4? 



J[^emoirs of Gojthold Ephraim LeJJing. 



[Aug, 1, 



the ufe of it for life. The Heir Apparent 

 of the then Duke of Braunfchweig, prince 

 Leopi Id, had the honour of inierfering in 

 Leffing's behalf, .-md of offering, through 

 Profeffbr Ebert, the place of librarian at 

 Wolfenbuttle, which Leibniiz had for- 

 merly illu(ir?.:ed. The offer was made 

 in the noblett manner; the falary might 

 be un.voithy of his notici;, but it was ac- 

 companied with no rcftia.ntj the books, 

 in many Imes of reading, would replace 

 to him tiiole which were advertized-— 

 might they but become as illuftrioufly 

 ufeful! Pr.iftffor Ebert iiad oiders to re- 

 mit a fpecific liim to Lefling, with the 

 requeft that he would employ it at tlie 

 a')proaching auction in purciiafing addi- 

 tions to the Wolfetibi'ittcl libraiy. 



One of the lall letteis which Leffing's 

 father lived to leceivr from his fon is that 

 in which he gives the following account 

 cf his inlfaliatlon at VVoIlenbiJitcl. 



" It was in faft the Hereditary Prince 

 whobiought me hither. He invited me 

 in the moft gracious manner, and to him 

 J owe it, .that the place of librarian, 

 •which was not vacant, was made fo on my 

 account. The reigning Prince hss re- 

 ceived me with diltinftion; the whole 

 lioufe is rematkable for f fFability and cor- 

 diality. I .•^m not one to prefs u^on 

 them, I fhall keep much aloijf from court- 

 circles, and confine m)felf within that of 

 my library. 



" The appointment is juft fuch as the 

 ingenuity of friendlhip would have con- 

 trived for nie ; fo that I have not to r-giet 

 the refufal fonierly of fome analogous 

 fituations. The iiicomr is fufficicnt for 

 every purpofe of reipeff abls convenience j 

 and the beft is, that I /hall be at all hours 

 wiihin reach of a colledion of books 

 known to you already by repure, but far 

 fu.pcrior to their reputation. I need not 

 grieve for my own original ftock. from 

 Breflau. Let me once in my life have 

 the pleafure of fliewing you about heie, as 

 I know how gieat a lover and a jud^e of 

 books you are, 



" Duties of ofEce I have none, liut 

 fuch as I choofe to devife for myfclf. The 

 Prince ha> been more defirous to make the 

 library ufeful to me, than me to the li- 

 brary i however, I fhall try to unite both, 

 oc rather ihe one will follow from the 

 Other." 



Not long after this appointment Lefling 

 returned to Hamburg, and made p'opo- 

 fals there to a widow lady named Konig^ 

 to whole children \\t had given private 

 kffon?, During this courtfhip, which 



was eventually Aiccefsful, *♦ Hei'der, re- 

 turned liom France, met and contrafied 

 with Lelling an intimacy, which piogrcf- 

 fively lire: gtliened intowaim fiiendihip. 



A vaft colleff ion of tnanuicripts, near- 

 ly I'looo, were depofited in the library at 

 Wol'eirbiittel. LefTing undertook a pe- 

 riodical public.ttion of uncert.Htn appear- 

 ance, enii;led. Contributions to Liieraiy 

 Hillory, which was to inchile notices and 

 extratSis of the mote reuiarkable minu- 

 l(:ripts, together vviih I'uch comments a.s 

 the learned might be ilil'poled to tianfrnit 

 concerning the works an;ii)Zcd. One of the 

 firft inlcrtioiis was a wuik of Bciengarius 

 of Toms, ivhich, in the eleventh cen- 

 tury, oppoicd to the eft.iblilhed doftrinc 

 of tranfubllantittion the doilrinc of con. 

 lutiiiantiation, aficrwards revived by Lu- 

 ther at the lelormatiun. Lanfranc hail 

 replied to the hook, and, as the Catholics 

 averted, viLiorioufly ; liere was the book 

 itfelf, and the Lutherans now proclaimed 

 it unanlwcrable. Ltfiing acquired a lort 

 of orthodox popularity by his analyfis, 

 with which he makes merry in his coTe- 

 fpondence. He did, however, pieferthe 

 crdiodox to the heteiodux party, like 

 Gibbon. The balance of learning was 

 on that fiJe, which attracted his eltreni ; 

 and fo was the b.ildnce of adheficn, which 

 led him to ccnhdtr it as more expedieiu 

 for the magiftrate. PhiKJophers are 

 moreover apt to imagine that the more ir- 

 rational, filly, and ablurd, the eftabliflied 

 opinions, the more iVcuie are they of fc rm- 

 ing a party in the ihirking w,orld, and of 

 efcapiiigan inconvtnicnt difrepute. Times 

 have altered ; the balance of erudition now 

 preponderates on ilie h; terodox fid»:; and 

 the balance of adhefion alfo, at ieait in the 

 educated tlaflls. Pnilolbphy has ftruck 

 fuch deep root that it can Icsrcely fear the 

 rivalry even of a liberal fcfl ; it may in- 

 dulge, therefoie, and it is beginning to 

 indulge, in tiie luxuiy of patronizing thofe 

 Sociiiian and Antunomian Chriftians, wha 

 follow its line of walk, but not with equal 

 Heps. 



LefTuig gave in 1771 a new edition of 

 his mifcellaricous work? j Ramler cor- 

 refted the proofs, and hid unlimited au- 

 thority to fuppitfs and to coriefl : hs 

 uftd it with the cour.ige of fiierdfliip, and 



• A learned theological writer, who, like 

 Jeremy Taylor, frequently decorates his pe- 

 riods v/ith exquifite poetry ot imagination ; 

 but whofe rhapfodicai pantheilm muft finally 

 be neglefted by the philofopher for its un- 

 cleariiefs, and by the ChriftiJn for its irre- 

 ligion. 



the 



