Title page from Candide, ou l’Optimisme; traduit de l’Allemand de M. le Docteur Ralph

Candide, ou l’Optimisme; traduit de l’Allemand de M. le Docteur Ralph

Voltaire’s “philosophic tale” is a clever satire of France in the mid-18th century. He makes fun of religious intolerance, the destructiveness of war, and the foibles of mankind. He concludes with a plea that we should all “cultivate our own gardens”.