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Man, whence is he?
Too bad to be the work of a god, too good for the work of chance.

— Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Der Mensch, wo ist er her?
Zu schlecht für einen Gott, zu gut fürs Ungefähr.

Original text (German)

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Notes from Wikiquote

As quoted in Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern English and Foreign Sources (1899) by James Wood, p. 61

Variants

Man — who is he? Too bad to be the work of God; Too good for the work of chance!

More quotes by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

The worst of superstitions is to think
One's own most bearable.

Nathan the Wise (1779)

The true value of a man is not determined by his possession, supposed or real, of Truth, but rather by his sincere exertion to get to the Truth.

Anti-Goeze (1778)

Nothing under the sun is accidental, least of all that of which the intention is so clearly evident.

Emilia Galotti (1772)

I have always said it—Nature meant woman to be her masterpiece.

Trust no friend without faults, and love a maiden, but no angel.

Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern English and Foreign Sources (1899)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.