Nathan The Wise

Lessing was a playwright, scholar, poet, archeologist, philosopher, and critic. His genius is evident in the works collected in this volume, which includes the comedy Minna von Barnhelm, the tragedy Emilia, Galotti, Nathan the Wise, The Jews (and related correspondence), Ernst and Falk: Conversations for the Freemasons, and selections from philosophical and theological writings>

One of the most independent thinkers in German intellectual history, the Enlightenment author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) contributed in decisive and lasting fashion to literature, philosophy, theology, criticism, and drama theory. Lessing invented the brgerliches Trauerspiel (bourgeois tragedy) and wrote one of the first successful German tragedies as well as one of the finest German comedies. In his final dramatic masterpiece, Nathan der Weise, he writes of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, of religious tolerance and intolerance and the clash of civilizations. Lessing's dramas are the oldest German theater pieces still regularly performed (both in Germany and internationally), and both his plays and his drama theory have influenced such writers as Goethe, Schiller, Hebbel, Hauptmann, Ibsen, Strindberg, Schnitzler, and Brecht. Addressing an audience ranging from graduate students to seasoned scholars, this volume introduces Lessing's life and times and places him within the broader context of the European Enlightenment. It discusses his pathbreaking dramas, his equally revolutionary theoretical, critical, and aesthetic writings, his original fables, his innovative work in philosophy and theology, and his significant contributions to Jewish emancipation. The volume concludes by examining 20th-century reception of Lessing and his oeuvre. Contributors: Barbara Fischer, Thomas C. Fox, Steven D. Martinson, Klaus L. Berghahn, John Pizer, Beate Allert, H. B. Nisbet, Arno Schilson, Willi Goetschel, Peter Hyng, Karin A. Wurst, Ann Schmiesing, Reinhart Meyer, Hans-Joachim Kertscher, Hinrich C. Seeba, Dieter Fratzke, Helmut Berthold, Herbert Rowland. Barbara Fischer is associateprofessor of German and Thomas C. Fox is professor of German, both at the University of Alabama.

Inspired by Voltaire’s advice that a text needs to be concise to have real influence, this anthology contains fiery extracts by forty eighteenth-century authors, from the most famous philosophers of the age to those whose brilliant writings are less well-known. These passages are immensely diverse in style and topic, but all have in common a passionate commitment to equality, freedom, and tolerance. Each text resonates powerfully with the issues our world faces today. Tolerance was first published by the Société française d’étude du dix-huitième siècle (the French Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies) in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo assassinations in January 2015 as an act of solidarity and as a response to the surge of interest in Enlightenment values. With the support of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, it has now been translated by over 100 students and tutors of French at Oxford University.

A newly Christian friend of mine asked me to recommend a book to help her and her husband get off to a strong start in their new faith. I set out to find the perfect book. To hold their attention, it had to be the literary equivalent of a successful date night movie. It needed romance, humor, suspense, and possibly lucrative product placements. It needed something for him and something for her. But it couldn’t be fluff, it needed to be genuinely helpful. I set out to find such a book. I left no stone unturned. I left no turn stoned. In fact, at no point was I stoned. Rather, my glassy eyes were due to disappointment, as book after book failed to meet my stringent criteria. But I didn’t give up, instead, I started writing the book I was looking for and now you have it in your hot little hands - unless you have cold hands. The temperature of your hands is beside the point. The point is new Christians have long needed a wise and fun mentor to guide their formative first steps as Jesus followers. The three core beliefs and six core practices of the UPSIDEDOWN Life provide the wisdom, I solemnly pledge to bring the fun.

One of the most frequently performed and widely read comedies of the eighteenth century, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's Nathan the Wise (1779) combines rich characterization with an engaging plot. Set in Muslim-ruled Jerusalem at the time of the Crusades, it deals with universal themes -- including the nature of God, antisemitism, wealth and poverty, and the conflict between love and duty. Today the play is as timely as ever. This edition, the first English version expressly intended for undergraduates, contains an insightful introduction that discusses the play, Lessing and the Enlightenment, and the situation of Jews in eighteenth-century Europe. Additionally, there are five related historical documents -- each with a context-setting headnote -- illustrations, a chronology, questions for consideration, and a selected bibliography.

An 18th-century German play about religious tolerance in a terrific new translation.