work, but had the honor of forestalling Lambert and Laplace in a
number of suggestions, which have since become fainous, relating to
the evolution of the solar system. From this moment dates a long-
continued and extremely laborious effort towards self-development.
As a university teacher, Kant was singularly successful. His range
of lectures was large. Physical science, and especially physical ge-
ography, logic, and metaphysics were prominent among his topics.
Affiliated at first with the then current highly formal and dogmatic
Wolffian philosophy of the universities, Kant was from the outset an
essentially independent expositor of doctrine, and soon became more
and more an independent thinker. He united the necessarily some-
what pedantic method due to his own early training, with a marvel-
ous humanity of spirit, and much brilliancy of expression as a lecturer.
Some of his students listened with great enthusiasm. Herder, who
attended his lectures in 1762 and 1763, never forgot, even in the midst
of a bitter opposition which years later grew up in his mind towards
Kant, the early influence of the master upon him. At the time or
near it, the young Herder could hardly use expressions too enthusi-
astic concerning his master. « Heavenly hours” he names the time
spent in such instruction. Kant, he tells us, unites learning and
depth in the finest fashion with something resembling the humor
of "Tristram Shandy. ) » He is a profound observer in the pathology
of our mind,” he shows a creative philosophical imagination,” and
has his own Socratic method of bringing everything into relation with
In æsthetic as in ethical directions Herder finds his teacher
equally great.
Kant is “altogether a social observer, altogether a
finished philosopher, a philosopher of humanity, and in this humane
philosophy a German Shaftesbury. ”
Some amongst Kant's writings belonging to this period show
literary powers which make this enthusiastic characterization more
intelligible than the writings of his later period would serve to do.
Kant had unquestionably the power to become a popular writer of
distinction, if not of extraordinary rank. But he was disposed to
sacrifice his literary gifts for the sake of a cause which as the years
went by became constantly dearer to him. For worldly distinction
»
man.
## p. 8480 (#84) ############################################
8480
IMMANUEL KANT
that
ha
(***
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CI
he had small desire. University advancement came
to him very
slowly. Official favor he did not seek. His work as a teacher was
always precious to him. But most of all he prized what he once
called his mistress, namely Metaphysics. At certain central problems
he worked with a constantly increasing devotion and intensity. His
own contributions to philosophy became during the years between
1762 and 1766 somewhat numerous: but he himself, even at the time,
made comparatively little of them; for he found them fragmentary,
and as he himself says, regarded philosophical insight as an ideal
whole, in which very little could be accomplished unless that whole
were surveyed at a glance. Of his own development during these
years, the philosopher himself has given us some indications in notes
preserved among his papers. « Of my science,” he says (namely,
of philosophy), "I taught at first what most appealed to I
attempted to make some contributions of my own to the common
treasury; in other respects I attempted to correct errors: yet all
the while I expected to extend the dogmas of tradition. But when
one attempts with real earnestness to find truth, one spares at last
not even his own productions. One submits everything that one has
learned or has believed to a thorough-going criticism; and so it slowly
came to pass that I found my entire dogmatic theory open to funda-
mental objections. ” Later on, Kant declared that he regarded all
his metaphysical writings as rendered entirely worthless by his later
critical philosophy. Thus unsparingly did the great critic assail his
own thought first and most of all.
He was
aware that in
doing so he deliberately adopted, in his later treatises, a method of
exposition that lacked all literary charms. “My method,” he says
in notes relating to his later style, “is not very much disposed to
enchain the reader or to please him. My writings seem scholastic,
dryly contemplative,- yes, even meagre, and far enough from the
tone of genius.
have lost their power. Well, Love has gained his object; and Love
only is to blame for having induced our dear friend, in the innocence
of her heart, to confide in such a perfidious man. Possibly however
the imprecation of Durvāsas may be already taking effect. Indeed,
I cannot otherwise account for the King's strange conduct, in allow-
ing so long a time to elapse without even a letter; and that too
after so many promises and protestations. I cannot think what to
K
## p. 8467 (#67) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8467
do, unless we send him the ring which was to be the token of recog-
nition. But which of these austere hermits could we ask to be the
bearer of it? Then again, Father Kanwa has just returned from his
pilgrimage; and how am I to inform him of Sakuntalā's marriage to
King Dushyanta, and her expectation of being soon a mother? I
?
never could bring myself to tell him, even if I felt that Çakuntalā
had been in fault, which she certainly has not. What is to be done ?
