Richard Simon
Richard Simon (May 13, 1638 - April 11, 1712), was a French biblical critic.
Related Topics:
May 13 - 1638 - April 11 - 1712 - French - Critic
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He was born at Dieppe. His early education took place at the college of the Fathers of the Oratory. The kindness of a friend enabled him to study theology at Paris, where he showed an interest in Hebrew and other Oriental languages. At the end of his course he was sent, as was usual, to teach philosophy at Juilly, where there was another college of the Oratory. But he was soon recalled to Paris, and employed in the preparing a catalogue of the Oriental books in the library of the Oratory. His first publication was his Fides Ecciesiae orientalis, seu Gabrielis Metropolitae Philadelphiensis opuscula, cum interpretatione Latina, cum notis (Paris, 1671), the object of which was to demonstrate that the belief of the Greek Church regarding the Eucharist was the same as that of the Church of Rome. Simon entered the priesthood in 1670, and the same year wrote a pamphlet in defence of the Jews of Metz, who had been accused of having murdered a Christian child.
Related Topics:
Dieppe - Theology - Paris - Hebrew - Philosophy - Eucharist - 1670 - Metz
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It was shortly before this time that there were sown the seeds of that enmity with the Port-Royalists which filled Simon's after life with many bitter troubles. Antoine Arnauld had written a work on the Perpetuity of the Faith, the first volume of which dealt with the Eucharist. Simon's criticisms aroused lasting indignation among Arnauld's friends and admirers. He also aroused the ill-will of the monks of the Benedictine order when, in support of a friend who was engaged in a lawsuit with the Benedictine monks of Fécamp, Simon composed a strongly-worded memorandum. The monks complained to the new general of the Oratory. The charge of Jesuitism was also brought against Simon, on the grounds that his friend's brother was an eminent member of that order.
Related Topics:
Port-Royal - Antoine Arnauld - Benedictine
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The commotion in ecclesiastical circles was great, and Simon's removal not only from Paris but from France was seriously considered. A mission to Rome was proposed to him, but he saw through the intention, and declined. He was engaged at the time in superintending the printing of his Histoire critique du Vieux Testament. He had hoped, through the influence of Père la Chaise, the king's confessor, and the duc de Montausier, to be allowed to dedicate the work to Louis XIV, but, as the king was absent in Flanders at the time, the volume could not be published until he had accepted the dedication, though it had passed the censorship of the Sorbonne, and the chancellor of the Oratory had given his imprimatur. The printer of the book, in order to promote the sale, had caused the titles of the various chapters to be printed separately, and to be put in circulation. These, or possibly a copy of the work itself, had happened to come into the hands of the Port Royalists. With the intention of harming sales of the work, which was known in theological circles to have been long in preparation by Simon, the Messieurs de Port Royal had undertaken a translation into French of the Prolegomena to Brian Walton's Polyglott.
Related Topics:
Père la Chaise - Duc de Montausier - Louis XIV - Flanders - Sorbonne - Brian Walton
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To counteract this, Simon announced his intention of publishing an annotated edition of the Prolegomena, and added to the Critical History a translation of the last four chapters of that work, which had formed no part of his original plan. Simon's announcement prevented the appearance of the projected translation, but his enemies were all the more irritated. They had now obtained the opportunity which they had long been seeking. The freedom with which Simon expressed himself on various topics, and especially those chapters in which he declared that Moses could not be the author of much in the writings attributed to him, especially aroused their opposition. The powerful influence of Bossuet, at that time tutor to the dauphin, was invoked; the chancellor, Michael le Tellier, lent his assistance; a decree of the council of state was obtained, and after a series of paltry intrigues the whole impression, consisting of 1300 copies, was seized by the police and destroyed, and the animosity of his colleagues in the Oratory rose to so great a height against Simon that he was declared to be no longer a member of their body. Full of bitterness and disgust, Simon retired in 1679 to the curacy of Bolleville, to which he had been lately appointed by the vicar-general of the abbey of Fécamp.
