"Optimism" actually refers to an optimal world - Leibniz's theory, very briefly, was that given the existence of a benevolent, all-powerful deity, this world must necessarily be the best (or most optimal) of all possible worlds, as if it were possible for there to be a better one, God would have made that one instead. A common misapprehension about the story (and Voltaire's point) is that Candide refers to "optimism" in the sense of being optimistic - i.e., seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. "If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?"Ĭandide, or Optimism was Voltaire's satiric refutation of Leibniz's Theodicy. This picaresque tale somewhat resembles Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels as a fantastic travelogue loaded with satirical points, but it's not nearly as imaginative, nor as humorous, except in the most farcical way. Voltaire supposedly wrote his famous satire Candide in three days. But when his love for the Baron's rosy-cheeked daughter is discovered, Candide is cast out to make his own way in the world.Īnd so he and his various companions begin a breathless tour of Europe, South America and Asia, as an outrageous series of disasters befall them - earthquakes, syphilis, a brush with the Inquisition, murder - sorely testing the young hero's optimism. Available for free on Project Gutenberg.īrought up in the household of a powerful Baron, Candide is an open-minded young man, whose tutor, Pangloss, has instilled in him the belief that 'all is for the best'. This catalog page is provided by The Online Books Page, and the literature by Project Gutenberg.First published in 1759, approximately 35,000 words.
Candide from Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg Presents Candide by Voltaire contrib.
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