Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire, written by Voltaire in 1759. Frequently described as face paced the book begins with a young man, Candide, living in the castle of Barons Thunder-ten-tronckh being taught by Pangloss, a philosopher who believed in Optimism. The book follows the tale of Candides expulsion from this life and his suffering of the hardships of this world. Candide loses his mentor and pickes up another, Martin, who is a pessimist the two men argue about philosophy.
The book bases events on real historical happenings, the Sevens Years war, the Portuguses Inquisition, and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. This book did cause quite a stir when first published it was banned because of the religious blasphemy and political sedition, in this the best of all possible of worlds. This book is closely related to Swifts Gullivers travels, published 1726.
Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not outright rejecting optimism, advocating an enigmatic rule, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds".
The book bases events on real historical happenings, the Sevens Years war, the Portuguses Inquisition, and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. This book did cause quite a stir when first published it was banned because of the religious blasphemy and political sedition, in this the best of all possible of worlds. This book is closely related to Swifts Gullivers travels, published 1726.
Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not outright rejecting optimism, advocating an enigmatic rule, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds".
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
