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Title:       Works of Voltaire
Book:        Candide
Author:      Voltaire
Critic:      Sobel, Robert
Affiliation: Assistant Professor Of History, Hofstra University

Candide: Chapters 1 - 7

Chapter One How Candide Was Brought Up In A Beautiful Country House, And How
He Was Driven Away

     Candide, a fine young man, lived in Westphalia, at the country seat of
Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh. He was called Candide (candid) because of his
"unaffected simplicity." The Baron was probably the boy's uncle. Candide was
not recognized as his nephew, however, perhaps because his suspected father
could only list seventy-one ancestors.

     The Baron was the most important man in the state; "they all called him
Your Lordship, and laughed at his jokes." The Baroness was very fat, and so
was considered very important. Her daughter, Cunegonde, was quite beautiful.
The family's tutor, Dr. Pangloss, was an authority on all matters, and was
admired by Candide. Pangloss taught "metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology."
"He proved incontestably that there is no effect without a cause, and that in
this best of all possible worlds, his lordship's country seat was the most
beautiful of mansions and her ladyship was the best of all possible ladyships.
All things were made for a purpose. Noses were made to carry glasses, and so
we have glasses. Legs were intended for pants, and so we wear pants."

[Hear The Teachings Of Dr. Pangloss]

     Candide believed Pangloss and loved Cunegonde. One day Cunegonde saw
Pangloss flirting with a waiting-woman. His "teachings" led her to desire
Candide. Then the two kissed. The Baron witnessed this, drove Candide from the
house, and boxed Cunegonde's ears.

Comment:

     Voltaire wrote in spare prose, but each sentence sparkles with wit. In
this introductory chapter we meet Candide, and are immediately told that he
represents simplicity. He is the type of hero "to whom things happen." In
other words, Voltaire will develop his ideas by presenting the world through
Candide's eyes. Candide is the perennial boy who says the Emperor is wearing
no clothes; he is innocence incarnate. To a lesser extent, so is Cunegonde.
Voltaire pokes fun at the nobility in his descriptions of the Baron and
Baroness. But his satire is directed primarily at Pangloss. Here is the
pretentious philosophe, who claims to encompass all knowledge in his
teachings; the pseudo-scientist who is not above making a pass at a
servant-girl. Pangloss' philosophy is a perversion of Leibnitz' teachings, and
resembles those of Pope and Shaftesbury. He claims this is the best of all
possible worlds, and perceives a good purpose in all that occurs. We will see
his reasoning develop as the book progresses. Voltaire tells us that Pangloss
is Candide's teacher. Thus, innocence will be shown that the brutality of the
world is really good in disguise.

Chapter Two What Happened To Candide Amongst The Bulgars

     Candide was dejected as he wandered away from the Baron's castle. The
next day, cold and hungry, he stopped at an inn in the nearby town of
Waldberghoff-trarbk-dikdorff. There he met two men dressed in blue uniforms
who were recruiting officers, and saw in Candide a potential soldier. They
invited him to dine, and asked Candide if he admired the Bulgar King. Candide
said he didn't know the King. The soldiers asked Candide to drink to the
King's health anyway, which he did. The soldiers considered this to be an
avowal of support and an enlistment in the Bulgar Army. "You are now his
support and defender," they said, "and a Bulgar hero in the bargain. Your
fortune is made. Go where glory waits you." With this, Candide was clapped
into irons and taken to the barracks. He was taught the manual of arms and
given thirty lashes. The training continued the next day, at which time
Candide was given twenty lashes. The third day he received only ten. Candide
thus showed remarkable progress, and was considered a fine soldier.

     Candide did not like the military life, and tried to desert. He was
captured, and after a court martial was given the choice of being shot twelve
times in the brain or being flogged thirty-six times by the entire regiment.
Candide believed in free will, and wanted to say that he chose neither, but
he had to pick one of the alternatives. Exercising his liberty, he chose the
floggings. After running the regiment twice, and having received 4,000 blows,
he was near death. Candide begged to be beheaded and the soldiers decided to
grant him that favor.

     Just as he was about to be killed, the Bulgar King passed by, and asked
about Candide's crime. Recognizing that Candide was a philosopher, and
ignorant of the ways of the world, he decided to grant him a pardon, "an act
of mercy which will be praised in every newspaper and in every age." Candide
was just about healed of his wounds when a war broke out between the Bulgars
and the Abars.

