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
kings real beggar
The real beggar is indeed the true and only king.
children fairy-tale fairy
It is not children only that one feeds with fairy tales.
women masterpiece
Nature meant woman to be her masterpiece.
truth-is thee absolute-truth
Absolute truth belongs to Thee alone.
forever moments slave
Who cannot resolve upon a moment's notice To live his own life, he forever lives A slave to others.
love-life simple greatness
The most agreeable of all companions is a simple, frank man, without any high pretensions to an oppressive greatness; one who loves life, and understands the use of it; obliging alike at all hours; above all, of a golden temper and steadfast as an anchor. For such an one we gladly exchange the greatest genius, the most brilliant wit, the profoundest thinker.
lions foxes ashamed
The lion is ashamed, it's true, when he hunts with the fox.
friendship sky sun
With a clear sky, a bright sun, and a gentle breeze, you will have friends in plenty; but let fortune frown, and the firmament be overcast, and then your friends will prove like the strings of the lute, of which you will tighten ten before you find one that will bear the stretch and keep the pitch.
kings vagrants comparison
The true vagrant is the only king above all comparison.
time thinking past
But how many moments are already past! Ah! who thinks of those that are past?
women should masterpiece
Nature intended that woman should be her masterpiece.
sun reason
Nothing under the sun is ever accidental.
medicine poison offers
It is medicine, not poison, I offer you.
wise men advice
If the advice of a fool for once happens to be good, it requires a wise man to carry it out.