Candide

Note: For the operetta based on the book, please see Candide (operetta).

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Candide, ou l'Optimisme, (English: Candide, or Optimism) (1759) is a picaresque novel by the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire.

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Sardonic in outlook, it follows the na?ve 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 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, Pangloss continually asserts that tout est au mieux ("everything is for the best") and that he lives in le meilleur des mondes possibles ("the best of all possible worlds").

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Voltaire never openly admitted to having written the controversial Candide. The work is signed with a pseudonym: "Monsieur le docteur Ralph," literally "Mr. Dr. Ralph."

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Operetta: Operetta (literally, "little opera") is a performance art-form similar to opera, though it generally deals with less serious topics. Often some of the libretto is spoken rather than sung (but this is true of some operas as well). Instead of moving from one musical number (literally so indicated in...

Candide (operetta): Candide is a comic operetta by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. It has existed in many versions but is now generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler. The primary lyricist was Richard Wilbur. Other contributors to the text were John Latouche, Dorothy Parker,...

English: English in common usage may refer to:...

Candide related Images and Photos (experimental)

Candide and Cunegonde

My Captain Kept Me Concealed Behind Him and Cut Down Everyone Who Opposed Him Candide Voltaire