James Sime and John George Robertson

“ These papers are not only full of thought and learning; they are written with a grace, vivacity and energy that make them hardly less interesting to-day than they were to Lessing’s contemporaries. He does not undertake to defend the conclusions of Reimarus; his immediate object is to claim the right of free criticism in regard even to the highest subjects of human thought. ”

“ The power of Minna von Barnhelm, Lessing’s greatest drama, was also immediately recognized. Tellheim, the hero of the comedy, is an admirable study of a manly and sensitive soldier, with somewhat exaggerated ideas of conventional honour; and Minna, the heroine, is one of the brightest and most attractive figures in German comedy. The subordinate characters are conceived with even more force and vividness ”

“ Its governing conception is that noble character may be associated with the most diverse creeds, and that there can, therefore, be no good reason why the holders of one sect of religious principles should not tolerate those who maintain wholly different doctrines. ”

“ Among Lessing’s chief friends during his second residence in Berlin were the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) , in association with whom he wrote in 1755 an admirable treatise, Pope ein Metaphysiker! tracing sharply the lines which separate the poet from the philosopher. He was also on intimate terms with C. F. Nicolai (1733–1811) , a Berlin bookseller and rationalistic writer, and with the “German Horace” K. W. Ramler (1725–1798) ”

“ The argument on which he chiefly relies is that the Bible cannot be considered necessary to a belief in Christianity, since Christianity was a living and conquering power before the New Testament in its present form was recognized by the church. ”

“ In 1748, however, the company broke up, and Lessing, who had allowed himself to become surety for some of the actors’ debts, was obliged to leave Leipzig too, in order to escape their creditors. He went to Wittenberg, and afterwards, towards the end of the year, to Berlin, where his friend Mylius had established himself as a journalist. In Berlin Lessing now spent three years, maintaining himself chiefly by literary work. ”

“ The last period of Lessing’s life was devoted chiefly to theological controversy. H. S. Reimarus (1694–1768) , professor of oriental languages in Hamburg, who commanded general respect as a scholar and thinker, wrote a book entitled Apologie oder Schutzschrift für die vernünftigen Verehrer Gottes. ”