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Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
said
I, who ne'er Went for myself a begging, go a borrowing, And that for others. Borrowing's much the same As begging; just as lending upon usury Is much the same as thieving.
— Nathan the Wise (1779), Act II, scene II
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
German writer, philosopher, publicist, and art critic (1729-1781)
- Fame71.0
- Momentum15.0
- Germany rank#161
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Summary
Updated 2026-06-08
The German Enlightenment writer who gave theatre the word "dramaturgy" and the job to match — hired as the first dramaturg at Hamburg's National Theatre, he turned criticism into a craft that reshaped how plays were made and thought about across Europe.
Biography
About
Born 22 January 1729, Lessing moved through philosophy, drama, and criticism as the Enlightenment's sharp edge cut into German letters. He took a post at Abel Seyler's Hamburg National Theatre, inventing the dramaturg's role — not just watching plays but dismantling and rebuilding the logic of how they worked. His own plays and theoretical writings, including Hamburg Dramaturgy, bent the trajectory of German literature toward reason and form. He died 15 February 1781, leaving theatre a new vocabulary and a new way to see itself.
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Sourced, dated quotes from Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
said
The worst of superstitions is to think One's own most bearable.
— Nathan the Wise (1779), Act IV, scene II
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
said
The true value of a man is not determined by his possession, supposed or real, of Truth, but rather by his sincere exertion to get to the Truth.
— Anti-Goeze (1778), as quoted in God Is Not Great (2007), by Christopher Hitchens , Ch. 19
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
said
If no historical truth can be demonstrated, then nothing can be demonstrated by means of historical truths.
— "On the Proof of the Spirit and of Power" (1777), in Lessing's Theological Writings, selected and translated by Henry Chadwick (Stanford,
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
saidundated
Trust no friend without faults, and love a maiden, but no angel.
— As quoted in Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern English and Foreign Sources (1899) by James Wood, p. 499
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Fame
Rising71.0
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum15.0
Historical24.7
Now attention29.4
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
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- WikipediaHigh confidencewikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- WikidataHigh confidencewikidata · wikidata.org
- Pantheon 2.0High confidencedatabase · pantheon.world
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