G. E.

Lessing Page 1 4/4/2008

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) this argument Lessing opened the stage to the
social realities of his time.
To the extent that the eighteenth century in
Germany was indeed an age of the unfettered Lessing's conviction that pity is the cardinal virtue
critical spirit, as Immanuel Kant assured his and the ultimate goal of tragedy did not prevent
contemporaries it was, it found its most articulate him from using the theater as an instrument for
voice in Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. As a scholar the more general purposes of the Enlightenment.
of classical antiquity he rivals Johann Joachim He attacks anti-Semitism in Die Juden (1755;
Winckelmann. In his extended controversy with translated as The Jews, 1878), exposes cruelty and
leading Protestant theologians on the nature of egocentricity in the guise of patriotism in Philotas
Christianity and the truth of its teachings, a topic (1759; translated, 1878), demonstrates the failings
of singular importance to the European of "enlightened" absolutism and bourgeois
Enlightenment, he presented the more convincing passivity in Emilia Galotti, and crowns his
arguments until he was silenced by ducal decree. dramatic work with a plea for religious tolerance
But his most significant contribution was the in Nathan der Weise, one of the noblest documents
rejuvenation of German literature, especially the of the European Enlightenment.
drama.
Lessing was born in Kamenz, Saxony, on 22
Lessing's devastating attack on Johann Christoph January 1729, the third of twelve children of
Gottsched's theater reform put an end to the Johann Gottfried Lessing, a Protestant minister,
attempt to establish a classicist literature in and Justina Salome Lessing, née Feller. His
Germany. Reinterpreting Aristotle's Poetics, unusual talents were recognized early. In 1741 he
Lessing subordinated aesthetic "laws" and "rules" was admitted to St. Afra in Meißen, one of the
to the effect which a specific genre is to have on its elite secondary schools endowed by the dukes of
recipients, thus replacing the normative poetics Saxony. In 1746, complying with his father's
that governed French classical literature and that, wishes and equipped with a stipend from his
in turn, were espoused by Gottsched and his native city, he enrolled as a student of theology at
followers. The new theoretical orientation, the University of Leipzig. At this center of
especially in its application to dramatic theory, eighteenth-century scholarship, the unusual
marks the beginning of "modern" German alliance of Gottsched, then rector of the
literature; it led to works which have maintained university, and Frederike Caroline Neuber, the
their place in the canon of German literature ever leader of a theatrical troupe, had given the stage a
since. Among them are some of Lessing's own: his new respectability. Lessing's lifelong fascination
plays continue to evoke a considerable amount of with the theater began in Leipzig. His first play,
critical attention, and his dramatic masterpieces, Der junge Gelehrte (1755; translated as The Young
Minna von Barnhelm (1767; translated, 1806), Emilia Scholar, 1878), was performed there in January
Galotti (1772; translated, 1800), and Nathan der 1748; it is a comedy in which he lampoons an
Weise (1779; translated as Nathan the Wise, 1791), arrogant young scholar engaged in meaningless
can still be found in the repertoire of the German philological squabbles totally divorced from real
theater. Lessing reasoned that if the purpose of learning, as well as from the world around him.
tragedy is to evoke "Mitleid" (pity), the stoic hero With his friend Felix Weiße, who was to become a
and the related set of aristocratically tinged values minor playwright, Lessing translated Marivaux;
cease to be a proper subject for the drama. Stoic wrote poetry in the anacreontic vein; and wrote
endurance may elicit admiration, but not pity. outlines for several plays, most of which
Witnessing human suffering will evoke pity, and remained fragmentary. Such activities caused his
the experience will intensify if the protagonist parents some consternation. Although the errant
shares common bonds with his audience. With student was allowed to change the focus of his
G. E. Lessing Page 2 4/4/2008

studies to medicine and philology, Lessing left the The play's English models--Restoration drama--
university in 1748 to seek his fortune in Berlin. In and the London setting had a provocative edge: in
a letter to his mother (20 January 1749), he blames no German city was the dominance of French
this move on debts he had incurred; it is likely culture felt more keenly than in the Berlin of
that the bankruptcy of Neuber's troupe in the Frederick II. Yet Lessing's attitude can hardly be
summer of 1748 was contributing factor. called chauvinistic; for while ridiculing Corneille,
he praised Diderot, and in Voltaire he admired
Lessing survived in Berlin as a struggling writer. the philosopher but belittled the playwright.
He became review editor of the Berlinische However, his squabble with the great French
Priveligierte Zeitung and received a masters in philosopher over a manuscript Lessing should
theology during a stay in Wittenberg in 1751-1752 have returned earlier than he did may well have
and gradually built a reputation as a literary critic. ruined his chances for an appointment at the
He did not eschew formidable targets: he took Prussian court--if indeed the king needed such a
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock to task for his pretext to prefer a French intellectual to a German
religious fervor, and Samuel Gotthold Lange, one. Lessing found support elsewhere. His circle
Horace translator and respected head of the Halle of friends included Moses Mendelssohn,
school of poets, was ridiculed for incompetence in accountant by profession and philosopher by
Ein Vade Mecum für den Hrn. Sam. Gotth. Lange (A inclination; Friedrich Nicolai, publisher and
Primer for Mr. Samuel G. Lange, 1754). But staunch supporter of Enlightenment causes; and
although he was a prolific writer--his collected Karl Wilhelm Ramler, author and instructor at the
works, Schrifften (Writings, 1753-1755), began to military academy. Travel plans--he had agreed to
appear before he was twenty-five years old--the accompany the son of a rich Leipzig merchant on
Prussian capital and the literary market in a tour of Holland, northern Germany, and
Germany did not afford him, or any other England--came to an abrupt halt in Amsterdam
independent writer, a comfortable existence. The with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in
success of his first bourgeois tragedy, Miß Sara August 1756. Lessing returned with his charge
Sampson, (1755; translated, 1878), increased his from Holland to Leipzig, which was occupied by
stature as a playwright and drew new attention to Prussian troops.
