' An excellent translation of the above remarkable essay was made by the lata Rev. Fred. W. Robertson. In some of the fol- lowing eztracts his Tersion has been made nse of.
ba XX INTRODUCTION.
The above clearly shows that Lessing was a firm believer ia the divine origin of the Revelations; but having come to man in a progressive manner, they could not be considered as finaL There is to come, however, a third Revelation, which will unite all human beings in univers^ brotherly love, and this is the goal which the Divine Educator has set to Himself in the education of the human race. This then is the principal basis of Nathan der Weise^ which teaches, by means of the * Parable of the three Rings,' that no religion can claim the sole privilege of being * positive* in the sense of being ab- solutely final, Until the time of the third and ultimate Revelation has come, * when a wiser man will sit on the seat of judgment,' men should prove the worth of their religion by their good deeds: — Es strebe von Euch jeder um die Wette^ Die Kraft des Steins in seinem Ring an Tag Zu legen I komme dieser Kraft mit Sanftmuth^ Mit herzlicher Verträglichkeit^ mit Wohlthun^ Mit innigster Ergebenheit in Gott^ Zu Hülf!
What object Lessing had in view in composing his Nathan is also shown in a more direct manner by the foUowing pas- sage from his above-mentioned fragmentary Preface; — *If it should be said that this drama teaches that at all times anct in all nations there have been people who have dispensed with revealed religion and have still been good people; if it should be added that my intention was obviously to let these people appear in a less detestable light than they are commonly viewed: to all this I should not object; for a man can both teach these doctrines and have sudi an intention without rejecting entirely all revealed religion.'
Nathan himself was one of those men who dispensed with revealed religion, in so far at least that he held the impossi- bility of granting to one religion an exclusive right before all others, because ' as regards their reasons they cannot be dis- tinguished from each other.'
INTRODUCTION. XXI Denn gründen alle sich nicht auf Geschichte f Geschrieben oder Überliefertf — Und Geschichte musz doch wohl allein auf Treti Und Glauben angenommen werden f — Nicht f Nathan continues in this speech (ll- i975-9o) to argue that everybody is morally justified in adhering to the belief ofhis own kindred, and that nobody has any right to demand of him to assume another creed; because all creeds have the same foundation — namely, tradition.
Such being the case, the duty of mutual tolerance becomes obvious; not the tolerance arising from indifference^ — which is only a negative virtue,— but that rational tolerance which has its source in the fountain of universal love. Nathan is the living representative of this stage of tolerance, at which he only arrived in consequence of his views of the relation in which the revealed religions stand to each other. Lessing was thereforefuUy justified in declaring, 'Nathan's Gesinnung gegen alle positive Religion ist von jeher die meinige gewe- sen '; and he was equally right in saying that he would make use of this theatrical dig^ession in order to attack the intoler- ant enemy in the flank.
III.
The Parable of the Three Rings.
The Ring-fable, which was current in the Middle Ages in various forms, is evidently of Oriental origin. It is presumed that Boccaccio found the story in a novel by Busoneda Gubbio, who on his part took it from the well-known coUection of stories entitled Cento Novelle} There exists, however, a still older source, where the curious story is to be found in various forms. It is the collection of tales, etc. known under the name of Gesta Romanorum the authors of which were chiefly ^ Cp. in the ' Lessing-Mendelssolin Gedenkbnch,* Wünsche^s Ursprung der Parabel, etc., p. 353.
xxii INTRODÜCTION.
monks.^ In one version the genuine Ring is described ' as having possessed the virtue of making the wearer of it be- loved by everybody '; and this version was most probably known to Lessing, who attributes the same quality to the Ring. There also exists a French poem of the thirteenth Century, bearing the title oi Udis dou vrai Anteli^\i<t Story of the True Ring), in some passages of which the Christian religion is designated as the true Ring.* The Ring-fable has, however, been traced still farther back, and the credit of having done so is due to an English author. Mr. John Dunlop, in speaking in his * History of Fiction ' ' of the source of Boccaccio's story, presumes * that it probably originated in some Rabbinical tradition.' He then quotes a tale from an historical Hebrew work, which seems to contain the germ of all the subsequent Ring-stories. In general there is nothing said in these stories in disparagement of the Christian creed. In one version of the Gesta Ro- manorum the supremacy of the Christian religion over all other creeds is distinctly pointed out, and in all other ver- sions they are related with a view of inculcating in the garb of a fable the justice and wisdom of religious tolerance; for which reason Jewish authors have been at great pains to prove that they have a Hebrew origin. Be that, however, as it may; surely the moral lesson which they convey— the teaching of brotherly love, humanity, and mutual tolerance — forms the essence and basis of Christian religion. At any rate, Lessing understood the story in that sense, and making it the central point of his drama, he produced a masterpiece of narrative poetry, which is almost tmique of its kind.^ The * Cp. Nodnagel's 'Lessing*s Dramen,' etc., pp. 312-315, and Kuno Fischer's * Nathan der Weise,' p. 39, etc.
