ALE 



acquaintance with tlie rights of mankiird, ainl his courage 

 in alTcrtiiig them. His " Kfl"i!y on the Intcrcouric of Men 

 of I>etters, with Pcrfons high in rank and office," expofcd 

 the mean fcnility of the former, ami the infolent tyranny 

 of the latter. A lady of the court, who heard tlie author 

 blair.ed for exaggerating the defpotifni of the great, and the 

 fubmiflion whicli they require, ohferved ; " If he had con- 

 fuited nie, 1 could have told him llill more of the matter." 

 Thefe pieces, with other clTays on fuhjefts of polite litera- 

 ture, " Elogcs" on Bernouilli, TerralTon, Montefquieu, 

 Mallet and "Dumarfais, and " Elements of Philofophy," 

 were coll'.-ded into 5 vols. j2mo. about the year 1760, and 

 publilhcd under the title of " Melanges de Literature, 

 d'Hilloire, et de Philofophie." In 1765, M. d'Alcmbert 

 publilhed liis " DifTertation oh the Deftruftion of the Je- 

 I'uits," (De la Dellruclion des Jefuites. ) in i2mo. Paris; 

 a work which' not only ridicules, with the ketneft fatire, the 

 difciplcs of Ignatius Loyola, but treats with juil feverity 

 their adverfaries, and which expofed the writer to many 

 opprobrious and unmerited reflections. In the year 1772, 

 he was chofen fecretary to the Academy of Sciences ; and 

 foon after this honour, he formed the defign of writing the 

 lives of all the deccafed academicians from 1700 to 1771, 

 as a continuation of the " Hiitory of the Academy," pub- 

 lilhed by MeflVs. PelilTon and d'Olivet. This defign he 

 executed in three years, by compoling 70 eloges or pane- 

 gyrics, comprifed in 6 vols, izino. and publifhed at Paris 

 in 1787, under the title of " Hiftoire des Memoires de 

 1' Academic Frangoife, morts depuis," 1700, (ufqu'en 1 77 1. 

 " This colledlion, notwlthftanding fome inequalities of ftyle, 

 is jaftly admired : it abounds with Uvely portraits, amufing 

 anecdotes, ingenious parallels, and jull relletlions." 



As foon as M. d'Alembert engaged in the defign of pub- 

 lifliing the Encyclopedia, he emerged fi'om obfcurity, and 

 became an objecl of attention, not only in the circle of his 

 friends, to which he had hitherto been confined, but to the 

 public at large. Whilft many approved and commended 

 both the defign and the execution of it, the freedom with 

 which feveral articles were written, was condemned by 

 others, and fubjc'Jtcd M. d'Alembert, as well as others of 

 his colleagues, to confiderable obloquy. However, his li- 

 terary merit was now thought fufficient to entitle him to 

 royal patronage. In 1756 the intereft of the minifter, 

 Count D'Argenfon, obtained for him a penfion of 1200 

 livres. In 1762, he was invited by the eniprefs of Ruffia 

 xo undertake the education of her fon, the Grand Duke, 

 vith the offer of a falary of 100,000 livres, and -^ther pri- 

 vileges : but tiiis lucrative and honourable office, though 

 <nforced a fecond time by a letter under the emprtfs's own 

 hand, his attachment to his country and friends, aid his pre- 

 -fercnce of literary Icifure, induced him to decline. The 

 next year he was invited to an interview with the king of 

 Pruflia at Wefel : when they met, the king afFeftionately 

 embraced him ; and enquiring of the philofopher, " whe- 

 ■ther the mathematics fiirniihed any method of calculating 

 political probabilities ?" M. d'Alembert replied, " That if 

 Xnch a method exifted, it could be of no ufe to a hero, 

 who could conquer againft all probability." The king of- 

 fered him the prefidency of the Academy of Beriin, vacant 

 by the death of Maupertuis. But though the ferment, oc- 

 •cafioned in France by fome articles in the Encyclopedia, 

 and eipccially that of Geneva, -and the odium he haa per- 

 fonally incurred, might have led lim to feek an afjlum in 

 the court of a philofophical prince, he declined accepting 

 the flattering propofal ; neverthelefs 3 correfpondence fub'^ 

 ■filled between the king'and him as long as he hved. The 

 letters are publilhed ui the " Poaiiumous works of the 



A I- E 



king of rrufTia." This con-efpondcnce, and lh.it with Vol- 

 taire and other eminent perfons, his conllant intercourfe 

 with learned foreigners, as well as diflinguinied charadters at 

 home, and his influence in the academy, concurred to give 

 importance to M. d'Alcmbert ; and tliough he was called 

 the Ma^arin of literature, candour leads us to believe that 

 his influence was owing more to his talents, learning, and 

 virtues, than to artful management, and fupple addrefs. 