his early comedies, but it did not alleviate his
financial problems. The play depicts Sara's Lessing remained in Leipzig until May 1758,
elopement with Mellefont, a young man who when he returned to Berlin. In Leipzig he barely
finds himself torn between her and a former lover. supported himself by translating works by Francis
Above all he is motivated by a deep-rooted urge Hutcheson (1756), William Law (1756), and
to maintain his personal freedom. The Samuel Richardson (1757), and collaborating with
sophistication of Sara's reasoning as to why she Mendelssohn and Nicolai on the journal Bibliothek
cannot accept her distraught father's forgiveness der schoönen Wissenschaften und der freyen Künste
has persuaded critics to interpret the play as a (Library of Liberal Arts, 1757-1758). But it was not
commentary on the Third Commandment. But the only economically that his position was a tenuous
indictment of rigid bourgeois morality, one. Although it was rumored in Berlin that he
specifically with regard to sexual ethics, is equally had written against the interest of the Prussian
prominent. The tearful reunion of errant daughter state, he estranged his Leipzig friends by
and regretful father, who blames himself and his consorting with officers of the Prussian army who
own strict moralistic stance for Sara's poisoning had just levied an extraordinarily heavy tax on the
by Mellefont's former lover, set the stage for city. A true cosmopolitan, he assured Nicolai that
domestic tragedies well into the nineteenth he considered himself neither a Saxon nor a
century. Prussian patriot. And Johann Wilhelm Ludwig
Gleim, whose Preußische Kriegslieder (Prussian
G. E. Lessing Page 3 4/4/2008

War Songs, 1758) Lessing had edited, was finally addressed to an officer recovering from wounds
taken to task for his blatant nationalism: received in the battle of Zorndorf--allowed
"Vielleicht zwar ist auch der Patriot bey mir nicht Lessing the elegant informality that characterizes
ganz erstickt, obgleich das Lob eines eifrigen most of his critical writings. Moving beyond the
Patrioten, nach meiner Denkungsart, das traditional form of reviewing individual
allerletzte ist, wonach ich geitzen würde; des publications, he used the journal to exert influence
Patrioten nehmlich, der mich vergessen lehrt, daß on the entire spectrum of contemporary literature.
ich ein Weltbürger seyn sollte" (It is possible that The famous seventeenth letter (16 February 1759)
the patriot is also not quite stifled in me, although contains an attack on Gottsched's efforts to reform
the reputation as a fervent patriot is the last thing the German stage. It is based on arguments which
I crave, as a patriot, that is, who makes me forget were later to be more fully developed by Johann
that I should be a citizen of the world). He also Gottfried Herder: that literary models should be
made the price of heroic greatness the theme of a akin to the national character; that indigenous
one-act play: the self-sacrifice of the title character traditions are preferable to imported themes and
in Philotas is an indictment of a society that forms; and that Shakespearean theater is superior
educates its youth to accept death on the to classical French drama, even though the latter
battlefield as the ultimate goal and adheres to the letter of Aristotelian poetics while
unquestioningly to place the interest of the state the former violates it.
over all human concerns. The setting of the play
in classical antiquity does not blur the obvious Lessing's theoretical stance placed him between
analogy to Prussia's acquisition of Silesia through the two established and feuding camps in Leipzig
war. and Zurich. His rejection of Gottsched may have
endeared him to the Swiss critics Johann Jakob
Despite this anticipation of the spirit that Bodmer and Johann Jakob Breitinger, but, because
characterized the great minds of the following their revision of Gottsched's theories was only a
generation, Lessing was not totally unaffected by modest one, the feeling was not mutual. Lessing
the upsurge of pro-Prussian sentiments triggered saw the danger of forming yet another literary
by the Seven Years' War. He looked forward to his clique. His decision to withdraw from the journal
return to Berlin, "wo ich es nicht länger nötig may also have been prompted by his financial
haben werde, es meinen Bekannten nur ins Ohr situation, which remained as uncertain as ever; he
zu sagen, daß der König von Preußen dennoch ein was unable to respond to pleas from Kamenz that
großer König ist" (where I will no longer be he support two of his brothers attending the
obliged to whisper into my friends' ears that the University of Wittenberg. In September 1760
King of Prussia is a great king in spite of it all), he Lessing resigned; a month later he left for Breslau
wrote to Gleim in May 1757. to join the staff of the Prussian general Bogislaw
Friedrich von Tauentzien as regimental secretary.
Among the projects Lessing completed during his
second stay in Berlin were an edition of the all but Less is known about his years in Silesia than
forgotten works of the seventeenth-century poet about any other part of his life. According to a
Friedrich von Logau (1759) and a collection of his local schoolmaster, J. B. Klose, he slept late, went
own fables, Fabeln: Drey Bücher (1759; translated to every book auction in town, and, after
as Fables: In Three Books, 1829). Of more immediate performing his secretarial duties, attended
impact was his Briefe, die Neueste Litteratur theatrical performances. Often leaving before the
betreffend (Letters, on the Most Recent Literature, last act, he spent the better part of the night
1759), a journal of literary criticism to which gambling with fellow Prussian officers. Even
Nicolai and Mendelssohn also contributed. The though Klose's account, cited by Lessing's brother
fictional framework of these "letters"--they are and first biographer Karl Gotthelf, may be
G. E. Lessing Page 4 4/4/2008

slanted, it seems obvious that these were conventionality, Lessing's play is a radical
relatively carefree years for Germany's foremost departure from the genre as established on the
critic. German stage. More significant than the true-to-
life characters and idiosyncratic diction of the
It is unclear what Lessing expected for himself dramatis personae was the public discussion of
after he proclaimed the end of the long war to the social problems caused by the war and high-
citizenry of Breslau in 1763. But his hopes, hinted handed Prussian administrative measures.
at in a letter to his father, were not fulfilled: "Ich Instead of following the traditional pattern of
warte noch einen einzigen Umstand ab, und wo exposing some aberrant form of behavior to
dieser nicht nach meinem Willen ausfällt, so kehre ridicule, Lessing subjects the aristocratic concept
ich zu meiner alten Lebens Art wieder zurück" (I of honor to scrutiny. When his honor is
am only waiting for one decision. Should that be questioned, Tellheim, although innocent, refuses
contrary to expectations, then I will return to my to marry Minna. When she claims to be
old way of life). Von Tauentzien was appointed dishonored in the eyes of Saxon patriots for
governor of Silesia, and Lessing returned to his loving a Prussian officer, and disinherited as well,
old and rather insecure way of life. But unlike his he reverses his position; the now-eager suitor is
dramatic figure, the Baltic nobleman Tellheim in forced to invalidate his own earlier arguments,
Minna von Barnhelm, who had also joined the which Minna quotes back to him. Neither the
Prussian cause for reasons he finds difficult to plausibility of her fictitious misfortune nor the
explain after his sudden and unjust dismissal, superiority of "Mitleid" over honor as a virtue
Lessing was not destitute. Although many of his inspiring moral action could have been lost on the
personal effects were lost in transit from Breslau audience. The play rapidly became the most
to Berlin, he was able to send a significant amount popular of Lessing's dramatic works. Its first
of money to his family, and his library at this time performance, in Hamburg on 30 December 1767,
contained some six thousand volumes. was followed before the end of the decade by
productions in Frankfurt am Main, Vienna,
The literary results of his four years in Silesia Leipzig, Berlin, and Breslau. That the king's letter
were two major works: Minna von Barnhelm and ultimately solves Tellheim's dilemma led to a
Laokoon: Oder Über die Grenzen der Mahlerey und reading of the play as a glorification of Frederick
Poesie (1766; translated as Laocoon; or, The Limits of II; the opposite interpretation points to the
Poetry and Painting, 1836). arbitrariness of Tellheim's rehabilitation and finds
a general indictment of Prussia and its ruler. More
The plot of Lessing's great comedy reflects the recent scholarship has focused on aesthetic and
aftermath of the war. In a humane and generous sociopolitical issues.
