also knows that it's in his best interests to maintain good order in the city. To that end, he maintains a close friendship with Nathan, a Jewish merchant. During one of their conversations, Saladin demands that Nathan tell him which is the "true" religion. In response, Nathan tells Saladin afable about a man with three sons whom he loves equally. Unable to decide which of his children should receive his valuable gold ring, he has two copies made. But his sons are dissatisfied; each wants to know for sure if he has the original ring or a copy. They appeal to a judge to settle the matter. In his wise verdict, the judge rules that each son should act as if the original ring were his own and bring out the ring's magical power—the ring confers love of both God and man—by performing good deeds.

The spiritual message of Nathan's ring fable is that it's not so much which religion you follow, but how you act toward others, that matters. Everyone should remain loyal to their chosen faith while at the same time striving to act morally at all times. In this way, the differences between the religions will be minimized, and people of different faith traditions will be able to live together more harmoniously.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was born on 22 January 1729 in Kamenz, Saxony in Germany where his father was a Lutheran minister. He died on 15 February 1781. He is known primarily as a playwright, philosopher, and art critic. Initially he trained for the ministry, and did undergraduate work at University of Leipzig and obtained a master's degree from Wittenberg in 1752. However, his initial success first in translating French plays into German and then in his own critical writing led him to pursue a career in theater, and he actually was the first person to hold the position of a dramaturge, serving in that role in Germany's first national theater, the Hamburg National Theatre. 

Lessing was a lifelong friend of Moses Mendelssohn (1729 - 1786), a German Jewish philosopher and the model for the character of Nathan. When challenged by Christians to articulate his views on the historical Jesus, Mendelssohn articulated a viewpoint that in many ways crystallized the religious ideals of the Enlightenment, saying that he considered Jesus a great and admirable sage, like Solon and Confucius, but felt no more need to convert to Christianity than to Greek paganism or Confucianism. The philosophy that people can respect and learn from a wide range of beliefs and should tolerate and respect others' religious traditions is at the center of Lessing's play.

The play was written in the context of these discussions about religious tolerance.

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