ALEMBERT. 



society of select friends. But his cheer- 

 ful conversation, his smart and lively sal- 

 lies, a happy method at telling a story, a 

 singular mixture of malice of speech with 

 goodness of heart, and of delicacy of wit 

 with simplicity of manners, renderinghim 

 a pleasing and interesting companion, his 

 company began to be much sought after 

 in the fashionable circles. His reputation 

 at length made its way to the throne, and 

 rendered him the object of royal attention 

 and beneficence. The consequence was, 

 a pension from government, which he 

 owed to the friendship of count D'Argen- 

 son. 



But the tranquillity of D'Alembert was 

 abated when his fame grew more exten- 

 sive, and when it was known, beyond the 

 circle of his friends, that a fine and en- 

 lightened taste for literature and philoso- 

 phy accompanied his mathematical geni- 

 us. Our author's eulogist ascribes to envy, 

 detraction, &c. all the opposition and cen- 

 sure that D'Alembert met with on account 

 of the famous Encyclopedie, or Dictionary 

 of Arts and Sciences, in conjunction with 

 Diderot. None surely will refuse the 

 well deserved tribute of applause to the 

 eminent displays of genius, judgment, and 

 true literary taste, with which D'Alem- 

 bert has enriched that great work. Among 

 others, the Preliminary Discourse he has 

 prefixed to it, concerning the rise, pro- 

 gress, connections, and affinities, of all 

 the branches of human knowledge, is 

 perhaps one of the most capital produc- 

 tions the philosophy of the age can boast 

 of. 



Some time after this, D'Alembert pub- 

 lished his " Philosophical, Historical, and 

 Philological Miscellanies." These were 

 followed by the " Memoirs of Christiana, 

 Queen of Sweden;" in which D'Alembert 

 shewed that he was acquainted with the 

 natural rights of mankind, and was bold 

 enough to assert them. His " Essay on 

 the Intercourse of Men of Letters with 

 Persons high in Rank and Office" wound- 

 ed the former to the quick, as it exposed 

 to the eyes of the public the ignominy of 

 those servile chains, which they feared to 

 shake off, or were proud to wear. A lady 

 of the court, hearing one day the author 

 accused of having exaggerated the des- 

 potism of the great, and the submission 

 they require, answered slyly, " If he had 

 consulted me, I would have told him still 

 more of the matter." 



D'Alembert gave elegant speciments of 

 his literary abilities in his translations 

 of some select pieces of Tacitus. But 

 these occupations did not divert him from 



his mathematical studies ; for about tfrff 

 same time he enriched the Encyclopedia 

 with a multitude of excellent articles in that 

 line, and composed his "Researches on 

 several Important Points of the System of 

 the World," in which he carried to a high- 

 er degree of perfection the solution of the 

 problem concerning the perturbations of 

 the planets, that had several years before 

 been presented to the Academy. In 1759 

 he published his " Elements of Philoso- 

 phy ;" a work much extolled, as remark- 

 able for its precision and perspicuity. 

 The resentment that was kindled (and the 

 disputes that followed it) by the article 

 GENEVA, inserted in the Encyclopedie, 

 are well known. D'Alembert did not 

 leave this field of controversy with flying 

 colours. Voltaire was an auxiliary in the 

 contest; but as he had no reputation to 

 lose, in point of candour and decency, 

 and as he weakened the blows of his 

 enemies by throwing both them and the 

 spectators into fits of laughter, the issue 

 of the war gave him little uneasiness. It 

 fell more heavily on D'Alembert ; and ex- 

 posed him, even at home, to much con- 

 tradiction and opposition. It was on this 

 occasion that the late King of Prussia of- 

 fered him a)i honourable asylum at his 

 court, and the office of president of his 

 academy : and the king was not offended 

 at D'Alembert's refusal of these distinc- 

 tions, but cultivated an intimate friend- 

 ship with him during the rest of his life. 

 Fie had refused, some time before this 

 a proposal made by the Empress of Rus- 

 sia, to entrust him with the education of 

 the Grand Duke; a proposal accompa- 

 nied with all the flattering offers that 

 could tempt a man, ambitious of titles, or 

 desirous of makingan ample fortune ; but 

 the objectsof his ambition were tranquilli- 

 ty and study. In the year 1765, he publish- 

 ed his " Dissertation on the Destruction 

 of the Jesuits." This piece drew upon 

 him a swarm of adversaries, who only 

 confirmed the merit and credit of his 

 work by their manner of attacking it. 



Beside the works already mentioned, 

 he published nine volumes of memoirs 

 and treatises, under the title of" Opus- 

 cules?" in which he has resolved a mul- 

 tude of problems relating to astronomy, 

 mathematics, and natural philosophy ; of 

 which his panegyrist, Condorcet, gives a 

 particular account, more especially of 

 those which exhibit new subjects, or new 

 methods of investigation. He published 

 also " Elements of Mu^ic;" and render- 

 ed, at length, the system of Rameau in- 

 telligible; but he did riot think the mathe- 



