Seize the Book, Jail the Author

Johann Lorenz Schmidt and Censorship in Eighteenth-century Germany

• Author(s): Paul Spalding,
• Publisher: Purdue University Press
• Pages: 347
• ISBN_10: 1557531161
  ISBN_13: 9781557531162
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Bibles / General , History / Europe / General , History / Europe / Germany , History / Europe / Renaissance , History / Modern / 18th Century , History / Social History , Literary Criticism / Renaissance , Political Science / Public Policy / General , Political Science / Censorship , Religion / General , Religion / Biblical Studies / General , Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / Old Testament , Religion / Christianity / History , Religion / Christian Church / History ,

Description:... Known as the Wertheim Bible, Schmidt's translation drew national attention for its intellectual and religious innovations. In the face of a wave of condemnations, supporters withdrew into silence, leaving Schmidt almost alone to defend his work and call for conditions of open debate. Saxony and Prussia issued book bans, followed by the German emperor's council and a host of other central European powers, and Schmidt was incarcerated. With the aid of loyal friends, he fled to Hamburg, where he spent most of his remaining years in relative obscurity, all the while continuing his campaign to bring free thinking to the German lands.