Lessing was now t^venty years of age. He had no money, no recommendations, no friends, scarcely any ac- quaintances— nothing but his cheerful courage, his con- fidence in his own powers, and the discipline acquired through past privations. He was so poor that he was unable to obtain even the decent clothing necessary to make a respectable appearance. He applied for aid to his parents, but they neither felt able nor willing to grant his recpiest, and he had no other course open to him but to throw himself upon the influence and resources of his old schoolmate, INIylius, who was now editing a paper in Berlin. By this friend's exertions, oftentimes not stop- ping short of real sacrifices, Lessing managed to exist. Master of English, French, Italian, and Spanish, he found work in translating from these languages, while he also contributed largely to different literary journals of the Prussian metropolis. Gradually he was introduced to the notice of the scholars of the citj", among them Men- delssohn, the Jewish philosopher, and Nicolai, the noted publisher and author of works of value in the depart- ment of secular German literature. Indeed, the associa- tion of Mendelssohn the Jew, and Lessing the Chris- tian, has perhaps had greater influence on the position which Lessing assumed in after life than any he had with other persons. Both were j-et young rpen. The former had come to Berlin from Dessau in indigent cir- cumstances, ignorant of the German language, but de- termined, nevertheless, to rise above his condition, and to master not only the German, Latin, and English, but also the intricate subject of philosophy ; and in this at- tempt he hail so wcU succeeded that at the first meethig of Lessing and IMendelssohn, in 1751, the latter was al- ready acknowledged a man of superior ability and a scholar. They recognised in each other qualities that could well be used vniitedly for the good of humanity, and they soon were content only when in each other's society. For two hours every day regularly they met and discussed together literary and philosophical sub- jects. Lessing came to comprehend the truth that vir- tue, honor, and nobility of character coiUd be found in the Jew also, which the people of his day, led by a narrow- minded clergy, were prone to disbelieve: and this gave rise first to his important play entitled iJie Judcn, and later to his chef-d'oeuvre, Xfit/ia7i der Weise (transL by j;ilen Frothingham, N.Y. 1871, 12mo, with which compare the essays by Ktmo Fischer [Mannheim, 18G5] and David Strauss [Berlin, 1866, 8vo, 2d ed.], and Griitz, Gesc/i.der Juden, xi, 35 sq.; also the works on German literature at the end of this article). Near the close of 1751 Lessing decided to return once more to the university, and this time chose Wittenberg, to penetrate into '• the" innermost sanctuary of book-worm erudition." For nearly a year he here gave himself up to the study of jjhilology and history, especially that of the Reformation and the Re- formers. His reputation as a critic grew daily, and in five years after his first entry at Berlin lie was counted among the most eminent literati of the Prussian capital. Even at this early age Lessing had ventured into the whole circle of a;sthetic and literary interests of the day, never faiUng to bring their essential points into notice, and subjecting them to an exhaustive treatment, not- withstanding the fragmentary form of the composition, while in point of style he had already attained an apt- ness and elegance of language, a facile grace and sport- ive humor of treatment, sucli as few writers of that day had even dreamed of. " His manner lent enchantment to the dryest subjects, and even the dullest books gained interest from his criticisms." It was during his sojourn at Berlin that, with his and Mendelssohn's assistance, Nicolai (q.v.) started the Lihrury of Polite Literat. (1757) and the Unicersal (.'ennmi Library (1765). (See Hurst's Hagenbach, Ck. Iligf. mh and 19/A Cent. i. 278, 307.)
In 1760 the Academy of Sciences of Berlin honored itseh by conferring membership on Lessing, and shortlv alter a somewhat lucrative position fell to his lot i'n
Breslau, whither he at once removed, and where he re- mained five years. It is in this, the chief city of Silesia, that most of Lessing's valuable contributions to the de- partment of general literature were prepared. After a short visit to his parents, Lessing returned in 1765 to Berlin, then removed to Hamburg, and iu 1770 finally started for Wolfenblittel, to assume the duties of libra- rian to the duke Frederick ^^'illiam Ferdinand of Bruns- wick, a position congenial to his taste, and here he re- mained until his death, Feb. 15, 1781.