history formal3.2

THE BEDFORD SERIES IN HISTORY AND CULTURE

Candide by Voltaire

WITH RELATED DOCUMENTS

SECOND EDITION

Translated, Edited, and with an Introduction by

Daniel Gordon University of Massachusetts Amherst

& bedford /st. martin's Macmillan Learning Boston | New York

For Bedford/St. Martin's

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Foreword

The Bedford Scries in History and Culture is designed so that readers can study the past as historians do.

The historian's first task is finding the evidence. Documents, letters, memoirs, interviews, pictures, movies, novels, or poems can provide facts and clues. Then the historian questions and compares the sources. There is more to do than in a courtroom, for hearsay evidence is wel¬ come, and the historian is usually looking for answers beyond act and motive. Different views of an event may be as important as a single ver¬ dict. How a story is told may yield as much information as what it says.

Along the way the historian seeks help from other historians and per¬ haps from specialists in other disciplines. Finally, it is time to write, to decide on an interpretation and how to arrange the evidence for readers.

Each book in this series contains an important historical document or group of documents, each document a witness from the past and open to interpretation in different ways. The documents are combined with some element of historical narrative—an introduction or a biographical essay, for example—that provides students with an analysis of the pri¬ mary source material and important background information about the world in which it was produced.

Each book in the series focuses on a specific topic within a specific historical period. Each provides a basis for lively thought and discussion about several aspects of the topic and the historian's role. Each is short enough (and inexpensive enough) to be a reasonable one-week assign¬ ment in a college course. Whether as classroom or personal reading, each book in the series provides firsthand experience of the challenge— and fun—of discovering, recreating, and interpreting the past

Lynn Hunt David W. Blight

Bonnie G. Smith

72 CANDIDE

Alas, said Candide. "I do recall hearing Dr. Pangloss say that such things used to happen, that these mixtures engendered pans, fauns, and satyrs, and that many of the heroes of ancient times saw them But I thought that was all a fable."

"Now you should be convinced that it's the truth," said Cacambo, "and

you can see how this truth is still practiced by people who have not been educated. But I'm afraid these ladies are going to make big trouble for us.

These solid reflections persuaded Candide to leave the meadow and plunge into a forest . He dined there wit h Cacambo, and the two of them after cursing the Inquisitor of Portugal, the Governor of Buenos Aires' and the Baron fell asleep on the moss. When they woke up, they noticed that they could not move; the reason was that during the night the native Oremons, to whom the two ladies had denounced them, had tied them down with cords made of bark. They were surrounded by about fifty Oreillons, completely nude, armed with arrows, clubs, and stone axes Some were bringing a huge cauldron to boil; others were preparing spfe and all of them were chanting: "It's ajesuit, it's a Jesuit; here's our revenge and here s a good meal; let's eat Jesuit, let's eat Jesuit.""Oear Master, I warned you," Cacambo blurted out sadly "that these

two girls would bring us trouble."

Candide, seeing the cauldron and the spits, exclaimed "We're defi¬ nitely going to be roasted or boiled. Ah! What would Dr. Pangloss say, if he knew what the pure state of nature is really like? All is well they say but I confess it's harsh to have lost Miss Cunegonde and to be skewered by Oreillons."

Cacambo never lost his head. "Don't give up hope yet," he said to the cheerless Candide. "I know a bit of the lingo of tribes like this; I'm going to speak to them." s

"Remember to explain to them," added Candide, "that it's the height

dther"11^^ t(> C00k humatl beings' and that not very Christian

. Gentlemen," said Cacambo, "you intend to eat a Jesuit today; that is appropriate; nothing is more just than to treat one's enemies in this way. Indeed, natural law teaches us to kill our neighbor, and that is how

first nubUsh'erf^n ^ 0 de la Vega'S reales, a work ^ J.? ' ! re ^ad read about a tribe of Indians in Peru who pierced

d distended their ears. According to Vega, the members of this tribe had a propensity see Ri 1, Tr 0T fonk^' and cannibalism. On Voltaire's borrowings from Vera

Voltaire andthe '

CHAPTER 17 73

everyone behaves the whole world over. If we Europeans do not exer¬ cise our right to eat others, it is because we have other ingredients for a good meal. But you do not have the same resources. It certainly makes more sense to eat your enemies than to abandon the fruits of victory to crows and ravens. But gentlemen, you do not wish to eat your friends. You think you are going to put a Jesuit on the spit, but it is your defender, the enemy of your enemies, whom you are going to roast. As for myself, I was born in your country; this gentleman whom you see is my master; and far from being a Jesuit, he just killed a Jesuit! He is wearing the plunder, and that is the source of your mistake. To verify what I am tell¬ ing you, take his robe, bring it to the first outpost of the kingdom of the Padres. Learn for yourselves if my master has not killed a Jesuit officer. It will not take long; you can always eat us later if you find that I have lied to you. But if I have spoken the truth, you are too familiar with the prin¬ ciples of international justice, morality, and law not to spare our lives."

