Candide

Candide ou lOptimisme is a French satire by Voltaire a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. It begins with a young man Candide who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle followed by Candides slow painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide if not rejecting optimism outright advocating an enigmatic precept 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. Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) was a French Enlightenment writer historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties including freedom of religion freedom of expression free trade and separation of church and state. He was a prolific writer producing works in almost every literary form including plays poetry novels essays and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20000 letters and more than 2000 books and pamphlets.