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Why did Frederick the Great reject Gotthold Ephraim Lessingās application to direct the royal library 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.
When Gotthold Ephraim Lessing applied for the position of director of the royal library in Berlin in 1765, Frederick the Great rejected his application for two primary reasons. First, Lessing had previously quarreled with Voltaire, who was a favorite at the king's court. Second, Frederick the Great generally held a low opinion of German authors, as he favored French culture and showed little interest in the intellectual developments occurring within Germany at the time.1