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Which kinds of work did Gotthold Ephraim Lessing do after arriving in Berlin?
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Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Lessing, detail of an oil painting by Georg May, 1768; in the Gleimhaus, Halberstadt, Germany.
After arriving in Berlin in 1748, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing initially sought work as a journalist. During his first four years in the city, he engaged in several types of professional activities:
- Translation: He primarily worked on translating French and English historical and philosophical texts into German.
- Journalism and Criticism: He established himself as a brilliant and witty critic, serving as the book review editor for the Berlinische Privilegierte Zeitung.
- Periodical Publishing: He launched his own periodical, Beitr\u00e4ge zur Historie und Aufnahme des Theaters ("Contributions to the History and Improvement of the Theatre"), which ran until 1750.
Upon returning to Berlin later in his career, he continued his literary contributions, most notably by writing essays for C.F. Nicolaiās weekly, Briefe, die neueste Literatur betreffend ("Letters Concerning the Latest Literature"), where he advocated for a national German drama and criticized the influence of French models.12