Nathan der Weise

Nathan der Weise is a German dramatic poem in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781)[1]

The original text

Published in 1779, it was conceived as the first German of ideas ("Ideendrama"[2]) and contains a strong plea for religious tolerance. Since performances of the play were forbidden by the church during Lessing's lifetime, it was only performed at the Döbbelinsches Theater in Berlin in 1783.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into English as Nathan the Wise by a range of authors (see Nathan the Wise in Wikipedia [3],

The text was apparently used as a prescribed work for German courses at South African schools.

Also translated and directed in South Africa as Nathan the Wise by Robert Mohr (the script held by NELM: [Collection: DALRO]: 2001. 41. 188).

A scene from the play (Act 3, Scene 7) was freely translated into Afrikaans by Koos Holtzhausen, and published as as Nathan die Wyse in LitNet as part of the article "Nathan der Weise van Gotthold Ephraim Lessing vandag nog steeds, dalk éérs, relevant" by Holtzhausen (2016-07-27).