Editing Moses Mendelssohn (section)

=== Early prominence as philosopher and critic ===
Mendelssohn became the leading spirit of [[Friedrich Nicolai]]'s important literary undertakings, the ''Bibliothek'' and the ''Literaturbriefe'', and ran some risk by criticizing the poems of Frederick II, King of Prussia; Frederick’s good nature kept him out of trouble. In 1762 he married Fromet Guggenheim, who survived him by twenty-six years. In the year following his marriage Mendelssohn won the prize offered by the [[Prussian Academy of Sciences|Berlin Academy]] for an essay on the application of mathematical proofs to [[metaphysics]], ''On Evidence in the Metaphysical Sciences''; among the competitors were [[Thomas Abbt]] and [[Immanuel Kant]], who came second.<ref name="Dahlstrom">Dahlstrom (2008)</ref> In October 1763 the king granted Mendelssohn, but not his wife or children, the privilege of [[Protected Jew]] (''[[Schutzjude]]''), which assured his right to undisturbed residence in Berlin.{{sfn|Abrahams|1911|p=120}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Elon|author-link=Amos Elon|first=Amos|title=The Pity of it All: A History of Jews in Germany, 1743-1933|url=https://archive.org/details/pityofitallhisto00elon|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=Metropolitan Books|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/pityofitallhisto00elon/page/45 45]|isbn=978-0-8050-5964-9}}</ref>

As a result of his correspondence with Abbt, Mendelssohn resolved to write on the immortality of the soul. [[Materialism|Materialistic]] views were at the time rampant and fashionable, and faith in immortality was at a low ebb. At this favourable juncture appeared ''[[Phaedon|Phädon oder über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele]]'' (''Phaedo or On the Immortality of Souls''; 1767). Modelled on [[Plato]]'s dialogue of the [[Phaedo|same name]], Mendelssohn's work possessed some of the charm of its Greek exemplar and impressed the German world with its beauty and lucidity of style.<ref name="Elon-p40">Elon (2002), p. 40.</ref> ''Phaedo'' was an immediate success, and besides being one of the most widely read books of its time in [[German language|German]] was speedily translated into several European languages,<ref name="Elon-p40"/> including [[English language|English]]. The author was hailed as the "German Plato", or the "German Socrates"; royal and other aristocratic friends showered attentions on him, and it was said that "no stranger who came to Berlin failed to pay his personal respects to the German Socrates."{{sfn|Abrahams|1911|pp=120-121}}