Justus van Effen

He gained international fame as a writer of French periodicals and a translator from English into French, and he is also recognized as one of the most important Dutch language writers of the 18th century and an influential figure of the Dutch Enlightenment.

Justus van Effen planned a scholarly career, and around 1699 he began his studies at the University of Utrecht, but after the early death of his father (on 6 May 1706) he was forced to become a private tutor, taking responsibilities for his mother and sister.

[3][5] From 1715 to 1727 he was a secretary at the Netherlands embassy in London, where he also became a member of the Royal Society,[2] and later, served as a clerk in the Dutch government warehouses (1732).

Its topics consisted of everything a coffeehouse audience would be interested in: politics, religion and morality, fashion, and humor.

Socially conservative, written in a pleasing tone and style, it raised important issues, questioning the reasons behind the waning position of the Dutch Republic on the international scene, and served as literary and moral guide for the bourgeoisie.