gesture, Major von Tellheim had asked for smaller
reparations from the defeated Saxons than were With Laokoon Lessing participated in a larger
expected. When the vanquished proved unable to European debate on the specific differences
pay even these at short notice, he advanced them among the individual arts and the nature of
some of his own money to meet the minimum aesthetic perception. His plan was to include
demands of the Prussians. While this selfless deed music and dance, but the published work is
wins him the love of Minna, an aristocratic Saxon restricted to the pictorial arts (painting and
heiress, the Prussian ministry suspects bribery. sculpture) and literature. A discussion of theories
The play opens with Tellheim dismissed, presented by Joseph Spence in Polymetis (1747)
dishonored, and about to be evicted from his hotel and by Anne Claude Philippe de Tubières, comte
room. It ends with his honor rehabilitated by the de Caylus in Tableaux tirés de L'Iliade (1757)
king, his fortune restored, and his impending precedes the introduction of his true target:
marriage to Minna. Despite this seeming Winckelmann. In his Gedanken über die
G. E. Lessing Page 5 4/4/2008

Nachahmung der griechischen Werke in der Malerei meager perception to the unencumbered regions
und Bildhauerkunst (On Imitating Greek Artworks of thought). But Lessing had to defend himself in
in Painting and Sculpture, 1755) Winckelmann Brief, antiquarischen Inhalts (Letters on Classical
analyzed the Laocoön sculpture and concluded Matters, 1768-1769) against an attack by Christian
that the Greeks avoided the artistic expression of Adolf Klotz, a professor of rhetoric in Halle; the
extreme emotions: the priest and his sons, about entire first volume of Herder's Kritische Wälder
to be strangled by snakes, display only muted and (Critical Essays, 1769) was a critique of Laokoon--
controlled suffering. This stoic ideal was by and large Herder sided with Winckelmann;
diametrically opposed to Lessing's own views; yet and Goethe presented his own views as a third
he disputes Winckelmann's famous dictum that position in the journal Propyläen in 1798.
no inner turmoil would disturb the Greeks' "edle
Einfalt and stille GröBe" (noble simplicity and Lessing's hopes for employment as royal librarian
calm grandeur) not on moral but on aesthetic in Berlin or at the art gallery in Dresden ended in
grounds. Since Homer and Sophocles allow their disappointment. In the spring of 1767 he accepted
heroes to scream, he argues, different laws must a position as theater critic at the newly founded
apply for the writer and the sculptor. In his search German National Theater in Hamburg. He may
for these laws he establishes several principles well have shared the high expectation embodied
which have proved to be extraordinarily fruitful in the idea of a national theater; his involvement
for all subsequent theory in this area, among them in a similar venture in Mannheim in 1776 and his
the structural analysis of the medium to interest in plans for a national academy in Vienna
determine its representational possibilities, the to be presided over by Friedrich Gottlieb
distinction of natural and arbitrary signs, and the Klopstock would point in that direction. But
participatory role of the reader or viewer. regional interests and petty rivalries and intrigues
Literature uses successive signs in time; the foiled all of these attempts to establish an
pictorial arts employ coexisting figures and colors intellectual center of national significance. The
in space. Therefore, the proper subject of literature Hamburg enterprise, underfunded and
is "Handlungen" (action) while "Körper" (objects) mismanaged, folded before the end of the year.
are the most adequate subjects for the painter and Lessing stayed to complete his contribution: the
the sculptor. Limited to re-creating a single Hamburgische Dramaturgie (1767-1769; translated
moment in time, the artist must select one that as Hamburg Dramaturgy, 1962).
leaves the most latitude for the imagination. It is
not the pinnacle of an emotion but an earlier or It is not a systematic work. When the original plan
later stage that allows viewer participation. For to review each play, all of the actors, and every
this reason Laocoön is depicted as suffering, but performance had to be abandoned because of
not screaming. Lessing concludes that literature is personal sensitivities, Lessing broadened his
superior to pictorial art because it can represent theme to include all matters pertaining to the
the entire spectrum of human emotions. It contemporary debate on drama: the nature of the
achieves its highest form by translating its tragic hero--he is to be "vom gleichen Schrot und
arbitrary signs into natural signs, by turning Korn" (of like kind) as the audience in order to
words into the spoken dialogue of drama. affect them; the concept of genius; and the
problem of historical accuracy in drama are
The impact of the work was considerable. Even among the issues treated. An overriding concern
Winckelmann's great admirer Goethe is the critique of French classical drama, and
remembered in his autobiography "daß dieses Shakespeare is used to substantiate its
Werk uns aus der Region eines kümmerlichen devaluation. But the greatest attention is devoted
Anschauens in die freien Gefilde des Gedankens to a reinterpretation of Aristotle's comments on
hinriß" (that this work lifted us from the level of tragedy. In the light of modern scholarship
G. E. Lessing Page 6 4/4/2008

Lessing's reading of the crucial passage may be 1773-1781) are efforts in this direction. Most of his
faulty: he translates eleos and phobos as Furcht commentaries on rare or forgotten texts take the
(fear) and Mitleid (pity), declares Furcht to be pity form of righting an old wrong. Thus he defends
we feel for ourselves, and sees both emotions as the heretic Berengar against his orthodox critics,
the object of the cathartic experience of tragedy. Leibniz against the accusation of religious
hypocrisy, and the sixteenth-century apostate
Eminently sociable, Lessing acquired a large circle Adam Neuser as a victim of religious intolerance.