Priyamvadā [entering joyfully) – Quick, quick! Anasuya! come and
assist in the joyful preparations for Çakuntala's departure to her hus-
band's palace.
Anasūya — My dear girl, what can you mean ?
Priyamvadā — Listen, now, and I will tell you all about it. I went
just now to Çakuntalā, to inquire whether she had slept comfortably.
Anasāyā — Well, well; go on.
Priyamvadā — She was sitting with her face bowed down to the
very ground with shame when Father Kanwa entered, and embracing
her, of his own accord offered her his congratulations. "I give thee
joy, my child,” he said: “we have had an auspicious omen. The
priest who offered the oblation dropped it into the very centre of
the sacred fire, though thick smoke obstructed his vision. Hence-
forth thou wilt cease to be an object of compassion. This very day
I purpose sending thee, under the charge of certain trusty hermits,
to the King's palace; and shall deliver thee into the hands of thy
husband, as I would commit knowledge to the keeping of a wise and
faithful student. ”
.
(Çakuntalā's touching farewell to the hermitage, and her tender leave-
taking of her young friends, are dramatically presented with much delicacy of
feeling. Two hermits, and an aged matron, Gautami, accompany her on the
journey. Her arrival at the palace, in the Fifth Act, is announced to the
King by the Chamberlain of State. ]
Chamberlain— Well, well: a monarch's business is to sustain the
world, and he must not expect much repose; because
Onward, forever onward, in his car
The unwearied Sun pursues his daily course,
Nor tarries to unyoke his glittering steeds;
And ever moving, speeds the rushing Wind
Through boundless space, filling the universe
With his life-giving breezes; day and night
The King of Serpents on his thousand heads
Upholds the incumbent earth: and even so,
Unceasing toil is aye the lot of kings,
Who, in return, draw nurture from their subjects.
## p. 8468 (#68) ############################################
8468
KĀLIDĀSA
Call
piete
thing
Alul
addres
betrar
I will therefore deliver my message. [Walking on and looking about. ]
Ah! here comes the King :
His subjects are his children; through the day,
Like a fond father, to supply their wants
Incessantly he labors: wearied now,
The monarch seeks seclusion and repose;
E'en as the prince of elephants defies
The sun's fierce heat, and leads the fainting herd
To verdant pastures, ere his way-worn limbs
He yields to rest beneath the cooling shade.
(Approaching) – Victory to the King! So please your Majesty, some
hermits who live in a forest near the Snowy Mountains have arrived
here, bringing certain women with them. They have a message to
deliver from the sage Kanwa, and desire an audience. I await your
Majesty's commands.
King [respectfully] – A message from the sage Kanwa, did you
KE
say?
Chamberlain - Even so, my liege.
King — Tell my domestic priest Somarāta to receive the hermits
with due honor, according to the prescribed form.
2007
วง
[The hermits introduce Çakuntalā, accompanied by Gautami; and deliver
the message from her father sanctioning her marriage with the King, and
requesting her honorable reception into the palace. ]
10
al
fa
King — Holy men, I have revolved the matter in my mind; but
the more I think of it, the less able am I to recollect that I ever
contracted an alliance with this lady. What answer, then, can I pos-
sibly give you when I do not believe myself to be her husband, and
I plainly see that she is soon to become a mother?
Çakuntalā [aside]—Woe! woe! Is our very marriage to be called
in question by my own husband ? Ah me! is this to be the end of
all my bright visions of wedded happiness?
Çarngarava — Beware!
Beware how thou insult the holy Sage!
Remember how he generously allowed
Thy secret union with his foster-child;
And how, when thou didst rob him of his treasure,
He sought to furnish thee excuse, when rather
He should have cursed thee for a ravisher.
Çāradwata — Çārngarava, speak to him no more. Çakuntalā, our
part is performed; we have said all we had to say, and the King has
replied in the manner thou hast heard. It is now thy turn to give
him convincing evidence of thy marriage.
## p. 8469 (#69) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8469
*****
Çakuntalā — Since his feeling towards me has undergone a com-
plete revolution, what will it avail to revive old recollections ? One
thing is clear,-I shall soon have to mourn my own widowhood.
