Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessingwas a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature. He is widely considered by theatre historians to be the first dramaturg in his role at Abel Seyler's Hamburg National Theatre...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionCritic
Date of Birth22 January 1729
CountryGermany
begging-you lending borrowing
Borrowing is not much better than begging.
kings real beggar
The real beggar is indeed the true and only king.
women masterpiece
Nature meant woman to be her masterpiece.
hero believe demigods
We moderns do not believe in demigods, but our smallest hero we expect to feel and act as a demigod.
truth-is thee absolute-truth
Absolute truth belongs to Thee alone.
dream action goodness
It's easier to swoon in pious dreams Than do good actions.
looks pleasure
To look forward to pleasure is also a pleasure.
wise men advice
If the advice of a fool for once happens to be good, it requires a wise man to carry it out.
wall order dancing
Where wildness and disorder are visible in the dance, there Satan, death and all kinds of mischief are likewise upon the floor. For this reason I could wish that the dance of death were painted on the walls of all ball-rooms in order to warn the dancers, not by the levity of their deportment, to provoke the God of righteousness to visit them with a sudden judgment.
truth truth-is pure
Pure truth is for God alone.
kings vagrants comparison
The true vagrant is the only king above all comparison.
giver
For the will and not the gift makes the giver.
lions foxes ashamed
The lion is ashamed, it's true, when he hunts with the fox.
world lost glorious
They make glorious shipwreck who are lost in seeking worlds.