of friends in Hamburg. With Johann Bode he The third volume of Zur Geschichte und Litteratur
entered into a short-lived publishing business; in (1774) includes the first of a series of fragments
the house of the merchant Engelbert König he met from Reimarus's "Apologie," which were to
his future wife, Eva, who was then married to involve Lessing in an extended theological
könig; the children of Hermann Samuel Reimarus, controversy with the Hamburg theological Johann
professor of oriental languages, provided him Melchior Goeze and others, and which
with the manuscript of their father's radically culminated in the publication of Nathan der Weise
deistic "Apologia oder Schutzschrift für die in 1779.
vernünftigen Verehrer Gottes" (Apology or
Defense of the Rational Worshipers of God). He But before the quarrel over the "Reimarus
became acquainted with Carl Philipp Emanuel Fragments" dominated his life, he was able to
Bach, then musical director of the Hamburg complete Emilia Galotti. In a letter to his brother,
parish, and played chess with Klopstock. He also Lessing describes the play as "eine modernisierte,
met Johann Arnold Ebert, professor at the von allem Staatsinteresse befreite Virginia" (a
Carolinum in Brunswick, who secured for him his modernized Virginia, devoid of all political
last position: the librarianship at the ducal library concerns). He provided his ducal employer with a
in Wolfenbüttel, then and now one of the most similar description, and it is likely that he
significant libraries in Europe. deemphasized the play's sociopolitical content to
avoid censorship. Emilia Galotti is an indictment of
Financial difficulties and poor health delayed his an immoral prince, Hettore Gonzaga. The prince's
departure from Hamburg, and he did not assume designs on Emilia, who is unaccustomed to the
his new duties until May 1770. His years in amorality of the court and unable to defend
Wolfenbüttel were overshadowed by the herself against it, seem to leave her no alternative
provinciality of the duchy of Braunschweig- but to seek her own death. On her wedding day
Lüneburg and the social and intellectual isolation she finds herself trapped at the prince's retreat
in which he found himself. Although his after her bridegroom has been murdered. The
relationship with the court in Brunswick was prince, indirectly the perpetrator of this crime,
strained from the beginning, he was not treated now acts as judge and orders a full investigation,
ungenerously. His prolonged absences from thus preventing Emilia's escape. That Emilia is
Wolfenbüttel were tolerated, and he was asked to less afraid of the political and judicial power of
accompany a member of the ducal family on a the prince than of the power of seduction has
tour of Italy from April to December 1775; the inspired many psychological analyses. That her
duke also exempted his publications from father, Odoardo, urged by Emilia, kills her and
censorship and approved his plan to make the spares the prince seems to expose the passivity
treasures of the library available to the public. and frustrations of the middle class.
Lessing's work on Berengar of Tours (1770) and
the six-volume Zur Geschichte und Litteratur: Aus The play was hailed as the prototype of a German
den Schätzen der Herzoglichen Bibliothek zu drama with true-to-life characters, but Matthias
Wolfenbüttel (On History and Literature: From the Claudius found the heroine's fear of her own
Collections of the Ducal Library in Wolfenbüttel, sensuality difficult to understand; Goe-the called
G. E. Lessing Page 7 4/4/2008

the play a masterpiece yet found it "nur gedacht" Reimarus manuscript. The first portion, "Von der
(too contrived); and Friedrich Schlegel, who Duldung der Deisten" (On Tolerating Deists) in
influenced future commentaries on Lessing by 1774, had gone widely unnoticed; but the radical
praising the philosopher at the expense of the questioning of the New Testament accounts of
poet, described the play as "ein großes Exempel Christ's death and resurrection in Vom dem Zwecke
der dramatischen Algebra" (a great example of Jesu und seiner Jünger (On the Purpose of Jesus and
dramatic algebra). His Disciples, 1778) triggered a vociferous
response from the already embattled orthodox
Even though more recent commentaries have Protestant camp. Its main spokesman, Goeze, was
deemphasized the play's sociopolitical edge, it is no match for Lessing's satirical pen, but he
clear that Lessing's view of the Prussian state, succeeded in rousing the established ecclesiastic
which during his lifetime had emerged as a major and secular hierarchies into action. Lessing's
military power in Europe, had undergone publisher, the Waisenhaus-Buchhandlung in
considerable change. In response to an ironic Brunswick, was ordered by ducal decree to halt
remark by Nicolai regarding censorship in the distribution of all writings pertaining to the
Vienna, Lessing belittled a presumed freedom of controversy; and Lessing, whose efforts to
the press that allows inane attacks on religion but persuade the court otherwise were ignored, was
excludes all critical review of social and political advised to cease all further publications on
conditions. In this respect, he calls Prussia "das matters of religion.
sklavischste Land Europas" (the most slavish
country in Europe). Having joined the To shield Reimarus's children from public wrath,
Freemasons in Hamburg, and possibly Lessing had presented Reimarus's text as
disappointed by the "secrets" imparted to him at "Fragmente eines Ungenannten" (Fragments by an
his initiation, he published Ernst und Falk: unnamed author). Furthermore, he had
Gespräche für Freymäurer (1778; translated as introduced the deistic arguments with
Masonic Dialogues, 1927). The work maps out the counterarguments of his own. Despite these
duties of the citizen in an imperfect state. precautions, he was soon publicly suspected of
being himself the "unnamed" author. In defiance
In 1771, after the death of her husband, Eva König of his ducal employer's order, Lessing published
had become engaged to Lessing. Returning from simultaneously in Hamburg and Berlin; his
his Italian journey, he intensified his efforts to penultimate response to the ultraconservative
have his position upgraded, for he considered his Goeze then turned to his old forum, the theater, to
own financial independence an essential present his last word on the matter.
prerequisite to marriage, despite Eva's
considerable fortune. Embittered by delays, A posthumously published preface to Nathan der
Lessing was ready to resign when his conditions Weise says: "daß der Nachteil, welchen
were finally met. A few months later, on 8 geoffenbarte Religionen dem menschlichen
October 1776, the wedding took place on the Geschlechte bringen, zu keiner Zeit einem
estate of friends near Hamburg. Lessing's marital vernünftigen Manne müsse auffallender gewesen
life was short. His son Traugott survived for only sein, als zu den Zeiten der Kreuzzüge" (the
one day after a difficult birth, from which the disadvantage which revealed religions bring to
mother never fully recovered. Eva Lessing died mankind can never have been more obvious to a
on 10 January 1778. rational man than at the time of the Crusades).