Comment:

     Candide's encounter at the inn is the first time our hero-a believer in
logic and reason-comes face to face with the real world. He is "bilked" by the
recruiting officers: praised for his patriotism, told he is a hero, and then
taken to camp in chains. So much for the glory of military life! In camp,
progress is measured by the fact that Candide receives less punishment each
day of training. In this section, Voltaire views the world through the eyes of
Pangloss. He implies that Candide should be proud and happy to have progressed
to the point where he is receiving only ten lashes! But Candide, being
innocent, does not realize this, and attempts to flee. He is captured, put on
trial, and then given his choice of two methods of death. So much for the
doctrine of free will as expounded by the optimists of the Enlightenment. Can
such a choice ever be free? Candide elects to be flogged, and after two runs
through the regiment, pleads for the mercy of death. Voltaire says that the
soldiers decide to grant this request, and so shows the hypocrisy of the
modern world. It is an act of mercy to behead a man! In addition, Voltaire
shows the nature of bureaucratic thinking; it never occurs to anyone that
Candide may not have to be killed at all. Our hero is finally saved by the
King of the Bulgars, who most students of the book recognize as Frederick the
Great. Candide is pardoned, for as a philosopher, he cannot be expected to
know anything. Thus, Voltaire dismisses those philosophes who spend their time
thinking, but have never bothered to observe the world around them.

Chapter Three How Candide Escaped From The Bulgars, And What Happened To Him
Afterwards

     The author opens by describing the grandeurs of two armies preparing for
combat. Quite casually, he mentions that the opening salvo from the artillery
killed about twelve thousand men. Then nine or ten thousand are killed by
rifle fire. Bayonet attacks account for several thousand more. The total
deaths were about thirty thousand. Candide was no hero-and as Voltaire
implies, no fool-he "trembled like a philosopher, and hid himself as best he
could during this heroic butchery."

     The rival kings celebrate their victories (Voltaire reveals that each
considered the carnage to be a victory for his own side) with Te Deums.
Candide decides to investigate the results of the battle, and goes into the
battlefield, reaching a village on the Abar side of the border. The village
was ruined, "for the Bulgars had burned it to the ground in accordance with
the terms of international law." The dead and wounded were everywhere.

     Then Candide goes to a Bulgar village, and sees the same misery and
destruction there. He continues to walk, and is soon away from the war zone.
He enters Holland, hungry and thinking of Cunegonde. Candide has heard that
the Dutch are rich and Christian; he feels he will be treated well in Holland.
Yet, when he asks some passers-by for bread, they tell him that he will be
sent to a reformatory if he continues to beg.

     Candide then approaches a group which is being addressed by an orator on
the subject of charity. The orator asks if Candide supports "the Good Old
Cause." Like a philosopher, Candide replies that there is no effect without a
cause and that all is arranged for the best, feeling he was destined to be
driven from Cunegonde and undergo the torments of the past few days. The
orator does not understand this, and asks Candide if he thinks the Pope is an
Antichrist. Our hero replies that he has never heard anyone say so, and in any
case, he wants some food. The orator-a minister-says that Candide does not
deserve to eat, and threatens him with harm unless he leaves. The minister's
wife is not so charitable; on hearing that Candide is not sure the Pope is an
Antichrist, she empties a pot filled with an undescribed substance on his
head, "which shows to what lengths ladies are driven by religious zeal."
James, an Anabaptist who had never been christened, takes pity on Candide,
takes him home, washes and feeds him, and then offers him a job manufacturing
"those Persian silks that are made in Holland." Candide is grateful; Pangloss
was right, and all is for the best in the world.

     Candide meets a beggar covered with sores the next day. The beggar is in
poor condition and coughs violently.