(Aloud. ] My revered husband - [Stops short. ] But no—I dare not
address thee by this title, since thou hast refused to acknowledge
our union. Noble descendant of Puru! It is not worthy of thee to
betray an innocent-minded girl, and disown her in such terms, after
having so lately and so solemnly plighted thy vows to her in the
hermitage.
[stopping his ears]—I will hear no more. Be such a crime
far from my thoughts!
What evil spirit can possess thee, lady,
That thou dost seek to sully my good name
By base aspersions ? like a swollen torrent,
That, leaping from its narrow bed, o’erthrows
The tree upon its bank, and strives to blend
Its turbid waters with the crystal stream?
Çakuntalā — If then thou really believest me to be the wife of
another, and thy present conduct proceeds from some cloud that
obscures thy recollection, I will easily convince thee by this token.
King - An excellent idea!
Cakuntala (feeling for the ring]— Alas! alas! woe is me! There is
no ring on my finger! (Looks with anguish at Gautami. ]
Gautami — The ring must have slipped off when thou wast in the
act of offering homage to the holy water of Çachi's sacred pool, near
Çakrāvatāra.
King (smiling] – People may well talk of the readiness of woman's
invention! Here is an instance of it.
Çakuntalā — Say rather, of the omnipotence of fate.
I will men-
tion another circumstance, which may yet convince thee.
King — By all means let me hear it at once.
Çakuntalā — One day, while we were seated in a jasmine bower,
thou didst pour into the hollow of thine hand some water, sprinkled
by a recent shower in the cup of a lotos blossom
King -I am listening; proceed.
Çakuntala - At that instant, my adopted child, the little fawn,
with soft long eyes, came running towards us. Upon which, before
tasting the water thyself, thou didst kindly offer some to the little
creature, saying fondly, “Drink first, gentle fawn. ” But she could
not be induced to drink from the hand of a stranger; though imme-
diately afterwards, when I took the water in my own hand, she
drank with perfect confidence. Then, with a smile, thou didst say,
"Every creature confides naturally in its own kind. You are both
inhabitants of the same forest, and have learnt to trust each other. ”
## p. 8470 (#70) ############################################
8470
KĀLIDĀSA
be
FD
Bria
[King Dushyanta vainly tries to recall Çakuntalā to mind, but the fatal
power of the old sage's curse still clouds his memory. All efforts failing,
Çakuntalā is suddenly swept from sight by a whirlwind and carried to a
remote mountain; where in a hallowed spot, she gives birth to a son, the
ancestor of future kings. At this moment the enchanted ring, which had been
swallowed by a fish, is unexpectedly brought to light, and Dushyanta's mental
vision is at once restored. He deeply mourns the loss of his beloved Çakun-
talā, and finds distraction from his grief only in aiding the gods in a holy
war against the demons. Some years elapse, and the god Indra, to reward
Dushyanta's heroic service, transports him through the sky to the far-off
mountain retreat of Çakuntalā and their little son. The reunion of the King
with his wife and child is touchingly presented in the last act of the drama. )
Enter a Child, attended by two Women of the hermitage, and dragging
a lion's cub by the ears.
+
Child — Open your mouth, my young lion; I want to 'count your
teeth.
First Attendant You naughty child, why do you tease the ani-
mals? Know you not that we cherish them in this hermitage as if
they were our own children ? In good sooth, you have a high spirit
of your own, and are beginning already to do justice to the name
Sarva-damana (All-taming), given you by the hermits.
King - Strange! my heart inclines towards the boy with almost as
much affection as if he were my own child. What can be the rea-
son? I suppose my own childlessness makes me yearn towards the
sons of others.
Second Attendant — This lioness will certainly attack you if you do
not release her whelp.
Child (laughing]-Oh! indeed! let her come. Much I fear her, to
be sure! (Pouts his under lip in defiance. ]
King - The germ of mighty courage lies concealed
Within this noble infant, like a spark
Beneath the fuel, waiting but a breath
To fan the flame and raise a conflagration.
First Attendant - Let the young lion go, like a dear child, and I
will give you something else to play with.
Child — Where is it? Give it me first. [Stretches out his hand. ]
King (looking at his hand] – How's this? His hand exhibits one of
those mystic marks which are the sure prognostic of universal empire.
See!
His fingers stretched in eager expectation
To grasp the wished-for toy, and knit together
By a close-woven web, in shape resemble
A lotos blossom, whose expanding petals
The early dawn has only half unfolded.