The Oreillons found this speech very reasonable. They commis¬ sioned two leaders to determine the truth with haste. The two deputies carried out their mission with precision and soon came back with the good news. The Oreillons untied their two prisoners, made all kinds of apologies, offered them girls, gave them refreshments, and escorted them up to the boundary of their state, shouting joyfully, "He's not a Jesuit, he's not a Jesuit!"

Candide could not stop admiring the cause of his deliverance. "What a people!" he kept saying. "What men! What morals! If I hadn't been lucky enough to stick a sword through the body of Miss Cunegonde's brother, I would have been eaten without mercy. But it turns out the pure state of nature is good, because I only had to show these people I wasn't a Jesuit, and they treated me with enormous kindness."

CHAPTER 17

Arrival of Candide and his valet in the country of Eldorado,*6 and what they saw there

When they were at the Oreillons' border, Cacambo said to Candide, "You see, this hemisphere is no better than the other. Listen, let's take the shortest route back to Europe."

46The myth of Eldorado, a land of gold, fascinated Europeans since the discovery of the New World.

74 CANDIDE

"How can we?" said Candidc. "And where would we go? If I go back to my country, the Bulgars and Abars are slaughtering everyone. If I return to Portugal, I'll be burned. If we stay here, we run the risk of being put on a spit. And how can I bring myself to leave the part of the world where Miss Cunegonde lives?"

"Let's head for Cayenne," said Cacambo. "There we can find some

Frenchmen who travel all over the world. They'll be able to help. Per¬ haps God will have pity on us."

It was not easy to get to Cayenne. They had a good idea, more or less, of the direction to take; but everywhere mountains, rivers, cliffs, ban¬ dits, and savages blocked their way. Their horses died of fatigue; their provisions were used up; they lived on wild fruits for a whole month. At last they found themselves by a little river, fringed with coconut trees, which nourished their lives and hopes.

Cacambo, whose advice was always as good as the old Roman's, said to Candide: "We can't go any further, we've walked enough. I see an empty canoe on the shore. Let's fill it with coconuts, jump into this little bark, and drift with the current. A river always leads to some inhabited place. If we don't find something we like, we'll at least find something new."

"Let's go," said Candide, "and may Providence guide us."

They drifted for several miles between banks that were sometimes fertile, sometimes barren, sometimes level, sometimes steep. The river grew steadily broader, and eventually vanished under a vault of terri¬ fying rocks that soared into the sky. The two travelers had the bold¬ ness to abandon themselves to the currents below this vault. The river narrowed at this point and carried them along with horrifying speed and noise. After twenty-four hours, they saw daylight again, but their canoe broke apart against the reefs. They had to crawl from rock to rock for three miles. Finally, they discovered a vast horizon trimmed by unscalable mountains. The lowlands were cultivated for pleasure as well as profit. Everywhere the useful was combined with the pleasing. The roads were covered, or rather embellished, with elegantly shaped car- riages made from a shiny material, carrying men and women of extraor¬ dinary beauty, drawn swiftly by large red sheep that surpassed in speed the finest horses of Andalusia, Tetuan, and Mequinez.

"Here at last," said Candide, "is a country that is better than Westphalia." He and Cacambo stepped into the first village they encountered.

Some of the village children, covered with bits of golden brocade, were playing quoits near the village gate. Our two men from the other world watched them with interest. Their quoits were rather large rounded objects, yellow, red, and green, which sparkled brilliantly. Out of curios¬

CHAPTER 17 75

ity the travelers picked some up: gold, emeralds, rubies, of which the smallest would have been the greatest ornament of the Mogul's throne.

"No doubt about it," said Cacambo, "these youngsters playing quoits are the children of the King of this land."

Just then the village schoolteacher appeared to call the children back- to school.

"There," said Candide, "is the tutor to the royal family." The little beggars promptly stopped playing, leaving their quoits on

the ground, along with their other playthings. Candide picked them up, ran after the instructor, and humbly presented them to him, using signs to tell him that the royal children had forgotten their gold and precious stones. The village schoolteacher smiled and threw them to the ground, looked briefly at Candide's face with surprise, and went on his way.

The travelers did not fail to keep the gold, rubies, and emeralds. " Where are we?" exclaimed Candide. "The children of kings must

be well educated here because they are taught to despise gold and jewels."

