Which independent thinkers did Gotthold Ephraim Lessing defend in Rettungen?

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German dramatist and critic Gotthold Lessing — Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Lessing, detail of an oil painting by Georg May, 1768; in the Gleimhaus, Halberstadt, Germany.

In his work Rettungen ("Vindications"), Gotthold Ephraim Lessing defended independent thinkers who had been subjected to unjust slander and persecution. Specifically, he sought to vindicate the reputations of the following Reformation-period writers:

Johannes Cochlaeus1
Gerolamo Cardano1

These essays are noted for their clarity of argument and incisive style, reflecting Lessing's broader commitment to intellectual tolerance and the unbiased search for truth.21