Produced by Bryan Ness, Christian Boissonnas and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.) AN ACCOUNT OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE JESUITS IN FRANCE. By M. D’ALEMBERT. Incorruptam fidem professis, nec amore quisquam, & fine odio dicendus est. Tacit. Hist. ch. 1. LONDON. Printed for T. BECKET and P. A. De HONDT, near Surry-street in the Strand. MDCCLXVI. To M. • • • COUNSELLOR TO THE PARLIAMENT OF • • •. Permit, Sir, an unknown, but zealous, citizen, an impartial historian of the Jesuits, to pay public homage to that truely philosophical patriotism which you have displayed in this affair. In exciting against the society the zeal of the magistrates, you have not neglected to fix their enlightened attention on all those men, who may have with this alien society any marks of resemblance, and who, arrayed in black, gray, or white, may acknowledge like it, in the very bosom of France, another country, and another sovereign. You have shewn no less lights in making known to the sage Depositaries of the laws, all the Men of the party, whoever they be, all the fanaticks, whatever livery they wear, whether they invoke _Francis of Paris_, or _Francis of Borgia_, whether they maintain _predeterminating decrees, or congruous assistances_. If the author of this writing had been able to ask you your opinions, his work would, without doubt, have gained greatly by it. May you, such as it is, grant it your suffrage, and receive it as a slender mark of the acknowledgement which religion, the state, philosophy, and letters owe to you. ADVERTISEMENT.