* The above interesting poem was for the first time published from a French manuscript by Dr. Adolf Tobler in 1871.
* Bohn*8 Edition, Ch. vii, p. 64, etc.
* Lessing^s Parabel von den Drei Ringen is still one of the favonrite pieces for recitation in Germany on the occasion of public school festivitfes.
INTRODÜCTION. XXUl tnie Import and bearing of the celebrated Parable of the Three RingSy howevcr, may only be fully appreciated by com- paring it with the Version on which it is founded.^ With Boccaccio the original Ring is merely a precious jewel of great extemal beauty and value, and in order to single it out by a special distinction the possessor ordained that that one of his sons to whom he should leave it sHould, by virtue of its mere possession, be considered as the head of the family. With Lessing, however, our interest is at once excited in the original Ring^ through the circumstance that, besides being of inestimable value, the possessor had received it from ' dear hands.' It also possessed the hidden power of making the wearer who had faith in its virtue ' beloved by both God and man.' On account of this quality, then, the possessor never drew it from his finger, and ordained that it should be kept as an etemal heirloom in his family, and be left in each genera- tion to that son who was most beloved by his father. In the prose Story, the father of the three sons, who were equally virtuousand obedient,loved allof themalike, and consequently promised the jewel to each of them in succession. In the poetical version, however, the promise was made by the father to each of his sonswhen he was alonewith one of them, because then each seemed to him worthier of the distinction than the others; which shows that the Ring was only bestowed by merit. Again, in the prose fable the father * scarcely knew which was the true one * when the two counterfeit Rings had been made, and all three lay before him; whilst in the German Parable the father himself was quite unable to distinguish the model-ring. If it be asked why Lessing introduced this Variation, we can only assume that he did so because he wished to show that the chance possessor of the original Ring could only assert his ascendancy over his two brothers by firmly believing in the * hidden virtue ' of it; and in fact if the two others also fulfilled the primary conditionof firmly believing in the hidden power of the jewel, they would be equally beloved ^ Boccaccio*s version of the fkble will be fotind p. 268.
XXIV INTRODUCTION.
by God and man. It was, therefore, in the power of each of the sons to convert the spurious RingVEAo the true one. This prospect it was that made the fether rejoice; for we are told.
Froh und freudig Rief er seine S'öhne^ etc.
When the dispute arose between the aspirants to the head- ship of the family, all the three Rings were equally false and equally genuine. At any rate, it could no longer be proved which was the original Ring, In Boccaccio's version the story ends with the fact that the true Ring could not be distinguished from the two others; and the author adds the ' moral/ that the same is the case with the true creed, it being impossible to say to whose share it has fallen. Lessing, however, expands the account further, in Order to bring out more forcibly its moral teaching. First he puts into the mouth of Nathan the significant words: that the Story he related should stand him instead of an apology, if he does not venture to distinguish from each other the Three RingSy i.e. the Religions, which have been purposely framed by the father so as not to be distinguished from each other; which fact is, of course, an eloquent plea for the right of existence of each Religion. *Every Creed is founded on Tradition — oral or written, — and it is but natural that every- one has a right to adhere to the Tradition delivered over to him by his own ancestors.' This argument forces from Saladin the emphatic exclamation: — Bei dem Lebendigen I Der Mann hat Recht, Ich muss verstummen, The author then represents to us the 'scene' before the tribunal. The 'modest judge' dedares that if the magical power of the Ring does not manifest itself in any of the brothers by his being the &vourite of the other two, then all three of them must be * deceived deceivers.* The genuine Ring must have been lost, and three counterfeits were made to hide the loss; or perchance the father would no longer suffer the tyranny of the genuine Ring in his family, having INTRODUCTION. XXV loved them all with equal love. The judge then concludes his sentence with the celebrated words, which contain the gist of the Parable, and in £act of the whole drama: — Es eifre jeder seiner unbestochnen.
Von Vorurtheilen freien Liebe nach I etc.
