Cover: Nathan the Wise, 1st Edition by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing; Translated; Edited; and with an Introduction by Ronald Schechter

Nathan the Wise

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First  Edition©2004  Gotthold Ephraim Lessing; Translated; Edited; and with an Introduction by Ronald Schechter

ISBN:9781319242640

ISBN:9780312442439

About

Combining rich characterization with an engaging plot, Nathan the Wise is one of the most frequently performed and widely read comedies of the eighteenth century. Dealing with universal themes such as the nature of God, antisemitism, wealth and poverty, and the conflict between love and duty make the play as timely today as it was when first written. This edition features an insightful introduction that discusses the play, the author and the Enlightenment.

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Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

A Note about the Text and Translation

List of Illustrations
    
PART ONE
Introduction: Beyond Tolerance — Lessing, Nathan the Wise, and the Legacy of the Enlightenment
      
PART TWO
Nathan the Wise
    
PART THREE
Related Documents
    1. Johann Andrea Eisenmenger, Jewry Revealed, 1700
    2. Christian Wilhelm von Dohm, On the Civic Improvement of the Jews, 1781
    3. François-Louis-Claude Marin, History of Saladin, 1758
    4. Moses Mendelssohn, On Lessing, 1786
    5. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Theodicy, 1710
    
  Appendixes
   A Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Chronology (1729-1786)
   Questions for Consideration
   Selected Bibliography
    
    Index

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Ronald Schechter

Ronald Schechter is associate professor of history at the College of William and Mary, where he teaches a wide variety of courses in European history. He received his doctorate from Harvard University and has held research fellowships at the University of Heidelberg and Princeton University.  Professor Schechter is the author of Obstinate Hebrews: Representations of Jews in France, 1715–1815 (2003) and the editor of The French Revolution: The Essential Readings (2001). He has published articles in Past and Present, Representations, Eighteenth-Century Studies, and Historical Reflections/Réflexions historiques and is the early modern Europe section editor for History Compass.