Nathan the Wise

Saladin and Sittah discuss the arrival of funds from Al-Hafi. They also look at a small painting of their deceased brother. Saladin wants to see the Templar again, to decide if the knight really does look like the deceased brother. The Templar arrives in Saladin’s court. Saladin reiterates that the Templar is the spitting image of Assad, the deceased brother of Saladin and Sittah. Saladin asks the Templar if he would remain in his service, and the Templar happily agrees.

Saladin asks about Nathan, and the Templar acts cold. Saladin can tell that the Templar is upset, and asks what Nathan has done. The Templar says that he has been fooled by Nathan, and that Recha is adopted and was born Christian. Saladin is shocked, but defends Nathan, as his friend. However, he admits that Nathan may be punished for hiding Recha’s true identity. Saladin and Sittah talk about the Templar, with Sittah insisting they should ask about the knight’s parents. She mentions rumors that their brother Assad was enamored of Christian women. They discuss the fact that Nathan must give up Recha if the rumors are true.

Nathan and Daja meet. He has a beautiful dress for her, calling it a bridal gown. She insists that Nathan allow the Templar to marry Recha, and end the secret of Recha’s identity. Nathan agrees that the Templar is a good man, but says that the match cannot work, without telling Daja the exact reason.

The Lay Brother arrives and talks to Nathan about his past. He says that he was once a hermit, and was captured by a band of robbers, but escaped and was taken in by the Patriarch. The arrangement was supposed to be temporary, the Lay Brother says, but the Patriarch has pressed him into continual service for undesirable tasks. He tells Nathan that there are rumors that a Jewish man has secretly raised a Christian daughter as Jewish. The Lay Brother reminds Nathan that 18 years prior a man had brought Nathan a baby (Recha), and reveals that he was that man. He says that the man who had the baby was named Wolf von Filnek, explaining that the mother had died and that Filnek had to go off to battle, where he died.

The Lay Brother says he cannot agree with the idea that Nathan would be punished for caring for the daughter when he did so with “love / And true devotion” (114), which is what the girl needed most of all. Nathan says he cannot bear to have Recha taken from him unwillingly, and asks the Lay Brother to help him discover Recha’s nearest relative to take her in. They suspect that Recha’s mother was a von Stauffen, and her brother was Conrad von Stauffen, which would make her the Templar’s sister. This turns out later to be false; both were the children of Wolf von Filnek, the name Saladin’s brother Assad took; Conrad von Stauffen was their mother’s brother. The Lay Brother runs off to find a notebook that was given to him along with Recha long ago, searching for proof. Back at Nathan’s house, Daja tells Nathan that Sittah sent for Recha. Daja decides to tell Recha her true identity.