Comment:

     Voltaire opens by describing the beauties of armies and the
horrors of war. This kind of juxtaposition was one of Voltaire's favorite
devices; he uses it throughout Candide and it can be found in his other works
of satire. He then tells of the casualties of battle, and notes that Candide
hid throughout the conflict. Voltaire considers this to be the only course of
action open to a wise man in time of war. If war is stupid-and Voltaire
believes it is-then why fight? (It is interesting to note that Bertrand
Russell has given the same advice to the young men of today. If and when a new
war comes, Russell counselled, hide and save yourselves, for you will be
needed to reconstruct the world after the barbarians kill themselves.)
Voltaire continues, taking Candide on a tour of the battlefields after the
fighting ends. He describes scenes of horror in towns burned under the strict
regulations adhering to international law, again indicating his contempt of
the bureaucratic mind. Then Candide goes to Holland, expecting to find the
people there Christian in temper. He is told to stop begging and go about his
business. Christ called for love and charity, by the eighteenth century
Christian apparently has little of either to dispense. This allusion is
fortified by the episode of the preacher and his wife. These dedicated people
of the cloth treat Candide most shabbily. Voltaire is especially scornful of
the wife. Her crime is that of fanaticism. A fanatic for Christ can be the
most bigoted and un-Christian of people. Candide is finally saved by a man who
was not baptized, but is the first person of decent inclinations we meet in
the book. He is apparently a merchant, and even here Voltaire cannot suppress
a dig. His business is producing Persian silks-in Holland! Yet, through this
all, Candide remains the optimist.

Chapter Four How Candide Met His Old Tutor, Dr. Pangloss And What Came Of It

     Candide feels sorry for the old beggar, and he gives him some coins that
James had given him. Then, the beggar begins to hug Candide, who shrinks in
horror and then surprise. It appears that the old beggar is none other than
Dr. Pangloss! Candide leads his old teacher to the Anabaptist's stable, gives
him some food, and asks about Cunegonde. He is told that Cunegonde is dead,
disemboweled by Bulgar soldiers who first raped her repeatedly. The Baron and
Baroness were killed when they tried to defend her; the Baron had his head
broken while the Baroness was cut into small pieces. The Bulgars also
destroyed the castle, in revenge for an Abar destruction of a Bulgar castle.
With this, Candide faints.

     When Candide recovers, he asks how it is that Pangloss has been reduced
to such a pitiful state in this best of all possible worlds. Pangloss replies
it is because of love. He had enjoyed Paquette, the serving-girl at the
palace. Alas, she had venereal disease! Pangloss is infected with it. It
seems that Paquette got it from a learned Franciscan, who showed his learning
by tracing it back to its source, one of the companions of Christopher
Columbus. The line will end with Pangloss, who fears he is dying.

     Candide asks if the devil is behind all this. Pangloss replies that this
is not the case. If Columbus had not visited the West Indies, where the
disease was contracted, we would not have chocolate or cochineal. The disease,
like religious wars, is a European malady; it has not infected other people.

     Candide says that a cure must be found; Pangloss replies he has no money
for doctors, and none will cure him without a fee. Candide tells James about
Pangloss, and the good Anabaptist agrees to pay for the cure: Pangloss is
saved, and loses only an eye and an ear. He then takes employment as
accountant for the Anabaptist.

     Two months later the three men take a business trip to Lisbon. While on
board the ship, Pangloss and James discuss Pangloss' belief that all is for
the best. James disagrees with this and argues that God may have meant this
to be the case, but man has changed it. Man was not intended to be a wolf, yet
he acts like one. God did not give men guns, yet man made them and has
destroyed, killed, and maimed his fellow-creatures. Pangloss has a ready
answer. These are more examples of his belief in progress. These misfortunes
contribute to the general good, and so the more misfortunes there are, the
better things will be! While the two men discuss the question, the ship is
caught in a terrible storm, just in sight of Lisbon.

Comment:

     On meeting Candide, Pangloss tells him of the death of Cunegonde and her
parents. They have been killed in the Bulgar-Abar Wa-which appears to be the
Seven Years' War. Candide cannot understand how Pangloss can remain
optimistic, considering his present state of disease and starvation. Pangloss
replies that Candide cannot see the whole picture. With the use of Liebniz'
philosophy, he argues that while it is true that there are apparent wrongs in
the world, when placed in the total context, they will be seen as the good. It
seems true that Pangloss would not have venereal disease if Columbus had not
gone to the West Indies. But if he had not gone there, then Europe would not
have chocolate. Pangloss then makes an invidious comparison between venereal
disease and religious wars: both are European maladies. Thus, Voltaire
indicates his contempt of organized religion. While on the ship to Lisbon,
James and Pangloss argue the question of apparent evil in a world that is
supposedly good. In this discussion, Pangloss refuses to allow himself to be
dissuaded by James' request to look at the world. He says, in effect, "Don't
bother me with facts; I've made up my mind."

