The Education of the Human Race
by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing · Die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1780
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- German
- Length
- Short · 30 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendPhilosophical and Theological Writings, translated by H. B. NisbetCambridge University Press, 2005The Cambridge Texts edition, which collects this essay with Lessing's other religious writings in a modern translation.
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A short treatise in one hundred numbered paragraphs, published anonymously in the last year of Lessing's life. It proposes that revelation is to the human race what education is to the individual, giving it early what it could have reached by reason but only much later. The Old Testament was a primer for a childish people, the New Testament a second primer for its youth, and a third age of reason is coming in which humanity will do good for its own sake. Lessing closes with a hint that souls may return to earth more than once.
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The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Education of the Human Race are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.