Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Lebrun had been "secrétaire des commandements" to the prince de Conti, and on his patron's death he lost this position. He also lost financially as a result of the bankruptcy of the prince de Guemene. To this period belongs a long poem, the "Veillées des Muses", which remained unfinished, and his ode to Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, which ranks among his best works.