Related Topics:
Bossuet - Dauphin - Michael le Tellier - 1679 - Bolleville
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It was proposed to republish the work in the Netherlands. Simon, however, at first opposed this, in hopes of overcoming the opposition of Bossuet by making certain changes in the parts objected to. The negotiations with Bossuet lasted a considerable time, but finally failed, and the Critical History appeared, with Simon's name on the title page, in the year 1685, from the press of Reenier Leers in Rotterdam. An imperfect edition had previously been published at Amsterdam by Daniel Elzevir, based upon a manuscript transcription of one of the copies of the original work which had escaped destruction and had been sent to England, and from which a Latin and an English translation were afterwards made. The edition of Leers was a reproduction of the work as first printed, with a new preface, notes, and those other writings which had appeared for and against the work up to that date.
Related Topics:
Netherlands - 1685 - Rotterdam - Amsterdam - Daniel Elzevir
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The work consists of three books. The first deals with questions of Biblical criticism, properly so called, such as the text of the Hebrew Bible and the changes which it has undergone down to the present day, the authorship of the Mosaic writings and of other books of the Bible, with an exposition of Simon's peculiar theory of the existence during the whole extent of Jewish history of recorders or annalists of the events of each period, whose writings were preserved in the public archives, and the institution of which he assigns to Moses. The second book gives an account of the principal translations, ancient and modern, of the Old Testament, and the third contains an examination of the principal commentators. He had, with the exception of the theory above mentioned, contributed nothing really new on the subject of Old Testament criticism, for previous critics as L Cappel, Johannes Morinus (1591-1659) and others had established marty points of importance, and the value of Simon's work consisted chiefly in bringing together and presenting at one view the results of Old Testament criticism. The work encountered strong opposition, and that not only from the Church of Rome. The Protestants felt their stronghold--an infallible Bible--assailed by the doubts which Simon raised against the integrity of the Hebrew text. J. le Clerc ("Clericus") in his work Sentimens de quelques théologiens de Hollande, controverted the views of Simon, and was answered by the latter in a tone of considerable asperity in his Réponse aux Sentimens de quelques théologiens de Hollande, over the signature "Pierre Ambrun," it being a marked peculiarity of Simon rarely to give his own name.
Related Topics:
Old Testament - L Cappel - Johannes Morinus
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The remaining works of Simon may be briefly noticed. In 1689 appeared his Histoire critique du texte du Nouveau Testament, consisting of thirty-three chapters, in which he discusses the origin and character of the various books, with a consideration of the objections brought against them by the Jews and others, the quotations from the Old Testament in the New, the inspiration of the New Testament (with a refutation of the opinions of Spinoza), the Greek dialect in which they are written (against C. Salmasius), the Greek manuscripts known at the time, especially Codex D (Cantabrigiensis), etc. This was followed in 1690 by his Histoire critique des versions du Nouveau Testament, where he gives an account of the various translations, both ancient and modern, antI discusses the manner in which many difficult passages of the New Testament have been rendered in the various versions. In 1693 was published what in some respects is the most valuable of all his writings, viz. Histoire critique des principaux commentateurs du Nouveau Testament depuis le commencement du Christianisme jusques a notre temps. This work exhibits immense reading, and the information it contains still valuable to the student. The last work of Simon that we need mention is his Nouvelles Observations sur le texte et les versions du Nouveau Testament (Paris, 1695), which contains supplementary observations upon the subjects of the text and translations of the New Testament.
Related Topics:
New Testament - 1693
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As a controversialist Simon displayed a bitterness which tended only to aggravate the unpleasantness of controversy. He was entirely a man of intellect, free from all tendency to sentimentality, and with a strong vein of sarcasm and satire in his disposition. He died at Dieppe on the 11th of April 1712 at the age of seventy-four.
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The principal authorities for the life of Simon are the life or "éloge" by his grand-nephew De la Martinière in vol. i. of the Lettres choisies (4 vols., Amsterdam, 1730); K.H. Graf's article in the first vol. of the Beitr. zu d. theol. Wissensch., etc. (Jena, 1851)
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E.W.E. Reuss's article, revised by E Nestle, in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie (ad. 1906); Richard Simon et son Vieux Testament, by A. Berm's (Lausanne, 1869); H Margival, Essai sue Richard Simon et la critique biblique au XVIIe siècle (1900).