The play shows intolerance and inhumanity to be
In his grief, Lessing submerged himself in the the result of the conviction that a single religion is
increasingly polemical debate triggered by his the sole recipient of transcendental truth. But the
second installment of segments from the principal representatives of the warring factions--
G. E. Lessing Page 8 4/4/2008

a young Templar captured and pardoned by autonomy of man, will be reached: "sie wird
Saladin (the Muslim ruler of Jerusalem), and the gewiß kommen, die Zeit der Vollendung, da der
wise Jewish merchant Nathan--overcome their Mensch ... das Gute tun wird, weil es das Gute ist"
religious as well as their political and racial (the time of perfection will surely come, when
differences. Even before the play's utopian man ... will act virtuously for virtue's sake).
ending, which reveals that they are related to each
other, they become friends. This friendship is Lessing died in Brunswick on 15 February 1781, in
brought about by several educational processes the presence of his stepdaughter Amalie and his
which permeate the play and culminate in the friend Alexander Daveson.
famous Parable of the Rings. Questioned by
Saladin regarding the truth which all religions
claim, Nathan responds with Lessing's adaptation
of one of Boccaccio's tales from the Decameron WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
(1953). Under the veil of allegory Nathan allows
all revealed religions the same degree of "truth."  Der Eremite: Eine Erzehlung anonymous
They are indistinguishable from one another in (Kerapolis [actually Stuttgart: Mezler], 1749).
that they all base their claims on reported  Die alte Jungfer: Ein Lustspiel in drei Aufzügen,
historical events; such "historical proofs" are anonymous (Berlin: Voß 1749).
judged to be insufficient in the court of reason,  Tarantula: Eine Poszen Oper, anonymous (Teltow
and therefore their mutually exclusive claims an der Tyber [actually Berlin], 1749).
would have to be rejected. But the judge in  Weiber sind Weiber: Ein Lustspiel in fünf
Nathan's parable moves beyond this deist Aufzügen, anonymous (Berlin, 1749).
position; instead of a judgment, he offers advice:  Critische Nachrichten aus dem Reiche der
although the validity of religious beliefs cannot be Gelehrsamkeit, 2 volumes, anonymous (Berlin:
demonstrated, their value can be established Haude & Spener, 1750-1751).
through the virtuous life of the believer. The  Palaion: Comédie en un Acte, anonymous (Berlin,
absence of transcendental certainty becomes the 1750).
incentive to strive toward moral autonomy.  Kleinigkeiten, anonymous (Frankfurt am Main &
Leipzig [actually Stuttgart: Mezler], 1751).
In Die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts (1780;  Das Neueste aus dem Reiche des Witzes,
translated as The Education of the Human Race, anonymous (Berlin, 1751).
1858) Lessing seems to provide a more definitive  Schrifften, 6 volumes (Berlin: Voß, 1753-1755)--
answer regarding his stand toward Christianity. volume 6 (1755) includes Der junge Gelehrte in der
He sent the manuscript to his publisher, Voß, with Einbildung: Ein Lustspiel in drey Aufzügen, Die
the condition that his authorship be withheld; Juden, Der Freygeist, Der Schatz, Miß Sara Sampson,
instead, he was described on the title page as the Der Misogyne oder Der Feind des weiblichen
book's editor. The work describes the Old and Geschlechts: Ein Lustspiel in zwey Aufzügen.
New Testaments as schoolbooks that have served  Ein Vade Mecum für den Hrn. Sam. Gotth. Lange,
their purpose in the continuing progress of Pastor in Laublingen, in dessen Taschenformate
mankind toward ultimate enlightenment; angefertigt (Berlin: Voß 1754).
Christianity is an imperfect but necessary stage  Theatralische Bibliothek, 4 volumes (Berlin: Voß
along the way. The work does not focus on the 1754-1758).
irrelevance or the absence of divine guidance in  Miß Sara Sampson: Ein Trauerspiel in fünf
the education of mankind, however, but on those Aufzügen (Berlin: Voß 1755).
accomplishments which man, individually or  Pope--ein Metaphysiker!, anonymous, by Lessing
collectively, has achieved for himself. It ends with and Moses Mendelssohn (Danzig: Schuster, 1755).
the conviction that the ultimate goal, the moral
G. E. Lessing Page 9 4/4/2008

 Philotas: Ein Trauerspiel, anonymous (Berlin:  Sinngedichte (Berlin: Voß, 1771; republished,
Voß, 1759). edited by Helmut Hirsch, Berlin: Der Morgen,
 Fabeln: Drey Bücher. Nebst Abhandlungen mit 1980).
dieser Dichtungsart verwandten Inhalts (Berlin: Voß,  Trauerspiele: Miß Sara Sampson; Philotas; Emilia
1759); translated anonymously as Fables: In Three Galotti (Berlin: Voß, 1772); Emilia Galotti translated
Books (London: Taylor, 1829); German version by Benjamin Thompson (London: Vernor & Hood,
republished, edited by Walther Killy (Hamburg: 1800).
Maximilian-Gesellschaft, 1979).  Emilia Galotti: Ein Trauerspiel in fünf Aufzügen
 Sophokles: Erstes Buch, anonymous (Berlin: Voß, (Berlin, Voß, 1772).
1760).  Zur Geschichte und Litteratur: Aus den Schätzen
 Laokoon: Oder Über die Grenzen der Mahlerey und der Herzoglichen Bibliothek zu Wolfenbüttel, 6
Poesie. Erster Theil. Mit beiläufigen Erläuterungen volumes (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1773-1781).
verschiedener Punkte der alten Kunstgeschichte  Vom Alter der Oelmalerey: Aus dem Theophilus
(Berlin: Voß, 1766); translated by William Ross as Presbyter, anonymous (Brunswick: Waisenhaus,
Laocoon; or, The Limits of Poetry and Painting 1774).
(London: Ridgway, 1836); translated by Ellen  Zwey Lustspiele: Damon; Die alte Jungfer
Frothingham as Laocoon: An Essay upon the Limits (Frankfurt am Main & Leipzig: Fleischer, 1775).
of Painting and Poetry (London: Low, 1874; Boston:  Über den Beweis des Geistes und der Kraft an den
Roberts, 1874; reprinted, New York: Noonday Herrn Director Schumann, zu Hannover, anonymous
Press, 1957); German version republished, edited (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1777).
by Dorothy Reich (London: Oxford University  Das Testament Johannis: Ein Gespräch,
Press, 1965). anonymous (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1777).
 Lustspiele, 2 volumes (Berlin: Voß, 1767)--  Anti-Goeze: Das ist, Nothgedrungener Beytrag zu
includes Minna von Barnhelm oder das den freiwilligen Beyträgen des Hrn. Past. Goeze,
Soldatenglück, translated by Fanny Holcroft as anonymous (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1778).