## p. 8471 (#71) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8471
Second Attendant — We shall never pacify him by mere words, dear
Suvratā. Be kind enough to go to my cottage, and you will find
there a plaything belonging to Mārkāndeya, one of the hermit's child-
ren. It is a peacock made of china-ware, painted in many colors.
Bring it here for the child.
First Attendant - Very well. (Exit. ]
Child — No, no: I shall go on playing with the young lion. (Looks
at the female attendant and laughs. ]
King - I feel an unaccountable affection for this wayward child.
How blest the virtuous parents whose attire
Is soiled with dust, by raising from the ground
The child that asks a refuge in their arms!
And happy are they while with lisping prattle,
In accents sweetly inarticulate,
He charms their ears; and with his artless smiles
Gladdens their hearts, revealing to their gaze
His tiny teeth just budding into view.
Attendant - I see how it is. He pays me no manner of attention.
(Looking off the stage. ] I wonder whether any of the hermits are
about here. [Seeing the King. ] Kind sir, could you come hither a
moment and help me to release the young lion from the clutch of
this child, who is teasing him in boyish play?
King (approaching and smiling]— Listen to me, thou child of a
mighty saint:
Dost thou dare show a wayward spirit here?
Here, in this hallowed region ? Take thou heed
Lest, as the serpent's young defiles the sandal,
Thou bring dishonor on the holy sage,
Thy tender-hearted parent, who delights
To shield from harm the tenants of the wood.
Attendant - Gentle sir, I thank you; but he is not the saint's son.
King — His behavior and whole bearing would have led me to
doubt it, had not the place of his abode encouraged the idea.
(Follows the child, and takes him by the hand, according to the request of
the attendant. ]
Aside
I marvel that the touch of this strange child
Should thrill me with delight; if so it be,
How must the fond caresses of a son
Transport the father's soul who gave him being!
Attendant (looking at them both] - Wonderful! Prodigious!
King – What excites your surprise, my good woman?
Attendant — I am astonished at the striking resemblance between
the child and yourself; and what is still more extraordinary, he
## p. 8472 (#72) ############################################
8472
KĀLIDĀSA
Fir
S SE
BE
-
min
ki
FC
Che
CA
ei
2.
seems to have taken to you kindly and submissively, though you are
a stranger to him.
King (fondling the child ]- If he be not the son of the great sage,
of what family does he come, may I ask ?
Attendant -Of the race of Puru.
King [aside] — What! are we then descended from the same an-
cestry? This no doubt accounts for the resemblance she traces
between the child and me. Certainly it has always been an estab-
lished usage among the princes of Puru's race –
To dedicate the morning of their days
To the world's weal, in palaces and halls,
'Mid luxury and regal pomp abiding:
Then, in the wane of life, to seek release
From kingly cares, and make the hallowed shade
Of sacred trees their last asylum, where
As hermits they may practice self-abasement,
And bind themselves by rigid vows of penance.
[Aloud. ] But how could mortals by their own power gain admission
to this sacred region ?
Attendant — Your remark is just; but your wonder will cease when
I tell you that his mother is the offspring of a celestial nymph, and
gave him birth in the hallowed grove of Kāçyapa.
King [aside) - Strange that my hopes should be again excited!
[Aloud. ) But what, let me ask, was the name of the prince whom
she deigned to honor with her hand ?
Attendant — How could I think of polluting my lips by the mention
of a wretch who had the cruelty to desert his lawful wife ?
King [aside] - Ha! the description suits me exactly. Would I
!
could bring myself to inquire the name of the child's mother!
[Reflecting. ] But it is against propriety to make too minute inquiries
about the wife of another man.
First Attendant (entering with the china peacock in her hand] — Sarva-
damana, Sarva-damana, see, see, what a beautiful cakunta [bird).
Child [looking round]— My mother! Where? Let me go to her.
Both Attendants — He mistook the word “çakunta” for “Çakuntalā. ”
The boy dotes upon his mother, and she is ever uppermost in his
thoughts.
Second Attendant — Nay, my dear child: I said, look at the beauty
of this cakunta.
King [aside]— What! is his mother's name Çakuntalā ? But the
name is not uncommon among women. Alas! I fear that the mere
similarity of a name, like the deceitful vapor of the desert, has
once more raised my hopes only to dash them to the ground.
