LE CLERC [CLERIcus], JEAN French Prot estant theologian, was born on March 19, 1657 at Geneva, where his father was professor of Greek. In 1679 were published Liberii de Sancto Amore Epistolae Theologicae (Irenopoli: Typis Phila lethianis), usually attributed to Le Clerc they deal with the doc trine of the Trinity, the hypostatic union of the two natures in Christ, original sin, and the like. At Amsterdam he met John Locke and Philip v. Limborch, professor at the Remonstrant college; the acquaintance with Limborch soon ripened into a close friendship, which strengthened his preference for the Remonstrant theology. In 1684 he finally settled at Amsterdam, first as a moderately successful preacher, and afterwards as professor of philosophy, belles-lettres and Hebrew in the Remonstrant semi nary. He died on Jan. 8, 1736.
His publications are listed with biographical material, in E. and E. Haag's France Protestante and in J. G. de Chauffepie's Dictionnaire. His series of Biblical commentaries appeared between 1693 and 1731; the portion relating to the New Testament included the paraphrase and notes of Henry Hammond (1605-6o). Le Clerc's commentary had a great influence in showing the necessity for a more scientific inquiry into the origin and meaning of the biblical books, but it was on all sides hotly attacked. His Ars Critica appeared in 1696, and, in continu
ation, Epistolae Criticae et Ecclesiasticae in 170o, Le Clerc's new edition of the Apostolic Fathers of Johann Cotelerius (d. 1686), published in 1698, marked an advance in the critical study of these documents. But the greatest influence of Le Clerc was exercised by means of the journals which he edited. These were the Bibliotheque universelle et historique (Amsterdam, 25 vols. 1686-93), begun with J. C. de la Croze ; the Bibliotheque choisie (Amsterdam, 28 vols. 1703-13) ; and the Bibli otheque ancienne et moderne (29 vols., .
See Le Clerc's Parrhasiana ou pensies sur des matieres de critique, d'histoire, de morale, et de politique: avec la defense de divers ouvrages de M. L. C. par Theodore Parrhase (Amsterdam, 1699) ; and Vita et opera ad annum MDCCXI., amici ejus opusculum, philosophicis Clerici operibus subjiciendum, also attributed to himself. The supplement to Hammond's notes was translated into English in 1699, Parrhasiana, or Thoughts on Several Subjects, in 1700, the Harmony of the Gospels in 1701, and Twelve Dissertations out of M. Le Clerc's Genesis in 1696.