THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Bibliography: An important and extensive list of sources is given at the end of the sketch in DNB, xxxiii. 93-99. Leslie's Diary was published by the Bannatyne Club in its Miscellany, vol. hi., Edinburgh, 1827. An early life is republished in vols, i., iii. of James Anderson's Collections Relating to the Hist, of Mary Queen of Scotland, 4 vols., ib. 1727-2S. Consult also: Life and Times of Rt. Iter. John Leslie, London, 1885.
LESS, GOTTFRIED: German Lutheran theologian; b. at Konitz (65 m. s.w. of Danzig) Jan. 31, 1736; d. at Hanover Aug. 28, 1797 He was educated at the Collegium Friedericianum in Konigsberg, and then studied theology at Jena and at Halle, where he was the pupil of S. J. Baumgarten. In 1757 he removed to Danzig where in 1761 he was appointed extraordinary professor of theology. After a scientific journey to Holland and England in 1762, he was appointed professor and preacher of the University of Gottingen (1763). In 1791 he was called to Hanover as court preacher, councilor of the consistory and general superintendent. His theological standpoint was that of a rationalistic and sentimental religion that conceded one point of the positive faith of the Church after the other to the spirit of the time, always believing that by the sacrifice of external matters there could be saved the principal point — " Christianity as the moral religion of nature." His numerous works belong mostly to the departments of apologetics, dogmatics, ethics, and practical theology. His principal work in apologetics is Beweis der Wahrheit der christlichen Religion (Bremen, 1768; Eng. transl., Authenticity, Uncorrupted Preservation, and Credibility of the New Testament, London, 1804). The sixth edition (Gottingen, 1786) was to form the second part of a larger unfinished work entitled Ueber die Religion, ihre Geschichte, Wahl und Bestdtigung, of which two volumes appeared (Gottingen, 1783). Less was, however, recognized chiefly as an authority in ethics, on which he published Ausfuhrlich.es Handbuch der christlichen Moral und allgemeinen Lebenstheologie (1777). In the sphere of dogmatics he wrote, Handbuch der christlichen Religionstheorie fiir Aufgekldrtere (1789). Of sermons he published besides other collections Passions predigten (1778-84). Besides his chief works he wrote a great number of monographs and treatises on special topics in the various departments of theology. (Paul Tschackert.)
Bibliography: Holscher, G. Less, ein biographisches Fragment, Hanover, 1797; G. Frank, Geschichte der protestantischen Theologie, iii. 100 sqq., Leipsic, 1875.
LESSING, GOTTHOLD EPHRAIM: German critic and dramatist; b. at Kamenz (20 m. n.e. of Dresden) Jan. 22, 1729; d. at Brunswick Feb. 15, 1781. His father was a learned and respected Lutheran pastor, and his ancestors for generations had been clergymen. He attended the Fiirstenschule, St. Afra, at Meissen, and while there began his comedy, Der junge Gelehrte. In 1746 he began to study theology at the University of Leipsic; his interest, however, lay more in the direction of literature and the drama. Later he took up the study of medicine and philology, but again busied himself with literature and the theater. In January, 1748, the Actress Neuber produced the play already named. Between 1748 and 1751 he was at
Berlin, nominally a student of medicine, but actually earning his living by writing. He made translations, edited a supplement of the Vossische Zeitung, and began his critical and scholarly works. He translated Voltaire's defense in the suit with Abraham Hirsch and corresponded with the Frenchman, but later lost his respect for him. At the request of his father he resumed his studies at Wittenberg for a few months, where in 1752 he took his master's degree. His Rettungen was written during those months. He returned to Berlin in October, 1752, and continued to work on the Vossische Zeitung, publishing his writings in six volumes 1753-55. His Miss Sara Sampson was the first German tragedy of every-day life. He won the recognition of eminent scholars and the friendship of such men as Nicolai, Mendelssohn and Michaelis. He then took part in writing the Briefe die neueste Litteratur betreffend. In 1760 he accepted a position as secretary to General Tauentzien, at Breslau, which gave him a feeling of security as to his livelihood while leaving him time to pursue his literary plans. He worked at his Laokoon, and Minna von Barnhelm, and studied Spinoza and the Church Fathers, but resigned his position in 1765. In 1767 he went to Hamburg to become dramaturg to the newly founded theater of Johann Friedrich Loewe. The theater did not last long. A printing and publishing business in which Lessing became interested was also a failure. At Hamburg he was intimate with Klopstock, Hagedorn, Claudius, and many other important persons. The crown prince of Brunswick, on the recommendation of Ebert, offered him a position as librarian at Wolfenbiittel, which he took in April, 1770, but the life there soon lost its attraction for him. In 1777 he began a series of theological polemics, which continued until the end of his life. He had been drawn into the strife by the publication of a manuscript of Berengar of Tours bearing on the controversy concerning the Eucharist (see Berengar of Tours, § 2) . His connection with the library occasioned a number of scholarly investigations, the results of which he published in his Beitrage zur Geschichte und Litteratur. His Nathan der Weise, which was to some extent the outcome of his theological controversies, was finished in 1779. Ernst und Falk appeared in 1778-80, and Erziehung des Menschengeschlechtes in 1780. To the year 1778 belongs a work published by his brother after his death: Neue Hypothese uber die Evangelisten als Moss menschliche Geschichtsschreiber betrachtet, in which he assumes the existence of an Aramaic original of Matthew which Matthew followed and condensed, and Mark and Luke supplemented with fresh material. Some features of this theory have proved permanent.
Lessing stands beside Goethe and Schiller as one of the German classical writers who is read by all educated persons as well as by mere students of literature. This fact is due in large measure to the perfection of form of his masterpieces, and also to his truthful, manly qualities. His influence on the German language has been very considerable. Various opinions have been expressed upon Lessing's attitude toward Christianity. Those who