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This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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Wash. Post, LA Times failed to note Energy Department's assessment of effect of offshore drilling on oil prices
In a July 15 Washington Post article, staff writers Dan Eggen and Steven Mufson reported that "[President] Bush argued that allowing drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines would ease pressure on oil prices by increasing domestic production" and that "Democrats and environmental groups replied that expanding offshore oil production would take years and have no impact on oil prices for a decade or more." Similarly, in a July 15 Los Angeles Times article, staff writers Richard Simon and James Gerstenzang reported, "Democrats and environmentalists said that even if obstacles to new drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico were quickly lifted, the resulting gasoline would be years away, as refineries are running at or near capacity -- so there would be little or no immediate effect on supplies or prices." But neither article noted that in addition to Democrats and environmental groups, the Bush Energy Department has determined that production from offshore drilling "would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030," or that such production is expected to have an "insignificant" effect on "average wellhead prices," which Mufson himself noted in a July 14 Washington Post article. In his July 14 article, Mufson reported: A report last year by the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said that "access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017." It added, "Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant." This is not the first time the Post has reported on the potential effects of offshore drilling without noting the Energy Department's estimates, as Media Matters for America documented. From the July 15 Washington Post article: President Bush yesterday lifted a presidential ban on offshore oil drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf that was implemented by his father, escalating a confrontation with Democrats in Congress over how to cope with soaring gas prices. Lifting the presidential moratorium has no immediate effect on exploration because Congress has enacted its own prohibitions on offshore drilling every year since the 1980s as part of the Interior Department's appropriations bill, and congressional Democrats yesterday vowed to do so again. But Bush's move carries symbolic and political significance on an emotional issue in an election year. In a Rose Garden statement at the White House yesterday, Bush argued that allowing drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines would ease pressure on oil prices by increasing domestic production. Bush also urged Congress to approve other steps, such as allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and he blamed Democratic opposition to drilling for the current run-up in gasoline prices. "We need to take action now to expand domestic oil production," Bush said, adding later: "With this action, the executive branch's restrictions on this exploration have been cleared away. This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress." Democrats and environmental groups replied that expanding offshore oil production would take years and have no impact on oil prices for a decade or more. They urged oil companies to make greater use of federal lands and waters already open to exploration. And they pressed Bush to back other measures, such as releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to lower the price of oil now. "People who tell us that the solution to our problem is drilling offshore are peddling our addiction," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. "The drug is oil, and they don't want us to get off it." From the July 15 Los Angeles Times article: President Bush lifted a long-standing White House ban Monday on new oil and gas drilling off the nation's coastlines and pressured Congress to take a similar step, stoking the battle over how Washington should respond to high gasoline prices. Bush's decision to lift the executive order, which was imposed by his father in 1990 and renewed by President Clinton, will have no effect unless Congress cancels its own ban on offshore drilling. But with the price of gasoline sitting above $4 a gallon, his action places the possibility of new drilling squarely in the public debate and gives him a political cudgel. Lawmakers are increasingly nervous about high gas prices in an election year, and Bush made clear he intended to use the pro-drilling argument against Congress' majority party. "With this action, the executive branch's restrictions on this exploration have been cleared away," he told reporters in the White House Rose Garden. "This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress. "Now the ball is squarely in Congress' court," he added. "Democratic leaders can show that they have finally heard the frustrations of the American people by matching the action I have taken today." Some drilling advocates have cited estimates that 18 billion barrels of oil could be recovered. Democrats and environmentalists said that even if obstacles to new drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico were quickly lifted, the resulting gasoline would be years away, as refineries are running at or near capacity -- so there would be little or no immediate effect on supplies or prices. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), rejecting the president's challenge, countered that Bush should tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower prices by increasing supplies. He has refused to do so, arguing that the reserve was created to relieve a national emergency.
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