Candide, ou l'Optimisme (1759) is a French satire by the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, the title of which has been translated into English as Candide: Or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: Or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Or, Optimism (1947).[4] This novella tells the tale of a young man, Candide (from the Latin candidus[5]), who has been indoctrinated with Leibnizian Optimism but becomes disillusioned after witnessing and experiencing great hardships. With a plot similar to that of a more serious bildungsroman or picaresque novel, Candide parodies many adventure and romance clichés. Voltaire describes horrible plights of his characters in a tone that is mordantly matter-of-fact. Through the allegory of Candide, Voltaire ridicules religion and theologians, governments and armies, philosophies and philosophers; most conspicuously, he rails against Leibniz and his Optimism.[6]...