Minna von Barnhelm: A Comedy in 5 Acts, in The  Von den Zwecke Jesu und seiner Jünger: Noch ein
Theatrical Recorder, volume 2 (London: Holcroft, Fragment des Wolfenbüttelschen Ungenannten
1806), pp. 217-258. (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1778).
 Hamburgische Dramaturgie, 2 volumes  Nöthige Antwort auf eine sehr unnöthige Frage des
(Hamburg & Bremen: Cramer, 1767-1769; Herrn Hauptpastor Goeze in Hamburg
reprinted, 1 volume, edited by Friedrich Schröter (Wolfenbüttel, 1778).
and Richard Thiele, Halle: Waisenhaus, 1878;  Der nöthigen Antwort auf ein sehr unnöthige Frage
reprinted, Hildesheim & New York: Olms, 1979); des Herrn Hauptpastor Goeze in Hamburg: Erste Folge
translated by Helen Zimmern as Hamburg (N.p., 1778).
Dramaturgy, 1 volume (New York: Dover, 1962).  Axiomata, wenn es deren in dergleichen Dingen
 Brief, antiquarischen Inhalts, 2 volumes (Berlin: giebt, wider den Herrn Pastor Goeze in Hamburg,
Nicolai, 1768-1769). anonymous (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1778).
 Wie die Alten den Tod gebildet: Eine Untersuchung  Eine Duplik, anonymous (Brunswick:
(Berlin: Voß, 1769). Waisenhaus, 1778).
 Berengarius Turonensis: oder Ankündigung eines  Eine Parabel: Nebst einer kleinen Bitte und einem
wichtigen Werkes desselben, wovon in der eventualen Absagungsbriefe an Herrn Pastor Goeze, in
Herzoglichen Bibliothek zu, Wolfenbüttel ein Hamburg, anonymous (Brunswick: Waisenhaus,
Manuscript befindlich, welches bisher völlig unbekannt 1778); translated by Henry Crabb Robinson as "A
geblieben (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1770). Parable from the German of Lessing," Monthly
 Vermischte Schriften, 14 volumes, edited by Karl Repository of Theology and General Literature, 1
Gotthelf Lessing and Johann Joachim Eschenberg (1806): 183-185.
(volumes 1-10, 13-14, Berlin: Voß volumes 11-12,
Berlin: Nicolai, 1771-1793).
G. E. Lessing Page 10 4/4/2008

 Neue Hypothese über die Evangelisten als blos Voß volumes 29-32, Berlin & Stettin: Nicolai, 1825-
menschliche Geschichtschreiber betrachtet 1828).
(Wolfenbüttel, 1778).  Sämmtliche Schriften 13 volumes, edited by Karl
 Ernst und Falk: Gespräche für Freymäurer, 2 Lachmann (Berlin: Voß, 1838-1840); revised and
volumes, anonymous (volume 1, Wolfenbüttel & enlarged by Franz Muncker, 23 volumes (volumes
Göttingen: Dieterich, 1778; volume 2, Frankfurt 1-22, Stuttgart & Leipzig: Göschen; volume 23,
am Main: Brönner, 1780; republished, Hamburg: Berlin: De Gruyter, 1886-1924; reprinted, Berlin:
Bauhütten, 1980); translated by A. Cohn as De Gruyter, 1968).
Masonic Dialogues (London: Baskerville Press,  Werke: Vollständige Ausgabe, 25 volumes, edited
1927). by Julius Petersen and Waldemar von Olshausen
 Noch nähere Berichtigung des Mährchens von 1000 (Berlin: Bong, 1925-1935; reprinted, Hildesheim &
Ducaten oder Judas Ischarioth dem Zweyten (N.p., New York: Olms, 1970).
1778).  Gesammelte Werke, 10 volumes, edited by Paul
 Nathan der Weise: Ein dramatisches Gedicht in fünf Rilla (Berlin: Aufbau, 1954-1958).
Aufzügen (Berlin: Voß, 1779); translated by  Werke, 8 volumes, edited by Herbert G. Göpfert,
William Taylor as Nathan the Wise (Norwich, U.K.: Karl Eibl, and others (Munich: Hanser, 1970-1979).
Stevenson & Matchett, 1791); translated by  Three Comedies, translated by J. J. Holroyd
Frothingham as Nathan the Wise (New York: Holt, (Colchester, U.K.: Totham, 1838)--comprises The
1867); German version republished, edited by Freethinker, The Treasure, Minna von Barnhelm; or,
Peter Demetz (Frankfurt am Main & Berlin: The Soldier's Fortune.
Ullstein, 1966).  Dramatic Works, 2 volumes, translated by Ernest
 Die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts (Berlin: Bell and R. Dillon Boylan, edited by Bell (London:
Voß, 1780); translated by Frederick William Bell, 1878)--comprises in volume 1 (Tragedies),
Robertson as The Education of the Human Race "Memoir," Miss Sara Sampson, Philotas, Emilia
(London: Smith, Elder, 1858; New York: Collier, Galotti, Nathan the Wise; in volume 2 (Comedies),
1909); German version republished, edited by Damon; or, True Friendship, The Young Scholar, The
Louis Ferdinand Helbig (Bern: Lang, 1980). Old Maid, The Woman-Hater, The Jews, The
 Theatralischer Nachlaß, 2 volumes, edited by Karl Freethinker, The Treasure, Minna von Barnhelm;
Gotthelf Lessing (Berlin: Voß, 1784-1786).  Select Prose Works, translated by E. C. Beasley
 Theologischer Nachlaß, edited by Karl Gotthelf and Helen Zimmern (London: Bell, 1879; revised,
Lessing (Berlin: Voß, 1784). 1890)--comprises "Laocoön," "How the Ancients
 Analekten für die Litteratur, 4 volumes (Bern & Represented Death," "Dramatic Notes".
Leipzig: Haller, 1785-1786).  Nathan the Wise: A Dramatic Poem in Five Acts,
 Der Schlaftrunk: Ein Lustspiel in drey Aufzügen translated and edited by Leo Markun (Girard,
von Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, zu Ende gebracht vom Kans.: Haldeman-Julius, 1926).
Verfasser der Jugendgeschichte Karl und Sophie  Laocoön; Nathan the Wise; Minna von Barnhelm,
(Regensburg: Montag, 1785). translated by William A. Steel and Anthony Dent,
 Übrige noch ungedruckte Werke des edited by Steel (London: Dent / New York:
Wolfenbüttlischen Fragmentisten: Ein Nachlaß, Dutton, 1930; reprinted, 1959).
edited by C. A. E. Schmidt (N.p., 1787).  Nathan the Wise: A Dramatic Poem in Five Acts.
