- Jean Leclerc (theologian)
Jean Leclerc, also Johannes Clericus (
March 19 1657 inGeneva -January 8 1736 inAmsterdam ) was a Swisstheologian andbiblical scholar . He was famous for promotingexegesis , or critical interpretation of theBible , and was a radical of his age. He parted withCalvinism over his interpretations and left Geneva for that reason.Early life
His father, Stephen Le Clerc, was professor of Greek in Geneva. The family originally belonged to the neighborhood of
Beauvais in France, and several of its members acquired some name in literature. Jean Le Clerc applied himself to the study of philosophy under JR Chouet (1642-1731) the Cartesian, and attended the theological lectures of P Mestrezat, "Franz Turretin and Louis Tronchin" (1629-1705). In 1678-1679 he spent some time inGrenoble as tutor in a private family; on his return to Geneva he passed his examinations and receivedordination . Soon afterwards he went toSaumur , where in 1679 were published "Literii de Sancto Amore Epistolae Theologicae" (Irenopoli: Typis Philaleihianis), usually attributed to him; they deal with the doctrine of theTrinity , theHypostatic union of the two natures inJesus Christ ,original sin , and the like, in a manner far removed from that of the conventional orthodoxy of the period.In 1682 he went to
London , where he remained for six months, preaching on alternate Sundays in the Walloon church and in theSavoy Chapel . Due to political instability, he moved toAmsterdam , where he was introduced toJohn Locke and toPhilip von Limborch , professor at the Remonstrant college. He later included Locke in the encyclopedias he edited; and the acquaintance with Limborch soon ripened into a close friendship, which strengthened his preference for the Remonstrant theology, already favorably known to him by the writings of his grand-uncle, Stephan Curedlaeus (d. 1645) and by those ofSimon Episcopius .A last attempt to live at Geneva, made at the request of relatives there, satisfied him that the theological atmosphere was uncongenial, and in 1684 he finally settled in
Amsterdam , first as a moderately successful preacher, until ecclesiastical jealousy reportedly shut him out from that career, and afterwards as professor of philosophy,belles-lettres and Hebrew in the Remonstrant seminary. This appointment, which he owed to Limborch, he held from 1684, and in 1752 on the death of his friend he was called to occupy the chair of church history also.His suspected
Socinianism was the cause, it is said, of his exclusion from the chair of dogmatic theology. Apart from his literary labours, Le Clerc's life at Amsterdam was uneventful. In 1691 be married a daughter ofGregorio Leti . From 1728 onward he was subject to repeated strokes ofparalysis , and he died on the 8th of January.Published works
In 1685 he published "Sentimens de quelques thologiens de Hollande sur l'histoire critique du Vieux Testament composée par le P. Richard Simon", in which, while pointing out what he believed to be the faults of that author, he undertook to make some positive contributions towards a right understanding of the Bible. Among these last may be noted his argument against the Mosaic authorship of the
Pentateuch , his views as to the manner in which the five books were composed, his opinions (singularly free for the time in which he lived) on the subject of inspiration in general, and particularly as to the inspiration of Job, Proverbs,Ecclesiastes ,Canticles .Richard Simon 's "Réponse" (1686) elicited from Le Clerc a "Defence des sentimens" in the same year, which was followed by a new "Réponse" (1687). In 1692 appeared his "Logica sive Ars Ratiocinandi", and also "Ontologia et Pneumatologia"; these, with the "Physica sive de rebus corporeis" (1696), are incorporated with the "Opera Philosophica", which have passed through several editions.In 1693 his series of Biblical commentaries began with that on the
Book of Genesis ; the series was not completed until 1731. The portion relating to theNew Testament books included the paraphrase and notes ofHenry Hammond . Le Clerc's commentary had a great influence in challenging traditional views and arguing the case for a more scientific inquiry into the origin and meaning of the biblical books, It was hotly attacked on all sides.His "Ars Critica" appeared in 1696, and, in continuation, "Epistolae Criticae et Ecclesiasticae" in 1700. Le Clerc's new edition of the Apostolic Fathers of Johann Cotekrius (1627-1686), published in 1698, marked an advance in the critical study of these documents. But his the greatest literary influence was probably that which he exercised over his contemporaries by means of the encyclopedias of which he was editor. These were the "Bibliothèque universelle et historique" (Amsterdam, 25 vols 12 mu., 1686-1693), begun with JC de la Croze; the "Bibliothèque choisie" (Amsterdam, 28 vols,, 1703-1713); and the "Bibliothèque ancienne et moderne", (29 vols, 1714-1726).
See Le Clerc's "Parrhasiana ou penses sur des matires de critique, d'histoire, de morale, et de politique: avec la defense de divers ouvrages de M. L. C. par Théodore Parrhase" (Amsterdam, 1699); and "Vita et opera ad annum MDCCXL, amici ejus opusculu in philosophicis Clerici operibus subjiciendum", also attributed to himself. The supplement to Hammond's notes was translated into English in 1699, "Parrhesiana, or Thoughts on Several Subjects", in 1700, the Harmony of the Gospels in 1701, and "Twelve Dissertations" out of 211. Other works include "Editionen von Texten der Kirchenväter", and "Harmonia evangelica", 1700.
References
* Vincent, Benjamin (1877) "Leclerc, Jean (1657-1736)" "A Dictionary of Biography, Past and Present: Containing the chief events in the lives of eminent persons of all ages and nations" Ward, Lock, & Co., London;
* Hargreaves- Mawdsley, W.N. (1968) "Leclerc, Jean (1657-1736)" "Everyman's Dictionary of European Writers" Dutton, New York, ISBN 0-460-03019-1 ;
* Watson, George (ed.) (1972) "Leclerc, Jean (1657-1736)" "The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature" Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, ISBN 0-521-07255-7 ;
* Lueker, Erwin L. (ed.) (1975) " [http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/cyclopedia/02/display.asp?t1=a&word=ARMINIANISM Arminianism] " "Lutheran Cyclopedia", accessed November 7, 2006
* Yolton, John W. "et al." (1991) "Leclerc, Jean (1657-1736)" "The Blackwell Companion to the Enlightenment" Basil Blackwell, Cambridge, MA, ISBN 0-631-15403-5 ;
* Walsh, Michael (ed.) (2001) "Leclerc, Jean (1657-1736)" "Dictionary of Christian Biography" Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, ISBN 0-8146-5921-7 ;External links
* [http://dispatch.opac.d-nb.de/DB=4.1/REL?PPN=119512947 Literature by and about Jean Leclerc in the "Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek"] in German;
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