Candide
- Author: Voltaire
- Narrator: Geoffrey Giuliano And the Icon Ensemble
- Publisher: Author's Republic
- Duration: 3:51:51
Synopsis
Candide is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947). 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, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical 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".
Candide is characterized by its tone as well as by its erratic, fantastical, and fast-moving plot. A picaresque novel with a story similar to that of a more serious coming-of-age narrative, it parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is bitter and matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. As philosophers of Voltaire's day contended with the problem of evil, so does Candide in this short theological novel, albeit more directly and humorously. Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers. Through Candide, he assaults Leibniz and his optimism.
Candide has enjoyed both great success and great scandal. Immediately after its secretive publication, the book was widely banned to the public because it contained religious blasphemy, political sedition, and intellectual hostility hidden under a thin veil of naïveté. However, with its sharp wit and insightful portrayal of the human condition
Chapters
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chapter 01
Duration: 11s -
chapter 02
Duration: 09min -
chapter 03
Duration: 05min -
chapter 04
Duration: 05min -
chapter 05
Duration: 07min -
chapter 06
Duration: 06min -
chapter 07
Duration: 03min -
chapter 08
Duration: 04min -
chapter 09
Duration: 06min -
chapter 10
Duration: 03min -
chapter 11
Duration: 04min -
chapter 12
Duration: 08min -
chapter 13
Duration: 09min -
chapter 14
Duration: 05min -
chapter 15
Duration: 07min -
chapter 16
Duration: 04min -
chapter 17
Duration: 08min -
chapter 18
Duration: 08min -
chapter 19
Duration: 12min -
chapter 20
Duration: 11min