The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.
Candide
(kan-DEED, kahnn-DEED) (1759) A novel of satire by Voltaire, in which a long series of calamities happens to the title character, an extremely naive and innocent young man, and his teacher, Doctor Pangloss. Pangloss, who reflects the optimistic philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, nevertheless insists that, despite the calamities, “all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.”
