A recent work[22] provides indirectly unintentional support to my denial that Mandeville was an exponent of laissez-faire. In this work we are told that "The most famous exponent of what Halevy calls the natural identity of interests is Bernard Mandeville" and that "What Mandeville did for the principle of the natural identity of interests Helvetius did for that of their artificial identity," that is, "that the chief utility of governments consists in their ability to force men to act in their own best interests when they feel disinclined to do so." It so happens, however, that Helvetius as an apostle of state intervention was not only not departing from Mandeville but was echoing him even as to language. Helvetius said that motives of personal temporal interest sufficed for the formation of a good society, provided they were "manies avec adresse par un legislateur habile."[23] [22] John Plamenatz, _The British Utilitarians_, Oxford and New York, 1949, pp. 48-49. [23] Helvetius, _De l'esprit_, Discours II. Ch. XXIV. In the French version of _The Fable of the Bees_, the phrasing is almost identical: See _La fable des abeilles_, Paris, 1750, e.g. II. 261: "menages avec dexterite par d'habiles politiques." When the Sorbonne, in 1759, condemned _De l'esprit_, it cited _The Fable of the Bees_ as among the works which could have inspired it. (F. Gregoire. _Bernard De Mandeville_, Nancy, 1947, p. 206). Kaye, in his "The Influence of Bernard Mandeville," (_loc. cit._, p. 102), says that _De l'esprit_ "Is in many ways simply a French paraphrase of _The Fable_." In his edition of _The Fable of the Bees_, however, he says, "I think we may conclude no more than that Helvetius had probably read _The Fable_." (_Fable of the Bees_, I. CXLV, Note). Kaye systematically fails to notice the significance of Mandeville's emphasis on the role of the "skilful Politician." Here also there is a close link between Mandeville, Bayle, and the Jansenists, especially Nicole and Domat. All of them adopted a Hobbesian view of human nature. All of them followed Hobbes in believing that the discipline imposed by positive law and enforced by government was essential if a prosperous and flourishing society was to be derived from communities of individuals vigorously pursuing their self-regarding interests. Mandeville's originality was in pretending that in the interest of true morality he preferred that the individual pursuit of prosperity be abandoned even at the cost of social disaster. A LETTER TO DION, Occasion'd by his Book CALL'D ALCIPHRON, OR The MINUTE PHILOSOPHER. _By the Author of the_ FABLE _of the_ BEES. _LONDON:_ Printed and Sold by J. ROBERTS in _Warwick-Lane_. M.DCC.XXXII. _SIR_,