THE FIRST IDEOLOGICAL IDEA DRAMA

LESSING, GOTTHOLD EPHRAIM.

Nathan der Weise. Ein Dramatisches Gedicht, in fünf Aufzügen.

Ohne Ort, Ohne Verleger (Berlin, Voss), 1779. Nice cont. hcalf. Back divided in five compartments, gilt. Upper compartment neatly repaired. (4),276 pp. As always a little browned and slightly brownspotted.

The scarce first edition, first issue w. "Ein reichre Mann" on p. 95 line 11 of the first "Ideendrama", the first ideological idea drama. This is the dramatic plea for religious tolerance, the performance of which was forbidden by the Church shortly after its appearance. One of the main works by the most important German poets of the Enlightenment.

"He [Lessing] became involved in the theological controversy due to his publication of the so-called "Wolfenbüttel fragments" of the deistic work of H.S. Reimarus. Assailed by every kind of sectarian prejudice, and prevented from answering by the government, Lessing returned to "my old pulpit, the stage", with "Nathan der Weisse" (1779), a noble plea for toleration which put his adversaries to shame." (Printing and the Mind of Man p. 129).

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729 - 1781) was one of the most important and influential German writers. He was a poet, publicist, art critic and philosopher, and his literary writings greatly influenced later German literature. He became a leading figure of German Enlightenment, and his works are renowned for their literary style, their wit and their irony, and for him the dialogue plays a central role as a means of reaching the truth.

Early on Lessing showed a considerable interest in the theatre, and with his works on and within this subject, he wished to help found the development of the new German bourgeois theatre. The idea was to create something new that was not just an imitation of French theatre, and he enlivened the thoughts of Aristotle and the reception of Shakespeare in order to create the ultimate theatre.

All of his thoughts and writings are governed by the idea of freedom, and thus also his thoughts on theatre; his ideas of freeing the theatre from the dominance of the French model reflects his ideas of freeing religion from the dogma of the Church. And it is this freedom that is defended in his dramatic work "Nathan the Wise". After having published a number of theoretical writings, he was forbidden to publish any more, and he worked his religious position into his dramatic work. As in his other philosophical and religious writings, he here argues against the belief in revelation and a literal interpretation of the Bible by the predominant orthodox doctrine. He defends other world religions and preaches tolerance for these.

The play takes place in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade, and it is the story of bridging the gaps of the three main religions, Judaism (Nathan), Christianity (the Templar) and Islam (Sultan Saladin), -a theme that cannot be said to have lost its relevance a couple of centuries later.
Nathan believes that every man lives by the religion that he has been taught by those he respects, and Nathan, the Wise, is partly modelled after Lessing's close friend Moses Mendelssohn.

Wilpert/ Gühring: Lessing:77

Order-nr.: 9349