Transcriber's Note:
1. Page scan source: http://books.google.com/books?id=BPQIAAAAQAAJ&pg

Lessing.

THE DRAMATIC WORKS

OF

G. E. LESSING.

Translated from the German.

EDITED BY

ERNEST BELL, M.A.,

TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

WITH A SHORT MEMOIR BY HELEN ZIMMERN.

MISS SARA SAMPSON, PHILOTAS, EMILIA GALOTTI,
NATHAN THE WISE.

LONDON:

GEORGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STREET,

COVENT GARDEN.

1878.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES ANB SONS,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

PREFACE.

A Translation of some of Lessing's works has long beencontemplated for 'Bonn's Standard Library,' and the publishers are glad to beable to bring it out at a time when an increased appreciation of this writer hasbecome manifest in this country.

The publication of Mr. Sime's work on Lessing, and the almostsimultaneous appearance of Miss Helen Zimmern's shorter but probably morepopular biographical study, will, without doubt, tend to spread amongstEnglish-speaking people a knowledge of a writer who is held in peculiarreverence by his own countrymen; and there is little, if anything, of what hewrote that does not appeal in some way or other to the sympathies of Englishmen.

In this translation it is purposed to include the most popularof his works--the first two volumes comprising all the finished dramatic pieces,whilst the third will contain the famous 'Laokoon,' and a large portion of the'Hamburg Dramaturgy' (here called 'Dramatic Notes'), and some other smallerpieces.

The arrangement of the plays is as follows:--The first volumecontains the three tragedies and the "dramatic poem," 'Nathan the Wise.' Thislast piece and 'Emilia Galotti' are translated by Mr. R. Dillon Boylan, whoseEnglish versions of Schiller's 'Don Carlos,' Goethe's 'Wilhelm Meister,' &c.,had previously distinguished him in this path of literature.

The second volume will be found to consist entirely ofcomedies, arranged according to the date of composition; and as it happens thatall these comedies, with the exception of the last and best, 'Minna vonBarnhelm,' were written before he published any more serious dramaticcomposition, we have, by reversing the order of the first two volumes, an almostexactly chronological view of Lessing's dramatic work. The later section of ithas been placed at the commencement of the series, simply because it was moreconvenient to include in it the introductory notice which Miss Zimmern kindlyconsented to write.

CONTENTS.