s on money matters and social standing. Another example of aristocratic arrogance can be found in Candides visit to Count Pococurante. The Count lived on a huge estate and was surrounded by all that he could ever long for, but Pococurante saw himself as above all else, even his own possessions. For example, Candide and Martin viewed the paintings in his hall done by Raphael as magnificent, but the Count said that, The colour is altogether dull, and there is not enough modeling in the figures, which do not stand out sufficiently. (119). The Count could not admit that someone else did something to a better degree than he could. In this way, his arrogance got in the way of his being able to appreciate the beauty that surrounded him. Voltaire used the character of Count Pococurante to show that the bourgeois was a group of people who, although they had everything material they could want, they would not be truly happy until they gave up the attitude that they were better than all others. During the Enlightenment, many of the rich and upper class citizens were supposedly happy just because they had money and power. I feel that Voltaire showed that they were not truly happy; they were actually the most confused and unhappy of all the citizens. Had the bourgeois known anything beyond money or wealth, for instance God, they would have been able to lead much happier, well-balanced lives. In addition to hypocrisy in the Church and aristocratic arrogance, Voltaire uses the concept of war and violence to prove that the ideals of Leibniz and Pope are wrong. Through vivid satire, Voltaire argues that a God run world of perfect order and reason would not include such severe war and violence. One of the most powerful examples of un-needed violence and death is seen with the Bulgarian soldiers and their attack on the Abarian village. This violent attack showed that the soldiers did not just kill other people; they raped, disemboweled, and ...