Cacambo was as surprised as Candide. Next they arrived at the first house in the village. It was built like a European palace. A throng of people crowded around the door, and even more were inside. A delight¬ ful music was audible, and a delicious odor of cooking filled the air. Cacambo walked up to the door and heard them speaking Peruvian. It was his mother tongue, for everyone knows that Cacambo was born in Tucuman, in a village where Peruvian was the only language.

"I'll act as your interpreter," he said to Candide. "Let's enter, this is an inn."

Two waiters and two waitresses, dressed in gold cloth, with their hair bound up in ribbons, invited them to be seated at the common dining table. They served four tureens of soup, each garnished with two par¬ rots, a boiled condor weighing two hundred pounds, two savory roasted monkeys, three hundred round-billed hummingbirds on one platter, and six hundred straight-billed hummingbirds on another, exquisite stews, delicious pastries; and everything served on platters of a sort of rock crystal. The waiters and waitresses poured several liqueurs made from sugar cane. The guests were mostly merchants and coachmen, all extremely polite, who asked Cacambo a few questions with unintrusive discretion, and answered his own questions with the utmost clarity.

When the meal was over, Cacambo, like Candide, thought he was paying his bill amply by dropping on the table two of those large pieces of gold he had picked up. The host and hostess burst out laughing and slapped their knees for a long time. Finally, they became serious.

76 CANDIDE

"Gentlemen," said the host, "we can easily see that you are foreign¬ ers; we are not accustomed to seeing any around here. Forgive us for laughing when you offered to pay us with stones from our highways. You obviously have none of our currency, but you do not need it to dine here. All inns established for the convenience of trade are paid for by the Government.47 You have dined poorly here because this is a poor village; but everywhere else you'll be given the reception you deserve."

Cacambo explained to Candide all of the host's remarks, and Can- dide heard them with the same wonder and amazement that his friend Cacambo showed in translating them.

"What is this country," they asked each other, "unknown to the rest of the world, and where the whole arrangement of Nature is so different from our own?"

"This is probably the country where all is well," Candide observed, "for it is absolutely necessary that one such country exist. And in spite of what Dr. Pangloss used to say, I often observed that everything was for the worst in Westphalia."

CHAPTER 18 What they saw in the land of Eldorado

Cacambo expressed his curiosity to his host, and the host said to him, "I am a very ignorant man, and am content to be so; but we do have an old gentleman, retired from the royal court, who is the most learned per¬ son in the kingdom, and the most communicative."

Without delay he brought Cacambo to the old man's house. Can¬ dide was merely the supporting actor now and accompanied his valet. They went into a very simple home, for the door was only silver, and the interior paneling merely gold, though designed with so much taste that the richest paneling could not surpass it. The lobby floor, it is true, was encrusted only with rubies and emeralds, but the harmonious pat¬ tern in which everything was arranged compensated for this extreme simplicity.

The old man received the two foreigners on a sofa stuffed with hum¬ mingbird feathers. He offered them liqueurs in diamond vases; after which he satisfied their curiosity in these terms.

47 Eldorado is thus a commercial society in which the state assists businessmen. Eldorado, unlike most other European visions of Utopia up to this time, is a delight for the material self, filled with sumptuous food and luxury items.

CHAPTER 18 77

"I am a hundred and seventy-two years old, and my late father, who was Master of the Royal Stables, told me about the astounding revo¬ lutions in Peru that he had witnessed. The kingdom we are in is the original homeland of the Incas, who unwisely left it to go out and make foreign conquests, and who ended up being destroyed by the Spanish.

"More wisdom was shown by some princes who remained here in their native land. They commanded, with the nation's consent,48 that no inhabitant of our little kingdom would ever leave it; and this rule has pre¬ served our innocence and our happiness. The Spanish have some vague knowledge of this country, which they call El Dorado, and an English lord named Raleigh even came close to it about a hundred years ago. But since we are surrounded by impassable mountains and precipices, we have so far been safe from the greed of European nations, which have an incredible passion for the stones and mud of our land and would murder every one of us to get some."

The conversation continued for a long time. It turned on the form of government, the morals, the women, the public entertainments, the arts. Finally. Candide, who always had a taste for metaphysics, inquired through Cacambo if the country had a religion.

The old man blushed slightly. "How could you ever think we did not? Do you take us for ungrateful

wretches?"

Cacambo humbly asked what the religion of Eldorado was. The old man blushed again.

"Is there more than one religion?" he said. "We have, I believe, the same religion as everyone else. We worship God from morning to night."

"Do you worship just one God?" asked Cacambo, who continued to translate Candide's uncertainties.