From the above analysis (brief and imperfect as it is) of Lessing's Parable, it becomes evident that it has neither an atheistic nor an anti- Christian tendency. If he makes the judge say that the genuine Ring has been lost, or purposely removed by the father, it may be that he alluded to the theory, propounded in his *• Education of the Human Race/ that there is one universal religion, of which all other creeds are only phases, but that it is at the same time in the power of everyone to transform his own religion to the true one by obeying the dictates of humanity. Contrary to the version by Boccaccio, the original Ring is recognisable— not extemalJy, but by the deeds of the possessor.
Some critics have thrown out the objection — with more pedantry than acuteness — that the details of the story do not completely tally with their application to the question at issue; for if God is meant by the father, who was the *wiser' judge to whom the 'modest ' judge refers the litigant brothers? And who was meant by the artist, or goldsmith, who made the counterfeit Rings? These ingenious critics have not bome in mind that the author himself calls his story a Märchen^ and that we cannot require more of a Märchen than that it should tally in its general outlines with what it is meant to illustrate.
IV.
Time and Place ofthe Action.
In the fragmentary Preface mentioned above, Lessing gives the reason both for his selection of representatives of toler- ance from among Jews and Mussulmans, and also for his XXVI INTRODUCTION, adoption of the period of the Crusades as the historical back- ground of bis Drama. After speaking of rationalist people, who may at the same time be good people, he continues: — Wenn man aber sagen wirdj dasz ich wider die poetische Schicklichkeit gehandelt und jenerlei Leute {i,e, enlightened and tolerant people) unter Juden und Muselmännern wolle gefunden haben; so werde ich zu bedenken geben^ aass Juden und Muselmänner damals die einzigen Gelehrten waren; dasz der Nachtheil^ welchen geoffenbarte Religionen dem menschlichen Geschlechte bringen^ zu keiner Zeit einem ver- nünftigen Manne müsse auffallender gewesen seiny als zu den Zeiten der KreuzzügCy und dasz es an Winken bei den Ge- schichtsschreibern nicht fehltf ein solcher vemünßiger Mann habe sich nun eben in einem Sultan gefunden, The above passage dearly shows, that the author selected the era of the Crusades in general, because it was most suited to exhibit the evils of religious fanaticism in a palpable manner,^ and that he chose the reign of Saladin in particular, because he is described as extremely tolerant in his dealings with the followers of other creeds than his own. The name of the Sultan in Boccaccio's tale, and the fact that the moral of the Ring-fable was not lost upon him, likewise suggested the reign of Saladin for the time of the action. Besides, both time and place chosen by the author were admirably suited for bringing the representatives of the three Religions — the three brothers of the Ring-parable—\nXo close connection. The adventurous time of the Crusades was further a suitable back- ground for the representation of stränge incidents and curious events. All classes of European and Oriental society were in those days represented in Palestine; and it is to this fact that Lessing alludes in making the Templar say: — Die ganze Welt Drängt sich ja hier zusammen.
As regards the particular period of time when the action of the present Drama is supposed to have passed, it may plausibly INTRODUCTION. XXVll be placed, in consequence of several historical allusions oc- curring in the play, more especially that of the conclusion of a truce with King Richard I, between the ist of September, 1192 and the 5th of March, 1193, when Salädin died.
There occur in the Drama several allusions and assertions which cannot be reconciled with the historical course of events, as Lessing himself very well knew and candidly ac- knowledged. Thus he says in his Collectanea to the present Drama: In dem Historischen^ was in dem Stücke zu Grunde liegt y habe ich mich über alle Chronologie hinweggesetzt; ich habe sogar mit den einzelnen Namen nach meinem Gefallen geschaltet. Meine Anspielungen auf wirkliche Begebenheiten sollen biosz den Gang meines Stücks motiviren} But although Lessing paid no particular attention to strict chronological order, he still contrives to bring before us a vivid historical picture, and the local colouring is produced in a truly masterly manner. In the tale of Boccaccio the im- historical title * Sultan of Babylon' is given to Saladin — after the fashion of mediaeval tales and fables — but Lessing places him, in accordance with historical fact, at Jerusalem, the capital of his vast realm. Dramatic exigency rendered it necessary to make Nathan likewise an inhabitant of Jerusalem, and not of Alexandria, as is done in the Italian version. The place of action is, however, not only indicated by the name, but the author has actually displayed before us the Orient in all its brilliant splendour and luxuriance; and it is certainly a high testimony to the poetical imagination of Lessing, that he was able to produce such a bright picture during his cheerless winter sojoum at the dreary town of Wolfenbüttel.
