Candide

Voltaire's lightning satire: the best of all possible worlds tested by war, earthquake, and everything else.

Specifications & Metrics

author

Voltaire

type

Philosophical satire / conte

era

The Enlightenment (1759)

language

French

setting

Westphalia, South America, Constantinople, and everywhere

parts

30 chapters

Relative Scale in Novels

Core Principles & Analysis

• Published anonymously in Geneva, Paris, and elsewhere within weeks in 1759.
• Dr. Pangloss's 'best of all possible worlds' parodies Leibnizian optimism.
• 'We must cultivate our garden' closes its verdict on metaphysics.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Candide