In 1723, while studying at
Lund University, he first accompanying his stepfather, Severin Böckman, to Stockholm and in 1726 he entered into public office there. Under the patronage of Baron Claes Rålamb (1682–1751) he rapidly rose to favor, and his skill and intelligence won him a golden reputation. In the 1730s, Dalin wrote plays for the theatre, inspired by French dramas and much admired by his contemporaries. In 1733 he started the weekly
Svenska Argus, on the model of
Joseph Addison's
The Spectator, writing anonymously until 1736. He became Royal Librarian (1737–39) and was later appointed
Rikshistoriograf (National Historiographer) (1755–56). With the avowed purpose of enlarging the horizons of his cultivation and tastes, Dalin set off, in the company of his pupil, Baron Rålamb's son, on a tour through
Germany and
France, in 1739-1740. Upon his return, the shifting political life at home caused him to write his famous satirical allegories,
Sagan om Hästen and
Aprilverk (1738), that were very popular and inspired countless imitations. His didactic epos of
Svenska Friheten appeared in 1742. Hitherto, Addison and
Alexander Pope had been his models. In this work he draws his inspiration from
Thomson, whose poem,
Liberty, he emulated. On the accession of King
Adolphus Frederick of Sweden in 1751, Dalin received the post of Tutor to the crown prince – afterwards
Gustavus III. He had enjoyed the confidence of Queen
Louisa Ulrika, sister of
Frederick the Great of Prussia, while she was crown princess, and she now made him secretary of the
Swedish Academy of Letters, founded by her in 1753. His position at court involved him in the queen's political intrigues, and separated him to a vexatious degree from the studies wherein he had hitherto been absorbed. He held the post of Tutor to the crown prince until 1756, when he was arrested on suspicion of taking part in the attempted
coup d'état that year, and was tried for his life before the
diet. He was acquitted, but was forbidden to show himself at court on any pretense. This period of exile, lasting until 1761, Dalin spent in the preparation of the third volume of his great historical work, the
Svea Rikes historia, that related events up to the death of King
Charles IX of Sweden in 1611. The first two volumes appeared in 1746-1750; the third, in two parts, in 1760-1762. Dalin had been made a noble in 1751, and made privy councillor in 1753. In 1761, he once more took his place at court. During his exile, however, his spirit and his health had been broken. In a fit of panic, he had destroyed some manuscripts of his best unpublished works, and this he constantly brooded over. In 1763, he died at his house in
Drottningholm. ==Posthumous works==