^ AU the historical inaccniacies, anachronisms, and contradictions have been dnly pointed oat in the Commentary.
XXviii INTRODUCTION.
V.
Anafysis oft he Characters, The characters in Nathan der Weise are frequently divided into three groups, embracing the followers of the three Re- ligions represented in the Drama. This seems to be a great error and a thorough misconception of the tendency of the play. Lessing's object was to teach a lesson, and not to por- tray Religions through the characters of their followers. By bearing this fact in mind we can also conclusively refute the Charge, so often brought forward by hypercritical — one might almost say, hypocritical — censors, that the author extoUed the Jewish and Mahommedan religions, but more especially the former, at the expense of the Christian fdth. ' Why has he,' ask those fastidious critics, 'made oi Nathan^ that paragon of wisdom and virtue, a Jew? ' They might ask with equal right, * Why did he write Nathan der Weise? ' We have shown above what tendency Lessing had in view in writing his dramatic poem, and mere con- sistency required that he should select as his * hero ' a Jew; partly in order to show how a member of the most 'exclusive religion ' had raised himself above the religions notions in which he was brought up^; and partly to counteract the pre- vailing prejudices against the most persecuted race in the World. There are numberless instances, both in history and tradition, of Christians who were endowed with the noblest qualities which ahuman being can possess,but Lessing wished to prove by a poetical ideal that such characters may also be found among the Jews« A hero, either in actual life or in fiction, must undergo struggles if he is to excite our interest The Christians also underwent persecutions, but they came out triumphantly. Such is, however, not the case with the Jews, and it is for this reason that he chose a hero from the ^ Cp. Röscher's Cyclns dramatischer Charaktere, p. ao6.
INTRODUCTION. XXIX Hebrew race. In order then to achieve his object success- fully, Lessing represented to us an ideal character which is neither impossible nor exaggerated. It is true in itself, like all the poetical creations produced by men of genius.
Nathan is represented as a man who has attained the highest stage of wisdom. This quality, however, did not fall to his share like any other intellectual faculty bestowed upon him by nature. He reached it after the severest trials which a man can undergo. In a general massacre of Jews by Christians, his beloved wife and seven hopeful sons sufTered a most terrible death by being bumt alive. He lay prostrate on the ground for three days, quarrelling with God and cursing the World, and he swore irreconcileable hatred to all Christians. But Reason gradnally awoke in him and whispered to him in a gentle voice: — Und doch ist Gott / Doch war auch Gottes Rathschlusz das I Wohlan!
Komm/ übe was du längst begriffen hast; Was sicherlich zu üben schwerer nichts Als zu begreifen isty wenn du nut willst.
Steh auf!
The severely affiicted man rose and cried to God: — Ich will! Willst du nur, dasz ich will/ Nathan came out of his trials a purified character and a better man. He again believed in God: loved the world and sup- pressed his hatred against his persecutors. By a divine ordin- ance his resolve was at once tested. A Christian child is brought to him, and he receives it with patemal love and affection. Where is the work of fiction which teaches a nobler lesson?
The pious Laybrother sees, of course, in the conduct of Nathan the acts of a true Christian only, and deeply affected he exclaims:^- Nathan/ Nathan/ Ihr seid ein Christ/ Bei Gott/ Ihr seid ein Christ/ Ein bessrer Christ war nie/ XXX INTRODUCTION.
But Nathan will not acknowledge that such conduct is the result of Christian belief only. It is equally the result of Jewish faith; and he therefore exclaims: — Wohl uns! Denn was Mich Euch zum Christen machte das macht Euch mir Zum Juden, In fact, in loving and adopting the Christian child as his own, Nathan had only listened to the dictates of humanity, which knows of no difFerence of religion. We may assume that the * voice of reason ' also taught him, after the great catastrophe of his life, not to regard his own creed as the exclusively true one, and to acknowledge the equal claim of all religions; such as has been shown by him in his Parable of the Three Rings, Having reached that lofty Standpoint, ^äMä« fuUydeserved the attribute, the Wise; but his wisdom is also practically illustrated in his education of Recha and his treatment of her. The way in which he eures her of her fantastic belief that she was saved by an angel, is in itself a most interesting psycho- logical study, At first he admits that she would be worthy *of seeing an angel face to face'; then he proceeds to say, that even if it were a mere human being who rendered her such a Service, he must and should be considered by her as an angel; and then he gradually shows her the foUy, nay the danger, of actually taking her rescuer for an angel. In point of religion he brought her up as a true and firm believer in God, although — for obvious reasons — in no particular creed. Most of all we must, however, admire the way in which Nathan trained and educated the mind oi Recha, He did not impart to her any book-leaming — ^but taught her practically as the occasion occurred, and developed her intellectual faculties by means of the AnschauungS' Unterricht 'y the excellent results of which are illustrated practically in Recha without any pedantic dis- play of educational principles \ Besidesthequalityof wisdom, acquired byreflection, strength of character, and individual effort, Nathan also possessed the INTRODUCTION. XXXI gilt of prudence in an eminent degree, and consequently bis treatment of those with whom he came in contact varies ac- cord^g to their character. He knows the feminine weakness of Daya, and endeavours to calm her ' pangs of conscience ' by means of costly presents. He bumours the whims of the misanthropical Dervish, and treats the brusque Templar with calm and manly dignity. In bis interviews with Saladin he manifests not only bis wisdom, but also bis prudence; and he knows bow to arm himself with weapons of defence when the knot ' becomes disentangled.'