 Kollektaneen zur Literatur, 2 volumes, edited and Translated into English Verse, translated by Bayard
enlarged by Johann Joachim Eschenburg (Berlin: Quincy Morgan (New York: Ungar, 1955;
Voß, 1790). reprinted, 1975).
 Die Matrone von Ephesus: Ein Lustspiel in einem  Theological Writings, translated by Henry
Aufzuge, completed by K. L. Rahbek (Mannheim: Chadwick (London: Black, 1956; Stanford:
Schwann & Götz, 1790). Stanford University Press, 1957).
 Sämmtliche Schriften, 32 volumes, edited by
Johann Friedrich Schink (volumes 1-28, Berlin:
G. E. Lessing Page 11 4/4/2008

 Emilia Galotti: A Tragedy in Five Acts, translated anonymously from the French by Lessing (Berlin,
by Anna Johanna Gode von Aesch (Great Neck, 1753).
N.Y.: Barron's 1959).  Francois Augier de Marigny, Geschichte der
 Emilia Galotti: A Tragedy in Five Acts, translated Araber unter der Regierung der Califen, volumes 1-2,
by Edward Dvoretzky (New York: Ungar, 1962). translated by Lessing (Berlin & Potsdam: Voß,
 Laocoön: An Essay on the Limits of Painting and 1753-1754).
Poetry, translated by Edward Allen McCormick  Frederick II, Schreiben an das Publicum: Aus dem
(Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1962). Französischen, translated anonymously by Lessing
 Minna von Barnhelm: A Comedy in Five Acts, (Berlin: Voß, 1753).
translated by Kenneth J. Northcott (Chicago:  William Hogarth, Zergliederung der Schönheit, die
University of Chicago Press, 1972). Schwankenden Begriffe von dem Geschmack
 Nathan the Wise, translated by Walter Frank festzusetzen: Aus dem Englischen, translated by
Charles Ade (Woodbury, N.Y.: Barron's, 1972). Mylius, foreword by Lessing (Berlin & Potsdam:
 Miss Sara Sampson: A Tragedy in Five Acts, Voß, 1754).
translated by G. Hoern Schlage (Stuttgart: Heinz,  Mylius, Vermischte Schriften, edited by Lessing
1977). (Berlin: Haude & Spener, 1754).
 Philotas, translated by Dvoretzky (Stuttgart:  Elizabeth Rowe, Geheiligte Andachts-Ubungen in
Heinz, 1979). Betrachtung, Gebet, Lobpreisung und Herzens-
 Crébillon, Catalina: Ein Trauerspiel. Aus dem Gesprächen, translated anonymously by Lessing
Französischen, translated anonymously by Lessing and Christian Felix Weiße (Erfurt: Nonnen, 1754).
(Berlin, 1749).  Francis Hutcheson, Sittenlehre der Vernunft: Aus
 Charles Rollin, Römische Historie von der dem Englischen übersetzt, 2 volumes, translated
Erbauung der Stadt Rom: Theile 4-6, 3 volumes, anonymously by Lessing (Leipzig: Wendler,
translated anonymously by Lessing (Leipzig & 1756).
Danzig: Rüdiger, 1749-1752).  William Law, Eine ernsthafte Ermunterung an alle
 Beyträge zur Historie und Aufnahme des Theaters, Christen zu einem frommen und heiligen Leben: Aus
edited by Lessing and Christlob Mylius (Berlin & dem Englischen übersetzt, translated anonymously
Stuttgart: Metzler, 1750). by Lessing (Leipzig: Weidmann, 1756).
 Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Das Leben ist ein  James Thomson, Sämtliche Trauerspiele: Aus dem
Traum, translated anonymously by Lessing Englischen übersetzt, translated by a scholarly
(Berlin, 1750). society in Stralsund, foreword by Lessing
 Titus Maccias Plautus, Die Gefangenen, (Leipzig: Weidmann, 1756).
translated by Lessing (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1750).  Bibliothek der schönen Wissenschaften und der
 Voltaire, Kleinere historische Schriften: Aus dem freyen Künste, 3 volumes, edited by Lessing, Moses
Französischen, translated anonymously by Lessing Mendelssohn, and Friedrich Nicolai (Leipzig:
(Rostock: Koppe, 1752). Dyck, 1757-1758).
 Juan Huarte de San Juan, Johann Huarts Prüfung  Samuel Richardson, Sittenlehre für die Jugend in
der Köpfe zu den Wissenschaften: Aus dem den auserlesensten Aesopischen Fabeln mit dienlichen
Spanischen, translated anonymously by Lessing Betrachtungen zur Beförderung der Religion und der
(Wittenberg & Zerbst: Zimmermann, 1752). allgemeinen Menschenliebe vorgestellt, translated by
 Johann Gotthilf Vockerodt, An impartial Lessing (Leipzig: Weidmann, 1757).
Foreigner's Remarks upon the present Dispute between  Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, Preßische
England and Prussia, in a Letter from a Gentleman at Kriegslieder in den Feldzügen 1756 und 1757: Von
the Hague to his Friend in London: Amerkungen [sic] einem Grenadier. Mit Melodien, edited by Lessing
eines unpartheyischen Fremden über die gegenwärtige (Berlin: Voß, 1758).
Streitigkeit zwischen England und Preßen; in einem  Briefe, die Neueste Litteratur betreffend, parts 1-4,
Brief eines Edelmanns in dem Haag an seinen Freund edited anonymously by Lessing, Mendelssohn,
in London. Aus dem Englischen, translated
G. E. Lessing Page 12 4/4/2008

and Nicolai (Berlin: Nicolai, 1759; reprinted,  Lessings Briefwechsel mit Mendelssohn und Nicolai
Hildesheim: Olms, 1971). über das Trauerspiel: Nebst verwandten Schriften
 Friedrich von Logau, Sinngedichte: Zwölf Bücher. Nicolais und Mendelssohns, edited by Robert Petsch
Mit Anmerkungen über die Sprache des Dichters, (Leipzig: Durr, 1910; reprinted, Darmstadt:
edited by Lessing and Karl Wilhelm Ramler Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1967).
(Leipzig: Weidmann, 1759).  Lessings Briefe in einem Band, edited by Herbert
 Denis Diderot, Das Theater des Herrn Diderot: Greiner-Mai (Berlin: Aufbau, 1967).
