Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (22 January 1729 15 February 1781) was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature. He is widely considered by theatre historians to be the first dramaturg. Lessing was a poet, philosopher and critic. His theoretical and critical writings are remarkable for their often witty and ironic style and their unerring polemics. Hereby the stylistic device of dialogue met with his intention of looking at a thought from different angles and searching for elements of truth even in the arguments made by his opponents. For him this truth was never solid or something which could be owned by someone but always a process of approaching. In addition, he spoke up for tolerance of the other world religions in many arguments with representatives of the predominant schools of thought (e.g. within the "Anti-Goeze"). He also worked this position into his dramatic work (in Nathan der Weise) when he was forbidden to publish further theoretical writings. In his writing The Education of the Human Race (Die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts) he extensively and coherently lays out his position. This edition of The Education of the Human Race is illustrated and includes a Table of Contents.