a French writer born in Tours, of Protestant parents, who lived most of his life in Britain or in British service on the continent. He went to London, and there obtained a situation as tutor in a private family. In this position he learnt mathematics, Greek, Italian, Spanish and several oriental languages. He took orders, and was appointed chaplain and secretary to the English minister at the court of Turin in October 1758. From 1760 to 1762, he was chargé d'affaires at Turin. Lord Bute, before retiring from office in 1763, procured him a pension. He again went to Turin as chargé d'affaires; and during this second mission he collected and published an edition of the works of Leibniz (Gothofridi Guillemi Leibnitii Opera Omnia, Geneva, 6 vols., 1768) and wrote his Recherches sur l'origine des découvertes attribuées aux modernes (1766).