Chapter Five Describing Tempest, Shipwreck, And Earthquake, And What Happened
To Dr. Pangloss, Candide, And James, The Anabaptist

     Half the passengers on the ship became sick during the storm, while the
other half cried and said their prayers. The ship seemed on the verge of
sinking. James tried to help direct the ship, and was struck down by an
excited sailor, who fell into the sea as a result of his fear. James assisted
the sailor when he climbed back aboard the ship, but he himself was pitched
into the sea as a result of his efforts. The sailor, now safe, did nothing to
help him. Candide saw James go down, and wanted to jump into the sea to save
him. He was stopped by Pangloss, who tried to prove that Lisbon harbor was
built in order for James to drown there. While Pangloss weaved his
philosophical discourse, the ship split in two. All were lost, except Candide,
Pangloss, and the sailor whom James had saved. The three men were washed
ashore. When they had recovered sufficiently, they started toward town.

     As they reached Lisbon, the earth began to tremble, and the sea in the
harbor began to boil, destroying many ships. The entire city was levelled by
the earthquake, and thirty thousand people died in the ruins.

     The sailor chuckled, and remarked that Lisbon was ripe for looting.
Pangloss asked what the reason for the phenomenon might be. Candide thought
the Day of Judgement had come.

     The sailor rushed into the city and began looting. He then got drunk,
found a prostitute whom he paid with some of the stolen money, and slept with
her among the ruins. Pangloss tried to stop him, saying that the sailor was
not obeying the rule of reason. The sailor was contemptuous of this advice and
stated he was born in Batavia, in the East Indies, and had trampled on the
crucifix four times on his trips to Japan. "I'm not the man for your Universal
Reason."

     Meanwhile, Candide had fallen in the rubble, wounded by masonry
splinters. He called to Pangloss, asking for wine and oil for his last rites.
But Pangloss ignored the plea, and spoke of the earthquake instead. It was
not a new earthquake, he said; Lima, Peru, had a similar disaster, and
Pangloss believed there was a vein of sulphur running between that city and
Lisbon. Candide didn't agree, and renewed his cry for wine and oil. Pangloss
ignored the request, and restated his belief that the two earthquakes were
interconnected. Candide lost consciousness, and Pangloss revived him with
water from a nearby fountain.

     The next day, Pangloss and Candide found some food among the ruins and
satisfied their hunger. Some of those they had helped gave them a meal, and
all cried while they ate. Pangloss tried to cheer them up; things could not
be otherwise, he said. The earthquake was a manifestation of the correctness
of things, he maintained. If there was a volcano at Lisbon, it could be
nowhere else. Things cannot be anywhere except where they are, for everything
is for the best.

     A member of the Inquisition heard this, and approached Pangloss. He said
that it appeared as though Pangloss did not believe in original sin; "for if
all is for the best, there can be no such thing as the fall of Man and
eternal punishment." Pangloss disagreed; while it was certainly true that Man
had fallen from grace, the fall itself was for the best, being part of the
divine scheme of the universe. The member of the Inquisition then asked
Pangloss whether he believed in Free Will. Pangloss answered that Free Will
was consistent with  all he had said. It was ordained that we should be free.
As he spoke, the officer turned to a henchman, who was then occupied with
pouring him a glass of port wine.