 His abhorrence of fuperftition and prieftcraft, it muft be 

 allowed, drove him into the extreme of infidelity ; and he 

 was not only lax in his religious principles, but on iome oc- 

 cafions indecorous in his mode of attacking doArines that 

 have been generally received even amongft thofe who have 

 been accuilomed to think freely on the iubjeCl of religion. 

 He feems to have adopted that fyftcm of deified nature, 

 which bereaves the world of a defigning caufe, and prefid- 

 ijig intelligence ; and his zeal in propagating the free no- 

 tions he had imbibed, aftuated by his enmity to the jefuits 

 and clergy, and animated by intercourfe with confidential 

 friends of the fame defcription, fometimes received a check, 

 and required a leflon of moderation even from the philolo- 

 pher Frederic. " The eccentricity of his opinions," fays a 

 liberal biographer, " did not, however, deilroy the \'irtues 

 of his heart. A love of truth, and a zeal for the progrefs 

 of fcience and freedom, formed the bafis of his churatler : 

 ftrift probity, a noble difintereftedneis, and an habitual de- 

 fire of obliging, were its diilinguifliing features. Many 

 young people, who dlfcovered talents for fcience and learn- 

 ing, found in him a patron and guide. To worthy men, 

 even in adverfity and perfecution, he was a firm and coura- 

 geous friend. To thofe who had fliewn him kindnefs, he 

 never ceafed to be grateful. Gratitude induced him to de- 

 dicate two of his works to two minifters, w hen they were 

 in difgrace, the Count d'Argenfon, to whom he owed his 

 penfion, and the Marquis d'Argenfon, who had given him 

 many proofs of refpect and efteem. When in early file. 

 Mad. de Tencin, informed of his fingular talents, came to 

 him, and fondly carefiing him, difcovered to him the fecret 

 of his birth: "What do you tell me!" he cried out; 

 " Ah I you are but a ftep-mother ; it is the glazier's wife 

 who is my mother." Through life he retained for his nurfe 

 the aff"e£tionate fenfibility of a gr.itcful fon. He remained 

 in her houfe near 30 years ; and did not leave it till in 1765, 

 after a long illnefs, his phyfician repreftnted to him the ne- 

 ceflity of removing to a more airy lodging. His health 

 being recruited, he continued to occupy his honourable ilation 

 among philofcphers, till the 29th of Oclober, 1783, when, 

 in the 66th y-earof his age, he expired ; leaving behind him 

 the reputation of amiable virtues and eminent talents. Per- 

 haps no charafter has ever appeared, which has more com- 

 pletely exemplified the union of ftrong mathematical genius 

 with an elegr.nt tafle for polite literat-jre." His eulogium 

 by Coudorcet is publifhed in the " Kift. de I'Acad. Royale 

 des Sciences," 1783. Monthly Rev. vol. Ixxvi, p. 238. 

 Nouv. Dia. Hift. Hutton's Math. Difl. Gen. Biog. 



ALEMBIC, Limbec, Jllambic, Fr. An alembic is one 

 of the numerous articles of DISTILLATORY apparatus. In 

 the Englilh laboratories and manufaftories its ufe is 

 almoft fuperfeded by the retort and flill ; but on the con. 

 tinent, efpecially in France, it continues to be the fa- 

 vourite veffel for diflillations in the large way. The French 

 indeed appear to have no word in their language fynony- 

 mous witli the Englifli one ftill, and hence the difference 

 between thefe two veflTels is but very imperfcftly noticed 

 even in their befl authors. As diitillation depends on the 

 feparation of the volatile from the more fixed parts of a 

 compound by the action of fire, it is obviou-Oy eflential to 

 3 every 