"I see no reason," said the old man, "to believe in two, three, or four. I

must say that people from your world ask very odd questions." Candide did not tire of interrogating the good old man through

Cacambo. He wanted to know how one prayed to God in Eldorado. "We do not pray at all," said the good and respectable sage; "we have

nothing to ask him for; he has given us everything we need, and we thank him constantly."

Candide was curious to see the priests. He asked where they were. The kindly oldtimer smiled.

48This is the only evidence for the form of government in Eldorado. It seems to be a constitutional monarchy: the King governs with the approval of the nation or its representatives.

78 CANDIDE

"My friends," said he, "we are all priests. The King and all the heads of families solemnly chant the psalms of thanksgiving every morning, and five or six thousand citizens sing along with them."

"What! You have no monks who lecture, debate, govern, conspire, and burn people who don't agree with them?"

"We would be crazy if we did," said the old man. "Everyone here has the same beliefs, and we do not understand what your monks are for."

Candide was in ecstasy at these remarks, and said to himself, "This is very different from Westphalia and the Baron's chateau. If our friend Pangloss had seen Eldorado, he would have stopped asserting that the castle of Thunder-ten-tronckh was the best thing on earth. Travel is cer¬ tainly instructive."

After this long conversation, the kindly oldtimer had a carriage har¬ nessed with six sheep and had twelve of his servants take the two travel¬ ers to the court.

"Forgive me," he said to them, "if my age deprives me of the honor of accompanying you. The King will give you a reception that will not disappoint you, and I am sure you will excuse us for any customs that happen to displease you."

Candide and Cacambo climbed into the carriage. The six sheep flew off, and in less than four hours they arrived at the royal palace, located on the edge of the capital city. The portal was two hundred and twenty feet high and a hundred wide. It is impossible to describe the materials it was made of, but it was obvious that it was vastly superior to those stones and sand we call gold and jewels.

Twenty beautiful girls of the palace guard met Candide and Cacambo as they descended from the carriage, escorted them to the baths, and dressed them in robes spun from hummingbird down. Then the Grand Lords and Ladies of the Crown walked them to His Majesty's apartment, passing between two lines of a thousand musicians each, as was the custom. As they approached the throne room, Cacambo asked a Grand Officer how they were supposed to show respect for His Majesty. By falling on their knees or flat on their stomachs? By putting their hands on their heads or behind their backs? By licking the dust off the floor? In short, what was the ceremony?

"The custom," said the Grand Officer, "is to embrace the King and kiss him on both cheeks."

Candide and Cacambo hugged His Majesty, who received them with the utmost grace and politely invited them to have supper with him later. In the meantime, they were shown the city: the public buildings rising to the clouds; the open markets decorated with countless columns; the

CHAPTER 18 79

fountains of clear water, the fountains of rose water, and the fountains of liqueurs made from sugar cane, which flowed continuously in great public squares that were paved with a kind of precious stone that gave off the scent of cloves and cinnamon. Candide asked to see the law courts; they told him that none existed and that trials never occurred. He inquired whether they had prisons, and the answer was no. What surprised him even more, and gave him the most pleasure, was the Pal¬ ace of Science, in which he visited a gallery, two thousand paces long, filled with instruments for mathematics and physics.

After spending the whole afternoon touring about one-thousandth of the city, they returned to the Palace. Candide sat down to supper with His Majesty, his valet Cacambo, and several ladies. Never did they taste better food, and never did they encounter a more urbane host than His Majesty. Cacambo explained the King's witticisms to Candide, and they were witty even in translation. Of all the astonishing things Candide saw and heard, this was by no means the least astonishing.

They spent a month in this retreat. Candide never stopped saying to Cacambo: "It's true, my friend, and I'll repeat it: the castle where I was born doesn't compare to the land we're in now. But still, Miss Cune- gonde isn't here, and you probably have a mistress yourself somewhere in Europe. If we stay here, we'll just be like everyone else, whereas if we return to our world, even with only twelve sheep loaded with stones from Eldorado, we'll be richer than all the kings put together. We won't have to be afraid of inquisitors, and we'll easily be able to rescue Miss Cunegonde."

This speech pleased Cacambo. People so much like to roam around, and then show off at home and brag about what they have seen in their travels, that the two happy men resolved to be happy no longer, and to ask His Majesty for permission to leave.

