EPISTLE

-ception the Public gave it. * You were then, MY LORD, President of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and you deigned to share the tribute I paid to it; but my gratitude was not satisfied; it wished to manifest itself in a manner that was personal to you. Fortunately, I still had to publish a second part of the same Work, even more interesting than the previous one: everything prompted me to bring it forth only under your auspices, when the war forced me to interrupt my work. I consoled myself with this, because I foresaw that this event was going to open a new career of glory for you. Could it be, MY LORD, that while combining the natural and acquired qualities that herald great Statesmen, they could escape the discernment of our august Monarch? He did not delay, in fact, in placing you in a position to let them shine in his service, and you had the satisfaction of seeing that his choice answered the wishes of the Public. I leave to a pen more skilled than mine the merit of transmitting to posterity the consequences of such a glorious destiny; to represent to it the Soldier, equally moved by your attentiveness in obtaining in his favor the graces of HIS MAJESTY, and by your continual care in making more comforting than ever the magnificent asylum This refers to the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, the residence and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers, which fell under the Minister of War's jurisdiction. destined for valor mistreated by fate. By these traits, one recognizes, MY LORD,

* M. d'Argenson was at that time in charge of the Librairie The "Librairie" was the government administration responsible for the regulation, licensing, and censorship of the book trade and publishing in 18th-century France.

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