The third great quality in Nathan is bis goodness of heart, which is revealed by bis generosity. Daya, the Dervish^ and the Laybrother acknowledge tbis, and it is even assumed that Lessing wished to indicate that quality by bis name.^ Nathan pays great attention to bis outward appearance; he is a well-educated, nay even lettered man, quick-witted, and does not possess a trace of that servile demeanoiu* gene- rally attributed to members of the Jewish race; he is under all circumstances dignified, self-possessed, and yet modest. He exercises at the same time great influence over all men with whom he is brought in contact. All feel admiration and friendship for bim, and even Daya must acknowledge the goodness of bis heart.
Some critics assert that Lessing gave iii Nathan a portrait of bis philosophical friend, Moses Mendelssohn, wbo was styled the Socrates of Germany; others are of opinion that Nathan is Lessing himself. Neither of these assumptions ^ Compare the introdnctory tute in the Commentary. Varions coDJectnres have beea made with regard to Lessing's choice of the name of Nathan. It is certainly not nsed as a reminiscence of the prophet Nathan. Caro, in bis 'Lessing ond Swift/ snpposes that the name was snggested to the author by a novel of Boccaccio, in which there is an acconnt of a most noble action done by a man named Nathan — who must, of conise, have been a Jew, the name not being bome by Christians. We know, however, from Lessing himself, that he wonld jnst as readily have taken the name of Melchisedek, occnrring in Boccaccio*s tale of the Rings, if it had only been moie enphonious and more suitable to the metre of German verse.
xxxii INTRODUCTION.
seems to be entirely correct; but this much may be tnain- tained, — that Lessing erabodied in Nathan all that was good and noble in himself, and that he also adomed his hero with the excellent qualities he fotind in his friend Mendelssohn.
Recka is not endowed by the author with the usual romantic attributes of a heroine, or sketched with any specially marked outlines. Still, she greatly interests us both in consequence of her tender and sensible character and of her relation to Nathan. At first she appears to us in a State of nervous excitement as a liebenswürdige Schwärmerin^ and whilst we feel compassion for her, the deep-felt, overflowing gratitude which she entertains towards her rescuer fiUs us with admira- tion. The greater and nobler a soul is, the more deeply it is imbued with the feeling of gratitude. Ich habe nie gesehen^ says Goethe, dasz tüchtige Menschen wären undankbar ge- wesen, When the paroxysm has passed away under the magic touch oiNathatis treatment, Recha appears as his true daughter and disciple. She no longer entertains the visionary belief that she was rescued by a ' real angel'; and on speaking to the Templar, her first passionate fervour is sobered down to calm though intense gratitude. In her conversation with Daya (Act iii. Sc. i) she displays a deep feeling of piety and of warm filial attachment to Nathan, Most loveable, how- ever, she appears in her interview with Sittah (Act v. Sc 6), and in the subsequent scenes.
Recha may.be considered as the symbolical centre in which the three races represented in the Drama converge. She is of mixed Christian and Mahommedan descent, and has been adopted and brought up by a Jew. In point of religion she does not belong distinctly to any one of them, but is an ideal combination of all three; and in order to mark her neutral Position, as it were, also extemally. Lessing gave her the name of Recha, which belongs to no nationality.^ The character of Daya is admirably drawn.^ It is taken ^ Lessing first called her by the Biblical name of Rachel, from which he seems to have formed the more euphonions name of Recha.
