ABSTRACT
The fact that, in spite of his delicate constitution, Immanuel Kant lived to such a great age may have been due, in no small measure, to his moderate and strictly regulated manner of life. In later life he lived by the clock, like his closest friend, the odd-fellow Joseph Green, and kept to an inviolate daily routine. Kant rose at five every morning, summer or winter. Punctually at a quarter to five his manservant came up to his bed in the absolutely dark bedroom. Kant had the remarkable idea that there was no better way of exterminating unwelcome 'guests' in the bedroom than complete darkness; for this reason, every ray of light was permanently excluded from the single window by means of a 'black-out', firmly attached from within. During his last years, Kant ate once a day, at midday, but then with a very hearty appetite. Throughout the whole of the rest of the day he took nothing but water.
