ss, an unconditional follower of Leibniz's philosophy. Voltaire shows this early in the novella by stating, "He proved admirably that there is no effect without a cause and that, in this best of all possible worlds...." Pangloss goes on to say that everything had its purpose and things were made for the best. For example, the nose was created for the purpose of wearing spectacles. Because of his "great knowledge," Candide, at this point a very naive and impressionable youth, regards Pangloss as the greatest philosopher in the world, a reverence that will soon be contradicted by contact with reality (Frautschi 75). The name Pangloss is translated as "all tongue" and "windbag." The colloquialism "windbag" implies that a person is all talk, and he takes no action. In this case, Leibniz's philosophy is Stoic acceptance of the evil of the world. As the story progresses, though, Pangloss loses faith in the Leibnizian philosophy. Although Pangloss suffered many hardships, he still sticks to the philosophy to avoid contradicting himself (Frautschi 69). Voltaire uses Pangloss and a contrasting character, Martin, to point out the shortcomings in Leibniz's philosophy.A contrast to the views of Pangloss is the character Martin. Martin, a pessimist, is a friend and advisor to Candide whom he meets on his journey. Martin continuously tries to prove to Candide that there is little virtue, morality, and happiness in the world. When a cheerful couple is seen walking and singing, Candide tells Martin, "At least you must admit that these people are happy." Martin answers Candide's comment with the reply, "I wager they are not." Martin suggests that Candide invite the couple to dine at his hotel. As the young girl, now found to be Paquette, tells her story, Martin takes pleasure in knowing he has won the wager.Another contrast to this "best of all possible worlds" is Eldorado. Voltaire describes Eldorado as an extremely peaceful and serene coun...
