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While Fell was reposing himself in the hay,
A reptile concealed bit his leg as he lay;
But, all venom himself, of the wound he made light,
And got well, while the scorpion died of the bite.

— Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

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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.

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

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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.