' Lessing called her first Dina, bat changed that name to Daya INTRODUCTION. XXXlii from nature, and may often be met with in everyday life. She is a loquacious woman; bigoted, and above all proud of her Chance birth as a Christian, looking down, after the fashion of commonplace natures, with contempt upon Nathan^ ih^Jew. In spite, however, ' of feeling her worth as a Christian,' she still remains with Nathan * to bring up a Jewish girl/ because he is so good andgenerous. This confession on her part gives US a dear insight into her character; one of its features is covetousness. Nathan knew^this well, and we have seen that he treated her accordingly.. That the feeling of selfishness was stronger in her than that of religious devotion may be inferred from the fact that she does not for a moment scruple to promote an union between Recha and the Tempiar, al- though she must have known that the latter was bound to celibacy by his vow of chastity. She was anxious to retum to Europe, and eager to seize the favourable opportunity of accomplishing her desire and of at the same time seeing Recha admitted within the pale of Christianity. An innate love of match-making may also have so powerfuUy influenced the good woman, that she quite forgot the wrong of inducing the Tempiar to break his vow. She feared no obstacle on his part, partly in consequence of his fervid passion, and partly because the discipline of the order of the Templars had con- siderably relaxed during the later Crusades.
The only redeeming feature we discover in Daya is her attachment to Recha^ who describes her as Eine Christin^ die In meiner Kindheit mich gepflegt; mich so Gepflegt/ Du glaubst nicht/ Die mich eine Mutter So wenig missen lassen/ Gott vergelf Es ihr/ But ' good, cruel Dayä* also tormented Recha with her mania for making proselytes. Still the latter generously apologizes for her by declaring: — on the happy Suggestion of Raxnler, who infonned him that Daya meant in Arabic a < niixse.'
C xxxiv INTRODUCTION.
Ach / die arme Frau.. • Ist eine Christin j — musz aus Liebe quälen; — Ist eine von den Schwärmerinnen^ die Den allgemeinen^ einzig wahren Weg Nach Gott zu wissen wähnen.
It seems that Recha has implicit belief in the disinterested motives of her good-natured tonnen tor, and she brings for- ward a most eloquent plea on behalf ofthose who are anxious to make proselytes among their friends.^ The character of Daya — which could ill be spared in the economy of the Drama — ^has given offence to some critics, who would have liked to see only model Christian characters repre- sented in the play. They were, however, still more wroth at the character of the Patriarch^ and with much less reason. Les- sing simply portrayed in him an historical personage who is acknowledged to have been a disgrace to humanity in general and to the Christian Church in particular. Not a single his- torian has — ^as far as I know — a good word for the Auvergnac Heraclius, who was raised in 1 185, by dint of a most discredit- able patronage, to the exalted rank of Patriarch of Jerusalem. He combined almost all the vices which can dishonöur a human being, and Lessing was therefore quite right in regret- ting * that he did not appear in nearly so infamous a light in the drama as in history.' The baseness of his character is fully revealed to us by his message to the Templar through the Laybrother. The Patriarch proposes to him nothing less than to act the contemptible part of a spy and to assas- sinate his generous benefactor Saladin^ to whom he owed his life. When the Templar indignantly repels that revolting proposal, saying ' that neither God nor his Order demands of him the committal of a base action,' the Laybrother fully agrees with him, but shrewdly adds; — Nur — meint der Patriarch — sei Bubenstück Vor Menschen^ nicht auch Bubenstück vor Gott.
INTRODUCTION. XXXV It is not only indirectly, however, that we make acquaint- ance with his character. In the second scene of Act iv. we See him before us Mn flesh and blood.' Already the first words of the Tempiar^ on seeing him approaching in füll prelatical pomp, pointedly characterise the worldly, vain- glorious man, who inspires no confidence.
Ich wiclC ihm lieber aus, — Wät^ nicht mein Mann, Ein dicker y rother freundlicher Prälat I Und welcher Prunk I In the ensuing scene the character of the Patriarch comes out with such marked features that it almost seems superüuous to describe it Endowed with the bloodthirstiness of a Tor- quemada, and fanatically clinging to the extemals of the Church only, he is ready to persecute all persons who are not Christians in name — the name alone suffices him — by fire and sword. He will listen neither to the voice of humanity nor to any extenuating circumstances in defence of the Jew, without whose pity a poor helpless babe would have perished miser- ably. It is true that he saved the child from bodily death, but Thut nichts! Der Jude wird verbrannt, — Denn besser y Es wäre hier im Leben umgekommen^ Als dcLSz zu seinem ewigen Verderben Es so gerettet ward,