Candide, ou l'Optimisme (; French: ) 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: or, 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 (or simply "optimism") by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not rejecting 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".