Child — Dear nurse, what a beautiful peacock! [Takes the toy. ]
E
1
## p. 8473 (#73) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8473
First Attendant [looking at the child in great distress] — Alas! alas!
I do not see the amulet on his wrist.
King – Don't distress yourself. Here it is. It fell off while he
was struggling with the young lion. (Stoops to pick it up. ]
Both Attendants — Hold! hold! Touch it not, for your life. How
marvelous! He has actually taken it up without the slightest hesita-
tion. [Both raise their hands to their breasts and look at each other in
astonishment. ]
King – Why did you try to prevent my touching it?
First Attendant - Listen, great monarch. This amulet, known as
« The Invincible,” was given to the boy by the divine son of Marichi
soon after his birth, when the natal ceremony was performed. Its
peculiar virtue is, that when it falls on the ground, no one excepting
the father or mother of the child can touch it unhurt.
King — And suppose another person touches it?
First Attendant — Then it instantly becomes a serpent, and bites
him.
King — Have you ever witnessed the transformation with your own
eyes ?
Both Attendants — Over and over again.
King (with rapture, aside] - Joy! joy! Are then my dearest hopes
to be fulfilled ? [Embraces the child. ]
Second Attendant - Come, my dear Suvratā, we must inform Çakun-
talā immediately of this wonderful event, though we have to inter-
rupt her in the performance of her religious vows. (Exeunt. ] ]
Child [to the King] - Do not hold me. I want to go to my mother.
King – We will go to her together, and give her joy, my son.
Child — Dushyanta is my father, not you.
King (smiling ] - His contradiction convinces me only the more.
Enter Çakuntalā, in widow's apparel, with her long hair twisted into a
single braid.
Çakuntala (aside]—I have just heard that Sarva-damana's amulet
has retained its form, though a stranger raised it from the ground.
I can hardly believe in my good fortune. Yet why should not
Sānumati's prediction be verified ?
King (gazing at Çakuntalā) – Alas! can this indeed be my Çakun-
talā ?
Clad in the weeds of widowhood, her face
Emaciate with fasting, her long hair
Twined in a single braid, her whole demeanor
Expressive of her purity of soul:
With patient constancy she thus prolongs
The vow to which my cruelty condemned her.
## p. 8474 (#74) ############################################
8474
KĀLIDĀSA
Çakuntala (gazing at the King, who is pale with remorse] - Surely
this is not like my husband; yet who can it be that dares pollute by
the pressure of his hand my child, whose amulet should protect him
from a stranger's touch ?
Child (going to his mother]— Mother, who is this man that has been
kissing me and calling me his son ?
King – My best beloved, I have indeed treated thee most cruelly,
but am now once more thy fond and affectionate lover. Refuse not
to acknowledge me as thy husband.
Cakuntală [aside] -- Be of good cheer, my heart. The anger of
Destiny is at last appeased. Heaven regards thee with compassion.
But is he in very truth my husband ?
King – Behold me, best and loveliest of women,
Delivered from the cloud of fatal darkness
That erst oppressed my memory. Again
Behold us brought together by the grace
Of the great lord of Heaven. So the moon
Shines forth from dim eclipse, to blend his rays
With the soft lustre of his Rohini.
Çakuntalā — May my husband be victorious
[She stops short, her voice choked with tears. ]
King – O fair one, though the utterance of thy prayer
Be lost amid the torrent of thy tears,
Yet does the sight of thy fair countenance
And of thy pallid lips, all unadorned
And colorless in sorrow for my absence,
Make me already more than conqueror.
Child — Mother, who is this man?
Çakuntala - My child, ask the deity that presides over thy destiny.
King (falling at Çakuntala's feet) -
Fairest of women, banish from thy mind
The memory of my cruelty; reproach
The fell delusion that o'erpowered my soul,
And blame not me, thy husband, —'tis the curse
Of him in whom the power of darkness reigns,
That he mistakes the gifts of those he loves
For deadly evils. Even though a friend
Should wreathe a garland on a blind man's brow,
Will he not cast it from him as a serpent ?
Çakuntalā Rise, my own husband, rise. Thou wast not to blame.
My own evil deeds, committed in a former state of being, brought
down this judgment upon me. How else could my husband, who
## p. 8475 (#75) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8475
-
was ever of a compassionate disposition, have acted so unfeelingly ?
