In the Hamburgische Dramaturgie, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing reviewed the performances at the theater in Hamburg. He had announced that he would follow every step of the art of both the playwright and the actor. In an issue dated 19 April 1768 he admitted: Die letztere Hälfte bin ich sehr bald überdrüssig geworden. I soon grew tired of the second half.
The reason, he wrote, was that there were actors but no art of acting with firm rules: Wir haben Schauspieler, aber keine Schauspielkunst. An actor with nothing but a lucky routine therefore felt insulted in every way by a review. Gelobt wird er sich nie genug, getadelt aber allezeit viel zuviel glauben. He will never believe he has been praised enough, but always believe he has been blamed far too much.
Lessing cited an old observation. Artists grow more sensitive to criticism the less certain and clear the principles of their art are.