Nathan The Wise: A Dramatic Poem - Softcover

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371859271 ISBN 13: 9780371859278

Publisher: HardPress, 2021

Synopsis

Nathan The Wise: A Dramatic Poem by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. This eighteenth-century drama, originally written in German, is set in Jerusalem and centers on Nathan the Wise, a humane Jewish merchant whose wisdom models religious toleration. The action unfolds through a network of visitors and confidants—the legendary sultan Saladin, his sister Sittah, Recha the young Christian ward raised by Nathan, a fiery templar named Conrade, and the dervish Al-Hafi—whose conversations test faith, reason, and charity. At the core is Nathan’s famous ring parable, which argues that truth depends less on creed than on virtuous action and mercy. Across scenes of danger, rescue from a fire, intimate debates about angels, and changing loyalties, the play champions a universal humanism that seeks harmony among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. As revelations of birth, kinship, and obligation unfold, Saladin’s generosity and Nathan’s insistence on shared humanity prevail, offering a hopeful vision of coexistence in a divided world. The drama culminates in a moment of reconciled identities and a pledge to live beyond sectarian prejudices.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371859271
• ISBN 13: 9780371859278
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 316