Comment:

     There are two parts to this chapter, and two messages. The
first is concerned with James and the sailor; the second with the earthquake
and its results. Note that James, who was not baptized, saves his fellow man.
The sailor, presumably a Christian, is ungrateful and acts in a disgraceful
manner. When Pangloss tries to reason with the sailor, he is rebuffed; the
sailor will have nothing to do with Universal Reason. So much for the nature
of the "common man." To Voltaire, he is an ungrateful animal, who is incapable
of good, and acts by his emotions, and not his brain. He says he does not
desire Reason, and Voltaire seems to agree. The author, unlike many of the
philosophes (especially Rousseau) does not glorify the common man. To
Rousseau, the noble savage was the best hope of the world; to Voltaire, he was
for more savage than noble. The importance of the Lisbon Earthquake to
Voltaire and other philosophes has already been discussed. It dealt a
shattering blow to the optimism of the mid-eighteenth century. Pangloss voices
a rather weak defense of God's will in the midst of this disaster - a
caricature of the Leibnitz position on such matters. The satire of this
chapter and the others dealing with the Lisbon Earthquake was directed more at
Rousseau than anyone else. Rousseau said that man must learn to be patient
and endure the unendurable. Evil is the result of his own nature and the
nature of the universe. He intimates that God has done the best he can by
man, and man must learn to live with what he has. Voltaire responds in
Candide by asking why an omnipotent, benevolent God would let such things
as the Lisbon Earthquake occur. He would agree with Rousseau's view as to
the depravity of man, but could not accept the younger man's views on the
nature of God.

Chapter Six How A Magnificent Auto-Da-Fe Was Staged To Prevent Further
Earthquakes, And How Candide Was Flogged

     The authorities at the University of Coimbra decided that the burning
of a few people would prevent future earthquakes. Thus, an auto-da-fe was
planned. (An auto-da-fe is an "act of faith." In the Middle Ages they
usually took the form of burning heretics at the stake and other killings and
tortures. In some ways, they resembled the sacrifices ancient people made to
their deities. In others, they were a manifestation of the scape goat theory,
in which the person to be sacrificed took upon himself the sins of the
community, and his death absolved the community of its collective guilt.)

     The authorities searched for suitable candidates for the sacrifice.
They found a Basque who was convicted of marrying his godmother, and two
Portuguese Jews who refused to eat bacon. Pangloss and Candide were also
taken; Pangloss had said that the earthquake was all for the best, and Candide
had listened to him. They were taken to a jail "where they suffered no
inconvenience from the sun." Thus, they languished in a dark dungeon until
they were dressed in ceremonial garb and taken to be executed. They heard
a moving sermon and beautiful music; Candide was flogged in time to the
anthems. Their companions were burned and Pangloss was hung. But on the same
day, apparently after the sacrifices, another earthquake occurred. Candide
could not understand this. If this is the best of all worlds, what are the
others like? Were all the horrible things that had happened to him really
necessary? An old woman then stopped him and asked Candide to follow her.

Comment:

     In this short chapter, Voltaire shows the monstrousness of
some religious activities. Christians burn their fellow men at the stake,
and Candide is flogged in time to a hymn of praise to God. Candide cannot
understand this, and questions his beliefs.

Chapter Seven How An Old Woman Took Care Of Candide, And How He Found The Lady
He Loved

     It was difficult for Candide to compose himself, but he followed the
old woman, who took him to her home and fed him. He tried to thank her,
but she went away without saying more, only bidding him to eat, rest, and
rub himself with ointment. Candide did all of these things.

     When the old woman returned the next day, Candide asked why she was so
kind. She did not reply, and again left. In the evening she returned, and told
Candide to follow her. He was taken to a house on the outskirts of town, and
shown into a richly decorated bedroom. Then she left him alone. Shortly she
returned, and with her was a veiled Cunegonde. The young people were overcome
with joy. After a while, Candide questioned her. He had been told by Pangloss
that she had been ravished and disemboweled. Was this not true? Cunegonde said
it was so, but people don't always die of such things. Her parents and brother
had been killed, however. Then Candide asked what she was doing in Portugal,
and in this house. Why did she have him brought here? Cunegonde promises to
answer all of his questions, but first wanted to know what had happened to
him. Candide then related his sad story. When he had finished, she began her
tale.

Comment:

     This chapter serves as an introduction to the story of Cunegonde's
adventures, which in some ways resemble those of Candide. The reader should
note that Cunegonde, who was described as dead in a previous chapter,
reappears suddenly and dramatically. Voltaire uses this device on several
occasions in the book. This was an artistic device used by other writers of
the time; Voltaire carries it to an extreme, thus satirizing some of his
contemporaries. In general, the intent of Candide is not to tell a story, but
to present a dramatized attack on a philosophical school. Voltaire feels free
to take such liberties with his story, if they serve this purpose.

