德国启蒙时期的思想家莱辛对于文学批评的贡献如同康德对于哲学的贡献。“以批评为启蒙,以批判为批评”是对莱辛批评方法的最好概括。他的座右铭是:“通往真理的第一步是发现错误,第二步是辨识真理。”莱辛的文学批评基于对不同文学体裁的理论认识,并从观众的感受出发。他的批判式批评逐渐被赫尔德理解式批评和弗·施莱格尔阐释式批评所取代。 Lessing’s contribution to literary criticism was the Kant’s contribution to philosophy. “Criticism as Enlightenment and Criticism as Criticism” is the best summary of Lessing’s criticism. His motto is: “The first step toward truth is to discover mistakes, and the second is to recognize truth.” Lessing’s literary criticism is based on a theoretical understanding of different literary genres and from the perspective of the audience. His critique of criticism was gradually replaced by Herder’s comprehension criticism and Friedrich Leger’s interpretive criticism.