Mably

Mably, Gabriel Bonnot de (1709-85), a distinguished French writer on politics and history, was born at Grenoble, and educated by the Jesuits at Lyons, but early abandoned theology for ancient history. Upon the issue of his Parallele des Remains et des Francais (1740) the Abbe Mably entered the service of Cardinal de Tencin, and in 1743 concluded a secret treaty with Prussia, while in 1746 he prepared the instructions of the French representative at the Congress of Breda. Mably soon after this quarrelled with his patron, and, retiring into private life, again occupied himself with history, his most valuable work being Observations sur l'Histoire de France.