SIMON, RICHARD. – French biblical scholar, born at Dieppe on 13 May 1638, died there on 11 April 1712. In October 1659 he entered the Oratory, leaving it about a year later and returning to it in 1662. For some time he taught at Juilly; he occupied himself with Oriental manuscripts in Paris (1665). In 1670 he was ordained a priest; but on 21 May he was expelled from the Oratory because of the strong opposition aroused against him by some of his books. S. first withdrew to Bolleville in Normandy, and then, apart from a brief period spent in Paris, to his native Dieppe.
Among his various works, some of them published under pseudonyms, the most important are: Fides Ecclesiae orientalis seu Gabrielis Philadelphiensis opuscula (Paris 1671); Histoire critique du Vieux Testament (there 1678), in which he limits Mosaic authenticity of the Pentateuch to its legislative portion, while in its present form it would be due to Ezra: the work was placed on the Index on 1 December 1682; Histoire critique du texte du Nouveau Testament (Amsterdam 1689); Histoire critique des versions du Nouveau Testament (Rotterdam 1690; placed on the Index together with the preceding work on 22 September 1693); Histoire critique des principaux commentateurs du Nouveau Testament (there 1693); Nouvelles observations sur le texte et les versions du Nouveau Testament (Paris 1695).
Much more a philologist than a theologian, S. is considered one of the pioneers of biblical criticism. Many of his observations are now viewed with admiration; but in his own time the audacity of certain assertions could not but be regarded as revolutionary. For this reason he became the object of harsh controversies,
also on account of his violent character, on the part of Catholics and Protestants. Among the rationalists, some (e.g., J. S. Semler) enthusiastically exalted him, while others did not spare him criticism. Among Catholics, Bossuet proved very harsh, composing, among other things, against S. the Défense de la tradition et des saints Pères (published only in 1763): but although the great orator appears to be a good theologian, he is not always equally successful in examining scriptural and patristic texts.