A satirical novella following young Candide as he journeys through a world of relentless suffering, war, natural disaster, and human cruelty — testing the optimistic philosophy of his tutor Pangloss, who insists they live in "the best of all possible worlds." Voltaire's darkly comic masterpiece skewers religious hypocrisy, philosophical optimism, and the complacency of the powerful, concluding with its famous injunction: "we must cultivate our garden."
30 chapters · Public domain
1
Chapter I — How Candide Was Brought Up in a Magnificent Castle, and How He Was Expelled Thence
~4 min · 2 pages
›2
Chapter II — What Became of Candide Among the Bulgarians
~4 min · 2 pages
›3
Chapter III — How Candide Made His Escape from the Bulgarians, and What Afterwards Became of Him
~4 min · 2 pages
›4
Chapter IV — How Candide Found His Old Master Pangloss, and What Happened to Them
~5 min · 3 pages
›5
Chapter V — Tempest, Shipwreck, Earthquake, and What Became of Doctor Pangloss, Candide, and James the Anabaptist
~4 min · 2 pages
›6
Chapter VI — How the Portuguese Made a Beautiful Auto-da-Fé, to Prevent Any Further Earthquakes
~2 min · 1 pages
›7
Chapter VII — How the Old Woman Took Care of Candide, and How He Found the Object He Loved
~3 min · 2 pages
›8
Chapter VIII — The History of Cunegonde
~5 min · 3 pages
›9
Chapter IX — What Became of Cunegonde, Candide, the Grand Inquisitor, and the Jew
~3 min · 2 pages
›10
Chapter X — In What Distress Candide, Cunegonde, and the Old Woman Arrived at Cadiz; and of Their Embarkation
~3 min · 2 pages
›11
Chapter XI — History of the Old Woman
~6 min · 3 pages
›12
Chapter XII — The Adventures of the Old Woman Continued
~7 min · 3 pages
›13
Chapter XIII — How Candide Was Forced Away from His Fair Cunegonde and the Old Woman
~4 min · 2 pages
›14
Chapter XIV — How Candide and Cacambo Were Received by the Jesuits of Paraguay
~6 min · 3 pages
›15
Chapter XV — How Candide Killed the Brother of His Dear Cunegonde
~4 min · 2 pages
›16
Chapter XVI — Adventures of the Two Travellers, with Two Girls, Two Monkeys, and the Savages Called Oreillons
~6 min · 3 pages
›17
Chapter XVII — Arrival of Candide and His Valet at El Dorado, and What They Saw There
~6 min · 3 pages
›18
Chapter XVIII — What They Saw in the Country of El Dorado
~9 min · 4 pages
›19
Chapter XIX — What Happened to Them at Surinam and How Candide Got Acquainted with Martin
~9 min · 4 pages
›20
Chapter XX — What Happened at Sea to Candide and Martin
~4 min · 2 pages
›21
Chapter XXI — Candide and Martin, Reasoning, Draw Near the Coast of France
~3 min · 2 pages
›22
Chapter XXII — What Happened in France to Candide and Martin
~17 min · 8 pages
›23
Chapter XXIII — Candide and Martin Touched upon the Coast of England, and What They Saw There
~2 min · 1 pages
›24
Chapter XXIV — Of Paquette and Friar Giroflée
~8 min · 4 pages
›25
Chapter XXV — The Visit to Lord Pococurante, a Noble Venetian
~9 min · 5 pages
›26
Chapter XXVI — Of a Supper Which Candide and Martin Took with Six Strangers, and Who They Were
~6 min · 3 pages
›27
Chapter XXVII — Candide's Voyage to Constantinople
~6 min · 3 pages
›28
Chapter XXVIII — What Happened to Candide, Cunegonde, Pangloss, Martin, Etc.
~5 min · 3 pages
›29
Chapter XXIX — How Candide Found Cunegonde and the Old Woman Again
~2 min · 1 pages
›30
Chapter XXX — The Conclusion
~8 min · 4 pages
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