[ The King rises. ] But tell me, my husband, how did the remem-
brance of thine unfortunate wife return to thy mind?
King — As soon as my heart's anguish is removed, and its wounds
are healed, I will tell thee all.
Oh! let me, fair one, chase away the drop
That still bedews the fringes of thine eye;
And let me thus efface the memory
Of every tear that stained thy velvet cheek,
Unnoticed and unheeded by thy lord,
When in his madness he rejected thee.
[Wipes away the tear. ]
Çakuntalā (seeing the signet-ring on his finger]– Ah! my dear hus-
band, is that the Lost Ring ?
King — Yes; the moment I recovered it, my memory was restored.
Çakuntalā — The ring was to blame in allowing itself to be lost at
the
very time when I was anxious to convince my noble husband of
the reality of my marriage.
King – Receive it back, as the beautiful twining plant receives
again its blossom in token of its reunion with the spring.
Çakuntalā — Nay; I can never more place confidence in it. Let
my husband retain it.
Enter Mātali
-
Mätali — I congratulate your Majesty. Happy are you in your
reunion with your wife; happy are you in beholding the face of your
own son,
Translation of Monier Williams.
A
I.
FROM THE MEGHADUTA. ? OR CLOUD MESSENGER
CERTAIN Yaksha [Divine Being) neglectful once of his mas-
ter's task, and stript thus of his glory through his lord's
curse, which was to last a year and was the more grievous
because of separating him from his Beloved, had taken up his
abode amid the hermitages on Rāma's Hill, dense in shade trees
and whose waters were hallowed by [the fair] Sītā's having
bathed in them.
Upon this mountain the love-lorn wight, from whose
wasted arm the golden bracelet had slipped down, had already
spent eight weary moons, separated from his consort; when, on
2.
## p. 8476 (#76) ############################################
8476
KĀLIDĀSA
the first day of the Ashādha month, he caught sight of a cloud
clinging to the mountain peak and resembling an elephant with
lowered tusks butting at a bank of earth.
3. Scarce checking his tears in the presence of the cloud
which was a source of emotion to him, the servant of Kubera
[Lord of Wealth] stood long wrapt in thought: [for truly] at
the sight of a cloud the heart even of a person in happiness is
stirred, but how much more when one is longing to throw his
arms about [the loved one's] neck and is absent far away.
4. Now, desirous to cheer the heart of his Beloved, for the
rainy month was nigh at hand, and eager to send by the cloud a
message to her, telling of his welfare, the Yaksha, filled with
joy, bade the cloud welcome, in loving terms, after he had wor-
shiped it with fresh jasmine sprays, saying:-
6. “I know that thou art born of a world-renowned race of
clouds, Indra's chief counselor and assuming any shape at will,
so I, who am separated from my consort by Fate's cruel decree,
come as suppliant to thee; for better is a fruitless boon if asked
of a noble person than an answered request made to a craven.
7. « Thou art, O Cloud, a refuge for the sore-distressed;
deign therefore to bear a message for me whom the wrath of
Kubera has banished. It is to Alakā, abode of the Yakshas'
Lord, that thou must fly, where the palaces gleam with the
moonlight that glances from the head of god Çiva, whose statue
stands in the outer garden.
9. "A favoring breeze will gently, gently waft thee, and this
proud Chātaka bird upon the left doth carol sweetly; the cranes
in wreathed curves in the sky, and eager for the mating-time,
will wait in attendance upon thee, for thou art the herald of
joy.
13. « First hear me tell the path that is to be thy journey,
and where on the mountain-tops thou shalt rest thy foot when
worn and weary, quaffing the light creamy nectar of the stream,
when tired out: afterwards, O Watery Minister, thou shalt hear a
message that is fit for thine ears to drink in. "
[And in fairest colors of a poet's brush he paints the northward journey
of the cloud to the home where the lonely spouse awaits her banished lord's
return. ]
Translation of A. V. W. Jackson.
