8. The wife ot Gessins Floms, procurator of Judsa ; she was a favorite with Nero's wife (Josephus, Ant. XX, 11,1).
Grle'^dpliaB, or rather Clopas (KXtu^a^), the hua- liand of Majy (q. v.), the sister of Christ's mother (J<An six, 25) ; probably a Grsecized form of the name elsewhere (Matt, x, 8 ; Mark iii, 18 ; Luke vi, 16 ; Acts i, 13; comp. Mark xv, 40) called Alphjeus (q. v.), perhape in imitation of the name Ckopcu (q. v.). See the TheoL Stud. «. Krit, 1840, iM, 648.
Clerc, Le (Clbbicus), Jean, a learned critic and theologian, was bom at Geneva March 19, 1657. He stndied theology at his native town, and in 1679 passed a brilliant examination for admission into the ministry of Geneva, but had before this fallen out with strict Ciilvinism, chiefly under the influence of the Sau- mur theses (Syntagma the»ium IheoL Salmurii^ 1655), and the writings of his grand-uncle CurceUaus and of Episcopius. As early as 1679 he published a pseudo- nymous work on the difference between strict Calvin- ists and Remonstrants, in favor of the latter (Liberii de scmdo amort qnstdm tkeolofficm, Saumur, 1679). In 1682 he openly joined the Remonstrants, and in 1684 the Rotterdam Synod gave to him the professorship of phUoeophy and ancient languages at the Arminian college of Amsterdam. Here he at once began to ex- hibit his marvellous literary activity. After publish- ing some exegetical treatises of his uncle David le Clerc, and his finther Stephen le Clerc, and a dogmat- ical treatise on predestination, and the nature and lim- its of human knowledge (Entredmt sur diverges ma- Hires de thidogie^ Amsterdam, 1685), he attracted gen- eral attention by his literary controversy with the learned oratorian Richard Simon (Origeni Adamantmo Criiobubu Hieropolitanus^ 1684, pseudonym. ; Seniimens gHT fkist, eritique du V. T. eompoUe par le P, ILSimony, Amsterd. 1685, and D^ence dea Senthnens^ etc Am- sterd. 1685). In the same year he established with F. Comand de la Croze a literary journal, under the titie BtbUotheque wdverteUe et Mstonque^ which, besides re- views and extracts from' new books, contains many essays by Le Clerc (25 vols. 1686-1693). He ahw took an active part in the publication of the four editions of Moreri's Dictioimaire (4 vols. fol. 1691-1702). He defended Episcopius against the charge of Socinian- ism (LeUre h M.Jurieu tw la maniere dont U a traits Epiacopms, 1690), and translated three works of Bur- net into French, and part of the history of ancient philosophy by Th. Stanley into Latin. From 1692- 1695 he wrote several compends of philosophy (Opera phUottophicOy 4 vols. 1698 ; later editions contain a 5th volume, with a life of the author). In 1698 he began the publication of his Latin translation of and com- mentary on the Old Testament (Genesis, 1698; the four la«t books of the Pentateuch, 1696 ; the other his- torical books, 1708 ; the remainder, 1781), in which he developed some latitudinarian views on Biblical mir- acles and scriptural interpretation. In 1696 he pub- lished \nB Art CriUca (2 vols. Amsterd.), one .of his most important works, of which the ^nstolce CriUca et EcdenasHcm (1700, against Cave) are a continua- tion. He tran^ated into Latin and added valuable notes to Hammond's New Testament (1698, 2 vols, fol. ; 2d edit. Frankfort, 1714), and in the same year published a new edition of the Patret ApottoUd by Co- telier, with notes and additions (Amsterd. 1698 ; 2d ed. 1724). A work against some anti-Christian views in Bayle'B Dictionary (Parrhagiana, Amsterd. 1699) in- II.— B B
volved him in a controversy with Bayle which lasted until the death of the latter. He prepared an appen- dix to the Amsterdam reprint of the Maurine edition of the works of St. Augustine (Appendix Avgustimana, Amsterd. 1708) ; published a French translation of the New Test. (Amsterd. 1708, 2 vols.), with notes, which again brought him into the suspicion of Socinianism, and published new editions, with notes, of Petavius,i)e theologicit dogmaiilnu (6 vols. fol. Amsterd. 1700), and doctrma tempantm (Amster^ 1703, 8 voltf. fol.), of Uie complete works of Erasmus of Rotterdam (Lugd. Bat. 10 vols. fol. 1703-«), of Hugo Grotius, De Veritate Se- Ugionis Chrittiana (Amsterd. 1709), and of many oth- en. He also continued his literary journal under the titie BibMothe^ choiiie (1708-18, 27 vols.). In 1712, on the death of Limborch, he was appointed his suo- cessor as professor of Church History at the college of Amsterdam. His new oflSce induced him to write a Church History of the first two centuries (HitC. Ecdes. duorum prim, 8ac.^ Amsterd. 1716). He slso prepared several editions of Latin and Greek classics, a hbtoiy of the Netherlands, and carried on a very extensive correspondence with scholars in various countries. In 1728 he suddenly lost, in consequence of a paralytic stroke, the use of language, and, to a large extent, his memory, and his condition became still worse after a new attack in 1782. He died January 8, 1736. *Le Clerc was one of the most prolific writero of modem times, but more critical than productive. Though al- ways in ecclesiastical communion with the Bemon* strants, he undoubtedly leaned towards Socinianism. — See Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lex, ii, 680 sq. ; Her- zog, Seal-Encyklop, ii, 756 ; Ersch u. Gruber, EncyUop. vol. xviii, s. V.
Clerestory. See Cueab-stort.
Clergy, the general name given to those who are set apart by ordination (q. v.) for the performance of Christian worahip and teaching, and who are therefore said to be in orders (q. v.).