Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) was a German author, and founder of modern German literature, born at Kamenz, Saxony, son of the pastor there. He was sent to study theology at Leipzig, studied hard. However, he conceived a passion for the stage, wrote plays and did criticisms. He also wrote an essay on Pope. Lessing took English authors as his models and revolted against those of France. He made it his aim to inaugurate or rather revive a purely German literature, and produced examples regarded as classics to this day. His principal dramas, all conceived on the soil, are "Miss Sara Sampson," "Mina von Barnhelm," "Emilia Galotti," and "Nathan der Weise," and his principal prose works are his "Fables" and "Laocoon," a critical work on art still in high repute.!! Wisdom & Quotes
- A single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer.
Edward Thurlow