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). This novella tells the tale of a young man, Candide (from the Latin candidus), 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.
Candide, Voltaire's magnum opus, is a literary work which, for its biting wit and insightful portrayal of the human condition, has often been mimicked by later authors and adapted for the stage (most notable is Leonard Bernstein's 1956 comic operetta). For these qualities, Candide is listed as part of the Western canon and taught more than any other work of French literature. As expected by Voltaire, Candide has enjoyed both great success and great scandal. Immediately after its secretive publication, the book was widely banned because of the contained religious blasphemy, political sedition and academic hostility hidden under a thin veil of naïveté.