Aus dem Französischen, 2 volumes, translated  Briefwechsel über das Trauerspiel: Gotthold
anonymously by Lessing (Berlin: Voß, 1760; Ephraim Lessing, Moses Mendelssohn, Friedrich
revised, 1781). Nicolai, edited by Jochen Schult-Sasse (Munich:
 Jean-Georges Noverre, Briefe über die Tanzkunst Winkler, 1972).
und über die Ballette: Aus dem Französischen  Briefe Lessings aus Wolfenbüttel, edited by Günter
übersetzt, translated by Lessing and Johann Schulz (Bremen & Wolfenbüttel: Jacobi, 1975).
Joachim Christoph Bode (Hamburg & Bremen:  Meine liebste Madam!: Gotthold Ephraim Lessings
Cramer, 1769). Briefwechsel mit Eva König, 1770-1776, edited by
 Andreas Scultetus, Gedichte: Aufgefunden, edited Günter and Ursula Schulz (Munich: Beck, 1979).
by Lessing (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1771).  Dialog in Briefen und andere ausgewählte
 Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem, Philosophische Aufsätze, Dokumente zum Leben Gotthold Ephraim Lessings mit
edited by Lessing (Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1776; Eva Catharina König: Zur 200. Wiederkehr des
edited by Paul Beer, Berlin: Behr, 1900; reprinted, Todestages von Gotthold Ephraim Lessing am 15.
New York & Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus, 1966). Februar 1981, edited by Helmut Rudloff (Kamenz:
 Hermann Samuel Reimarus, Von dem Zwecke Lessing-Museum, 1981).
Jesu und seiner Jünger: Noch ein Fragment des  Siegfried Seifert, Lessing Bibliographie (Berlin:
Wolfenbüttelschen Ungenannten, edited by Lessing Aufbau, 1973).
(Brunswick: Waisenhaus, 1778).  Karl Gotthelf Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim Lessings
 Pedro Cudena, Beschreibung des Portugiesischen Leben, nebst seinem noch übrigen Nachlasse (Berlin:
Amerika: Ein Spanisches Manuskript in der Voß, 1793).
Wolfenbüttelschen Bibliothek, translated by  Erich Schmidt, Lessing: Geschichte seines Lebens
Christian Leiste, edited by Lessing (Brunswick: und seiner Schriften (Berlin: Weidmann, 1899).
Waisenhaus, 1780).  Henry B. Garland, Lessing, the Founder of Modern
 Reimarus, Fragmente des Wolfenbüttelschen German Literature, second edition (London & New
Ungenannten: Ein Anhang zu dem Fragment von York: St. Martin's Press, 1962).
Zweck Jesu und seiner Jünger, edited by Lessing  Wolfgang Drews, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in
(Berlin: Weber, 1784). Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten (Reinbek:
 G. E. Lessings Übersetzungen aus dem Rowohlt, 1962).
Französischen Friedrichs des Großen und Voltaires,  Kurl Wölfel, Lessings Leben und Werk in Daten
edited by Erich Schmidt (Berlin: Hertz, 1892; und Bildern (Frankfurt am Main: Insel, 1967).
reprinted, Munich: Kraus, 1980).  Gerd Hillen, Lessing Chronik: Daten zu Leben und
Werk (Munich: Hanser, 1979).
FURTHER READINGS ABOUT THE AUTHOR  Henry E. Allison, Lessing and the Enlightenment:
His Philosophy of Religion and its Relation to
 Briefe von und an Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: In Eighteenth-Century Thought (Ann Arbor:
fünf Bänden, volumes 17-21 of Gotthold Ephraim University of Michigan Press, 1966).
Lessings sämtliche Schriften, edited by Karl  Ehrhard Bahr and others, eds., Humanität und
Lachmann, third edition, edited by Franz Dialog: Lessing und Mendelssohn in neuer Sicht
Muncker (Berlin & Leipzig: De Gruyter, 1904- (Detroit: Wayne State University Press / Munich:
1907; reprinted, Berlin: De Gruyter, 1968). Edition text & kritik, 1982).
G. E. Lessing Page 13 4/4/2008

 Wilfried Barner, Produktive Rezeption: Lessing About this Essay: Gerd Hillen, University of
und die Tragödien Senecas (Munich: Beck, 1973). California, Berkeley
 Barner and Albert M. Reh, eds., Nation und
Gelehrtenrepublik: Lessing im Europäischen Source: Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 97:
Zusammenhang (Detroit: Wayne State University German Writers from the Enlightenment to Sturm und
Press / Munich: Edition text + kritik, 1984). Drang, 1720-1764. A Bruccoli Clark Layman Book.
 Barner and others, eds., Lessing: Epoche, Werk, Edited by James Hardin, University of South
Wirkung, fourth edition (Munich: Beck, 1981). Carolina and Christoph E. Schweitzer, University
 Martin Bollacher, Lessing: Vernunft und of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Gale Group,
Geschichte. Untersuchungen zum Problem religiöser 1990. pp. 175-190.
Aufklärung in den Spätschriften (Tübingen:
Niemeyer, 1978). Source Database: Dictionary of Literary
 Manfred Durzak, Poesie und Ratio: Vier Lessing- Biography
Studien (Bad Homburg: Athenäum, 1970).
 Helmut Göbel, Bild und Sprache bei Lessing
(Munich: Fink, 1971).
 F. J. Lamport, Lessing and the Drama (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1981).
 Lessing Yearbook! (1969- ).
 Volker Nölle, Subjektivität und Wirklichkeit in
Lessings dramatischem und theologischem Werk
(Berlin: Schmidt, 1977).
 George Pons, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing et le
Christianisme (Paris: Didier, 1964).
 J. G. Robertson, Lessing's Dramatic Theory
(Cambridge: University Press, 1939).
 Victor A. Rudowski, Lessing's Aesthetica in Nuce:
An Analysis of the May 26, 1769 Letter to Nicolai
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
1971).
 Jürgen Schröder, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing:
Sprache und Drama (Munich: Fink, 1972).
 Harald Schultze, Lessings Toleranzbegriff: Eine
theologische Studie (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht, 1969).
 Hinrich C. Seeba, Die Liebe zur Sache. Öffentliches
und privates Interesse in Lessings Dramen
(Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1973).
 Gisbert Ter-Nedden, Lessings Trauerspiele: Der
Ursprung des modernen Dramas aus dem Geist der
Kritik (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1986).
 Manuscripts of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing are
in various European libraries, notably in the
Herzog-August-Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, and the
Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Berlin.