 The translation, by the Swiss J. Bertrand, was not particularly faithful to the original; according to Kaye, it was "a free one, in which the Rabelaisian element in Mandeville was toned down".By this time, French literati were familiar with Mandeville from the 1722 translation by Justus van Effen of his "Free Thoughts on Religion, the Church and National Happiness".They had also followed the "Fable"'s scandal in England.