From the Library of Friedrich Schleiermacher

Simon, Richard, 1638-1712. Histoire critique du Vieux Testament. Nouvelle edition. A Amsterdam : Pour la Compagnie des Libraires, 1685. [40], 667, [45] p.; 24 cm. (4to) ]

Biblical scholar Richard Simon (1638-1712) was from 1662 to 1678 a member of the French Oratory (an association of priests involved in the training of seminarians). After extensive studies of oriental languages, he published in 1678 his Histoire critique du Vieux Testament, in which he denied that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch and showed that there were often duplicate accounts of the same incident told with variations of style. These ideas caused his expulsion from the Oratory, but he has long been regarded as the founder of Biblical criticism. In spite of his expulsion, he remained a devout Catholic and continued his writings until his death. The original Paris edition of 1678 was suppressed, and all but a few copies destroyed. This present enlarged edition (also issued by Reinier Leers, Rotterdam, 1685) was disclaimed by Simon, but is believed to have been published under his supervision.

Schleiermacher

The Library's copy was once in the library of Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (1768-1834). [His stamp appears on the verso of the title page.] Born in Breslau and raised in a Moravian household, he was educated at the University of Halle and ordained a Reformed preacher in Berlin, where he came into contact with the Romantic movement. He taught briefly at Halle and from 1810 was dean of the Theological Faculty at the University of Berlin. His most famous work is Der christliche Glaube (The Christian Faith) in which he defines religion as the feeling of absolute dependence, which finds its purest expression in monotheism.

Additional image:

Friedrich Schleiermacher's Stamp of Ownership

Source of information:

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F.L. Cross. 3rd ed. edited by E.A. Livingstone. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.