## p. 8476 (#77) ############################################
## p. 8476 (#78) ############################################
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KANT
## p. 8476 (#79) ############################################
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to his appearance and life in his later years. Of his youth We know
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grandparents having emigrated iron Scotland to East Prussia. Kartis
parents were members of the Pietistic party in the indtheran Church,
ward Kant's eariy education was thus under inriences decidediy emen
toral in their religious character,-- although the poverty. the haul
bet hun , and the sterling character of his parents prevented the waring
## p. 8476 (#80) ############################################
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## p. 8477 (#81) ############################################
8477
IMMANUEL KANT
(1724-1804)
BY JOSIAH ROYCE
10. G
He external events of the life of Immanuel Kant are neither
numerous nor startling. He was born in Königsberg in
LÔ East Prussia, in the year 1724, on the 22d of April.
He
died in his native place on the 12th of February, 1804. He never
traveled beyond about a distance of sixty miles from the city; was
never occupied except as scholar, private tutor, university official,
and writer. He saw very little of the great world at any time.
He was not celebrated, in any national sense, until he was nearly
sixty years of age. His personal relations were for the most part,
and until his later years, almost as restricted as his material circum-
stances. He was in all the early part of his life decidedly poor.
By dint of very strict economy he acquired a moderate amount of
property before his death, but he was never rich.
He carefully
avoided all roads to purely worldly position or power. Yet by dint
of intellectual prowess, fortified by a profound moral earnestness,
although one somewhat coldly austere, — he acquired an influence
over the thought, first of his country, and then of Europe, which has
been in many ways transforming. Amongst philosophical thinkers he
stands in the first rank in the very small group of those philosophers
who can be regarded as genuine originators. As an original thinker,
in fact, he is the only modern philosopher who can be put beside
Plato and Aristotle. Other modern thinkers have represented indi-
vidual ideas of more or less independence and importance; Kant
alone has the honor of having transformed by his work some of the
most fundamental tendencies of modern speculation.
Of Kant the man, numerous characterizations have been given
by his friends and admirers. Most of these accounts relate especially
to his appearance and life in his later years. Of his youth we know
much less. On his father's side Kant was of Scottish descent, his
grandparents having emigrated from Scotland to East Prussia. Kant's
parents were members of the Pietistic party in the Lutheran Church,
and Kant's early education was thus under influences decidedly emo-
tional in their religious character,-- although the poverty, the hard
labor, and the sterling character of his parents prevented the wasting
## p. 8478 (#82) ############################################
8478
IMMANUEL KANT
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of time in devotional extravagances such as often characterized the
Pietistic movement; and the philosopher later looked back upon his
early training not only with a deep feeling of devotion, but with
a genuine intellectual respect. The family was large. There were
three sons and seven daughters. One of Kant's brothers later became
a minister. One of the sisters survived the philosopher. But six of
the children died young; and Immanuel himself inherited a delicate
constitution which had a great deal to do, in later years, both with
the sobriety and with the studious contemplativeness of his life's
routine. At eight years of age, Kant attended the gymnasium called
the Fredericianum, in KönigsbergHere he spent eight years and a
half, much under the eye and the influence of the director of the gym-
nasium, Dr. F. A. Schultz, — Pietist, professor of theology, and pastor.
Schultz was a scholarly, independent, and extremely active man,
severe as a disciplinarian, stimulating as a thinker and worker. As
Kant himself grew into youth, he formed literary ambitions, showed
skill as a Latin writer and reader, but gave no evidences as yet of
philosophical tendencies. He was not regarded as an especially prom-
ising boy: he is said to have been sensitive; he was certainly weak
in body and small in stature. He entered the University in 1740;
struggled with poverty and pedantry for about four years; was influ-
enced by the philosophical teaching, especially of Martin Knutzen;
and earned some necessary means as private tutor. A familiar
anecdote of his university period relates that Kant occasionally was
obliged to borrow clothing from his friends while his own was mend-
ing; and the story adds that on such occasions the friend might be
obliged to stay at home himself. In any case, Kant's university life
is described as one of ew recreations and of pretty constant labor.
Its result was seen at once after graduation, however, in the some-
what ambitious publication with which Kant's literary career opened.
This was a study of the then current problem of the theory of kinetic
forces,— or “living forces, as in the terminology of that time the
title-page of this essay calls them. The essay was at once philo-
sophical and quasi-mathematical. It was not in any positive sense
an important contribution to the discussion; but it was obviously the
work of a man in earnest. It was written in a spirit that combined
in an attractive way ambition and modesty; and it contained in one
passage a somewhat prophetic statement of the course that Kant had
laid out for himself.
