Nathan the Wise: A Dramatic Poem in Five Acts (Classic Reprint)
Book Details
Author(s)Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
PublisherForgotten Books
ISBN / ASIN1330554833
ISBN-139781330554838
MarketplaceFrance 🇫🇷
Description
Excerpt from Nathan the Wise: A Dramatic Poem in Five Acts
It would seem to be almost superfluous to write a Foreword to the present edition of Lessing's immortal epic. It is so plainly a preachment, that its stirring emotional appeal should, in itself, suffice. However, living at a time when at least one half of the civilized world is engaged in a war of extermination against the other half, and when the lofty ideals which Lessing and Mendelssohn strove to inculcate are in imminent danger of being swept aside in this vortex of passion and race antagonism, it behooves us to call attention, at the outset, to the masterful plea for tolerance and brotherhood which the poet makes in this vivid and picturesque drama. It is essentially a human document, with a message as vital and purposeful in these latter days as then, when the great Reformer strove to throw off the shackles of race pride, prejudice and religious fanaticism. Indeed, it might have been written for those of us, in the present day, who are still victims of stubborn sophistry and whose patriotism is largely a compound of arrogance and unreasoning egotism.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
It would seem to be almost superfluous to write a Foreword to the present edition of Lessing's immortal epic. It is so plainly a preachment, that its stirring emotional appeal should, in itself, suffice. However, living at a time when at least one half of the civilized world is engaged in a war of extermination against the other half, and when the lofty ideals which Lessing and Mendelssohn strove to inculcate are in imminent danger of being swept aside in this vortex of passion and race antagonism, it behooves us to call attention, at the outset, to the masterful plea for tolerance and brotherhood which the poet makes in this vivid and picturesque drama. It is essentially a human document, with a message as vital and purposeful in these latter days as then, when the great Reformer strove to throw off the shackles of race pride, prejudice and religious fanaticism. Indeed, it might have been written for those of us, in the present day, who are still victims of stubborn sophistry and whose patriotism is largely a compound of arrogance and unreasoning egotism.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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