Portrait of Edmond Henri Adolphe Schérer

Edmond Henri Adolphe Schérer (April 8, 1815March 16, 1889) was a French theologian, critic and politician.

Biography

He was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After a course of legal studies, he spent several years in theological study at

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, where he graduated in theology in 1843, and was ordained. In 1843, he was appointed professor of

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

in the École Évangélique at

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

(popularly known as L'Oratoire). The development of his opinions in favour of the Liberal movement in

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

theology led to his resigning the post six years later. He founded the ''Anti-Jesuite'', afterwards the ''Réformation au XIXe siècle'', in which he advocated the separation of the Church from the State; but he gradually abandoned Protestant doctrine. In thought he became a pronounced

Hegelian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

. Eventually he settled in Paris, where he at once attracted attention by brilliant literary criticisms, at first chiefly on great foreign writers, contributed to the ''Revue des deux mondes''. He was elected municipal councillor at Versailles in 1870, deputy to the National Assembly for the department Seine-et-Oise in 1871 and

senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

in 1875. He supported the Republican party. Towards the end of his life, he devoted self mainly to literary and general criticism, and was for many years one of the ablest contributors to ''

Le Temps ''Le Temps'' (literally "The Time") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021, it has b ...

''. He was a frequent visitor to England, and took a lively interest in English politics and literature. He died at Versailles.

Works

*''Dogmatique de l'Église réformée'' (1843) *''De l'état actuel de l'Église réformée en France'' (1844) *''Esquisse d'une analyse de l'église chrétienne '' (1845) *''La Critique et la foi'' (1850) *''

Alexandre Vinet Alexandre Rodolphe Vinet (17 June 17974 May 1847) was a Swiss literary critic and theology, theologian. Literary critic He was born near Lausanne, Switzerland. Educated for the Protestantism, Protestant ministry, he was ordained in 1819, when alr ...

, sa vie et ses écrits'' (1853) *''Lettres à mon curé'' (1853) *''M. Proudhon, ou la banqueroute du Socialisme'' (1858) *''Études critiques sur la littérature contemporaine'' (1863-1889) *''Études critiques de littérature'' (1876) *''Diderot'' (1880) *''La Démocratie et la France'' (1883) *''Études sur la littérature au XVIIIe siècle'' (1891). He also wrote a biography of

Melchior Grimm Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm (26 September 172319 December 1807) was a German-born French-language journalist, art critic, diplomat and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' ...

(1887).

Articles

"The French Republic and the Catholic Church,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XXXVII, June 1880.

Notes

References

* Attribution: * This work in turn cites: **A memoir of him by V. C. O. Gréard, 1890 **An article by Professor E. Dowden in the ''Fortnightly Review'' (April 1889) {{DEFAULTSORT:Scherer, Edmond Henri Adolphe 1815 births 1889 deaths Clergy from Paris French Calvinist and Reformed theologians French republicans Members of the National Assembly (1871) French life senators French critics 19th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 19th-century French theologians French male non-fiction writers 19th-century French male writers Politicians from Paris