"You are doing a foolish thing," the King said to them. "I know that my country is insignificant, but when one is tolerably well off some¬ where one ought to remain there. I certainly have no right to confine foreigners; such tyranny is inconsistent with our customs and with our laws.49 All men are free. You may leave at will, but the way out is very difficult. It is impossible to go against the swift currents which miracu¬ lously brought you here and which flow through the vaults of rock. The mountains surrounding my entire realm are ten thousand feet high and as straight as walls. Each one is more than twenty-five miles wide, and

49 An allusion to Frederick the Great's treatment of Voltaire in 1753, when he would not allow him to leave Germany after a lengthy visit.

80 CANDIDE

the only way down the other side is over vertical cliffs. Since you are absolutely determined to leave, however, I will order the Royal Engi¬ neers to design something that: can transport you comfortably. When you have been conveyed to the other side of the mountains, no one will be able to accompany you beyond; for my subjects have sworn never to leave this retreat, and they are too wise to break their vows. But ask me for anything else you desire."

We ask of Your Majesty," said Cacambo, "only a few sheep loaded with provisions, and some of the stones and mud of your country."

The King laughed. "I do not comprehend," he said, "the taste you Europeans have for our yellow mud; but take as much as you want, and may it bring you well-being."

He promptly gave orders to his engineers to make a machine to hoist these two extraordinary men out of the kingdom. Three thousand expert physicists worked on it; it was ready in two weeks and cost no more than twenty million pounds sterling in the local currency. Candide and Cacambo were placed in the machine. There were two large red sheep, saddled and bridled, for them to ride after they traversed the mountains, as well as twenty pack sheep loaded with provisions, thirty carrying gifts of the country's most curious items, and fifty loaded with gold, precious stones, and diamonds. The king tenderly embraced the two vagabonds.

It was a wonderful spectacle to see their departure and the inge¬ nious way in which they and their sheep were hauled over the mountains. The physicists took leave of them after setting them down safely, and Candide's only aim and desire now was to present his sheep to Miss Cunegonde.

"We have enough to pay off the Governor of Buenos Aires," he said, "if Miss Cunegonde can be purchased. Let's head for Cayenne, let's set

sail, and we will see what kingdom we can buy."

CHAPTER 19 What happened to them in Surinam, and how Candide became acquainted with Martin

The first day was quite pleasant for our two travelers. They were encour- aged by the idea that they possessed more treasure than all of Asia, Europe, and Africa combined. Candide was elated, and carved the name of Cunegonde on trees. On the second day, two of their sheep sank

CHAPTER 19 81

into a swamp and were buried with their cargo; two other sheep died of fatigue a few days after that; seven or eight perished of hunger in a desert; others fell off some cliffs a few days later. Finally, after a hundred days of travel, they had only two sheep left.

Candide said to Cacambo, "My friend, you see how the riches of this world are ephemeral; nothing is solid but virtue and the happiness of seeing Miss Cunegonde again."

"I agree," said Cacambo, "but we still have two sheep with more trea¬

sure than the King of Spain will ever have, and I see in the distance a city that I suspect is Surinam, which belongs to the Dutch. We are at the end of our troubles and the beginning of our happiness."

As they approached the town they saw a Negro stretched out on the ground, wearing only a pair of blue linen trunks that were half torn away. The poor man was missing his left leg and right hand.50

"Oh my God!" Candide said to him in Dutch. "What are you doing in this horrible condition, my friend?"

"I'm waiting for my master, Mr. Yanderdendur, the famous mer¬

chant," replied the Negro. "Was it Mr. Yanderdendur," asked Candide, "who treated you this way?" "Yes, sir," said the Negro, "it's normal. They give us one pair of linen

trunks twice a year as our only clothing. When we work in the sugar mills and catch our fingers in the grinder, they cut off our hand. When we try to escape, they cut off our leg.51 I've had both punishments. It is at this price that you eat sugar in Europe. Yet, when my mother sold me for ten Patagonian crowns on the coast of Guinea, she said to me, 'My dear child, pray to our charms, worship them forever, they will bring you happiness. You have the honor of becoming a slave to our Masters, the whites, and by doing so, you are making your parents rich.' Alas, I don't know if they became rich, but I certainly didn't. Dogs, monkeys, and parrots are a thousand times less miserable than we are. The Dutch sorcerers who converted me tell me every Sunday that we are all chil¬ dren of Adam, whites and blacks. I'm no genealogist, but if these preach¬ ers are right, we're all cousins. Now you have to admit that you can't treat your relatives more horribly than this."

50The use of African slaves in the European colonies of America rose dramatically in the eighteenth century. After he had already completed a draft of Candide, Voltaire was moved by descriptions of the plantations to modify the text so as to add this scene condemning slavery.

51 The abuse of slaves in the manner described here was in fact common. See Andre Morize's discussion in Candide: edition critique (Paris: Droz, 1931), 128-29.