Candide

Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

Candide, ou l’Optimisme, (“Candide, or Optimism”) (1759) is a picaresque novel by the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. Voltaire never openly admitted to having written the controversial Candide; the work is signed with a pseudonym: “Monsieur le docteur Ralph”, literally “Mister Doctor Ralph.”Sardonic in outlook, it follows the naïve protagonist Candide from his first exposure to the precept that “all is for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds,” and on through a series of adventures that dramatically disprove that precept even as the protagonist clings to it.The novel satirizes naïve interpretations of the philosophy of Gottfried Leibniz and is a showcase of the horrors of the 18th century world. In Candide, Leibniz is represented by the philosopher Pangloss, the tutor of the title character. Despite a series of misfortunes and misadventures, which include being present at the Lisbon Earthquake, Pangloss continually asserts that “Tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes possibles” (“All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds”). The novel ends with Candide finally rejecting the optimism espoused by Pangloss, saying, “Il faut cultiver notre jardin” (“It is necessary to cultivate our garden”). Summary from Wikipedia

Genre(s): Fantastic Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 Chapter 00 Fox in the Stars
00:07:49
Play 01 Chapter 01 Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
00:07:10
Play 02 Chapter 02 Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
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Play 03 Chapter 03 Justine Young
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Play 04 Chapter 04 Justine Young
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Play 05 Chapter 05 Justine Young
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Play 06 Chapter 06 EdwardT
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Play 07 Chapter 07 EdwardT
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Play 08 Chapter 08 featherheadfop
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Play 09 Chapter 09 featherheadfop
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Play 10 Chapter 10 featherheadfop
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Play 11 Chapter 11 featherheadfop
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Play 12 Chapter 12 EdwardT
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Play 13 Chapter 13 featherheadfop
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Play 14 Chapter 14 featherheadfop
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Play 15 Chapter 15 featherheadfop
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Play 16 Chapter 16 Dimitri Fotopoulos
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Play 17 Chapter 17 Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
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Play 18 Chapter 18 Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
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Play 19 Chapter 19 Joyce Nussbaum
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Play 20 Chapter 20 Joyce Nussbaum
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Play 21 Chapter 21 Joyce Nussbaum
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Play 22 Chapter 22 Joyce Nussbaum
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Play 23 Chapter 23 Joyce Nussbaum
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Play 24 Chapter 24 Joyce Nussbaum
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Play 25 Chapter 25 Joyce Nussbaum
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Play 26 Chapter 26 Fox in the Stars
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Play 27 Chapter 27 Fox in the Stars
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Play 28 Chapter 28 Fox in the Stars
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Play 29 Chapter 29 Fox in the Stars
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Play 30 Chapter 30 Fox in the Stars
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