Kant's mother died in 1737. In 1746 his father followed. The
years immediately subsequent to his university course, and to the
publication of the foregoing treatise, were passed as private tutor;
and it was at the beginning of this period that Kant traveled farthest
from his native city. Our philosopher's work as tutor in private
uts b
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## p. 8479 (#83) ############################################
IMMANUEL KANT
1
8479
families was of considerable advantage for his knowledge of the
world, and brought him into contact with somewhat distinguished
local magnates. Nine years in all were passed in this occupation.
The year 1755 begins a new and important period of Kant's
career. In this year he became tutor, or privat-docent, at the Univer-
sity, defended a dissertation upon metaphysics as he took his place
in the University, and published a treatise on the Natural History
and Theory of the Heavens. In the latter essay he not only showed
in various ways the most important features of his earlier methods
of work, but had the honor of forestalling Lambert and Laplace in a
number of suggestions, which have since become fainous, relating to
the evolution of the solar system. From this moment dates a long-
continued and extremely laborious effort towards self-development.
As a university teacher, Kant was singularly successful. His range
of lectures was large. Physical science, and especially physical ge-
ography, logic, and metaphysics were prominent among his topics.
Affiliated at first with the then current highly formal and dogmatic
Wolffian philosophy of the universities, Kant was from the outset an
essentially independent expositor of doctrine, and soon became more
and more an independent thinker. He united the necessarily some-
what pedantic method due to his own early training, with a marvel-
ous humanity of spirit, and much brilliancy of expression as a lecturer.
Some of his students listened with great enthusiasm. Herder, who
attended his lectures in 1762 and 1763, never forgot, even in the midst
of a bitter opposition which years later grew up in his mind towards
Kant, the early influence of the master upon him. At the time or
near it, the young Herder could hardly use expressions too enthusi-
astic concerning his master. « Heavenly hours” he names the time
spent in such instruction. Kant, he tells us, unites learning and
depth in the finest fashion with something resembling the humor
of "Tristram Shandy. ) » He is a profound observer in the pathology
of our mind,” he shows a creative philosophical imagination,” and
has his own Socratic method of bringing everything into relation with
In æsthetic as in ethical directions Herder finds his teacher
equally great.
Kant is “altogether a social observer, altogether a
finished philosopher, a philosopher of humanity, and in this humane
philosophy a German Shaftesbury. ”
Some amongst Kant's writings belonging to this period show
literary powers which make this enthusiastic characterization more
intelligible than the writings of his later period would serve to do.
Kant had unquestionably the power to become a popular writer of
distinction, if not of extraordinary rank. But he was disposed to
sacrifice his literary gifts for the sake of a cause which as the years
went by became constantly dearer to him. For worldly distinction
»
man.
## p. 8480 (#84) ############################################
8480
IMMANUEL KANT
that
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he had small desire. University advancement came
to him very
slowly. Official favor he did not seek. His work as a teacher was
always precious to him. But most of all he prized what he once
called his mistress, namely Metaphysics. At certain central problems
he worked with a constantly increasing devotion and intensity. His
own contributions to philosophy became during the years between
1762 and 1766 somewhat numerous: but he himself, even at the time,
made comparatively little of them; for he found them fragmentary,
and as he himself says, regarded philosophical insight as an ideal
whole, in which very little could be accomplished unless that whole
were surveyed at a glance. Of his own development during these
years, the philosopher himself has given us some indications in notes
preserved among his papers. « Of my science,” he says (namely,
of philosophy), "I taught at first what most appealed to I
attempted to make some contributions of my own to the common
treasury; in other respects I attempted to correct errors: yet all
the while I expected to extend the dogmas of tradition. But when
one attempts with real earnestness to find truth, one spares at last
not even his own productions. One submits everything that one has
learned or has believed to a thorough-going criticism; and so it slowly
came to pass that I found my entire dogmatic theory open to funda-
mental objections. ” Later on, Kant declared that he regarded all
his metaphysical writings as rendered entirely worthless by his later
critical philosophy. Thus unsparingly did the great critic assail his
own thought first and most of all.
He was
aware that in
doing so he deliberately adopted, in his later treatises, a method of
exposition that lacked all literary charms. “My method,” he says
in notes relating to his later style, “is not very much disposed to
enchain the reader or to please him. My writings seem scholastic,
dryly contemplative,- yes, even meagre, and far enough from the
tone of genius.
