Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) was born in Saxony, but most of his life was spent in Berlin. There he met Voltaire, befriended Friedrich Nicolai and the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, and studied the philosophy of Spinoza and Leibniz. Much of the philosophical concern Lessing was religion. In this respect he held positions, although poorly developed, spokesman did Enlightenment philosophy, contributing to the fight against obscurantist theology and against superstitious religiosity. He also dealt with aesthetic issues. The philosopher delineated the fundamental differences between the visual arts and poetry. In defending his thesis, the philosopher broke an important class aesthetic tradition, as was Horace ut pictura poiesis with her, and that of his contemporary theorists.