Showing results by author "Voltaire" in All Categories

If we were as tiny as ants to another being, what would they make of our philosophies? The great satirist Voltaire imagines alien visitors who have opinions. Bedtime stories are narrated by the world's most celebrated voices and written with no beginning, middle, or end so you don't stay up to hear what happens next. They're interesting enough to give your mind something to focus on, but delivered in a way that encourages sleep.

Candide, is a French satire written in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. One of the finest satires ever written, this lively tale follows the absurdly melodramatic adventures of the youthful Candide, who is forced into the army, flogged, shipwrecked, betrayed, robbed, separated from his beloved Cunégonde, and tortured by the Inquisition. As Candide witnesses calamity upon calamity, he becomes disillusioned and discovers that all is not always for the best....

Brought up in the household of a powerful Baron, Candide is an open-minded young man whose tutor, Pangloss, has instilled in him the belief that 'all is for the best'. But when his love for the baron's rosy-cheeked daughter is discovered, Candide is cast out to make his own way in the world. And so he and his various companions begin a breathless tour of Europe, South America and Asia, as an outrageous series of disasters befall them - earthquakes, syphilis, a brush with the Inquisition, murder - sorely testing the young hero's optimism.

Candide and his tutor Pangloss travel the globe trying to follow the philosophy "All is for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds". However, they are stung and let down at every turn, being robbed, tortured, and ridiculed, amongst other trials. On hearing about their often disasterous travels, a listener feels unfortunately less than empathetic, and can't help themselves laughing out loud at this very funny account of the trail our optimistic travellers take.

One of France's greatest writers, Voltaire was frequently persecuted for his ideas and as a result, spent time in the famed Bastille. He fled his native land for England in 1726, at which time he witnessed the differences between the two countries. His celebrated Letters on England was first published in that nation in 1733 and contained 24 succinct letters on subjects ranging from religion and politics, to trade, the arts, philosophy, and science.

Something between a tale and a polemic, these 'fables of reason' are feats of narrative compression and contain much of Voltaire's best and funniest writing. From ribald tales of adultery to conversations between cosmic travellers, the stories in this collection pose moral, philosophical and social questions. Listener and protagonist alike find their assumptions challenged as Voltaire mingles rationality and fantasy.

In the tradition of his very popular Candide, Zadig is what might be called a "philosophical tale." Zadig, a handsome young man with a fine education, is puzzled by the uncertainties of his destiny. He attains great success in government but is unsuccessful in love. Despite his wisdom and shrewdness, he meets with a number of misfortunes. The central question of the story is, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

Tous les événements sont enchaînés dans le meilleur des mondes possibles : car enfin si vous n'aviez pas été chassé d'un beau château à grands coups de pied dans le derrière pour l'amour de mademoiselle Cunégonde, si vous n'aviez pas été mis à l'Inquisition, si vous n'aviez pas donné un bon coup d'épée au baron, si vous n'aviez pas perdu vos moutons du bon pays d'Eldorado, vous ne mangeriez pas ici des cédrats confits et des pistaches.

In this audiobook, I read 33 classical French poems. The majority are read twice: once slowly - so you can repeat after me - and once faster, with my personal interpretation of the poem. I will also sometimes tell you about the author, or explain the vocabulary or the meaning of the poem, all in easy everyday French. Musset, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, La Fontaine, Labbé, Valéry... A collection of 33 of the most famous French poems.

Voltaire's razor-sharp satire on philosophical optimism, Candide, is coupled here with another of the author's most celebrated works, Zadig. Both challenge the moral and philosophical orthodoxies of the day with humor and sly wit, while parodying the clichéd formulas of so many contemporary novels.

Candide est un jeune garçon vivant au château du baron de Thunderten-tronckh qui se trouve en Westphalie. Il a pour maître Pangloss, philosophe qui enseigne la "métaphysico-théologo-cosmolonigologie", et qui professait, à l'instar de Leibniz, que l'on vit dans le meilleur des mondes possibles.

These two classic coming-of-age stories by Voltaire parody the romanticism of his day with the ruthless wit that has made him the undisputed master of social commentary.

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that are difficult to achieve elsewhere. The City of Lights may be one of the glories of the world but for those whose three score and ten have passed it is the final resting place for some of the very finest of literary talents.

Candide is characterized by its tone as well as by its erratic, fantastical, and fast-moving plot. A picaresque novel with a story similar to that of a more serious coming-of-age narrative, it parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is bitter and matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

"Candide ou l'Optimisme" est un conte philosophique de Voltaire, considéré comme l'un de ses chefs d'œuvre. C'est le récit du voyage de formation d'un jeune homme naïf, chassé du meilleur des mondes possibles à la suite d'une leçon de physique expérimentale. Voltaire y manie l'ironie à l'encontre du conservatisme de la société de son époque. Candide, le jeune homme innocent, après avoir vécu toutes sortes d'aventures autour du monde, finit par se transformer en philosophe.

Raised by her grandparents when her mother chooses drugs over her daughter, Erin knows she isn't like other kids. Then, her world is shaken a second time by her mother's reappearance. Being a teenager is never easy, but just when Erin thinks she has her life on track, her mother shows up and warms her way back into Erin's life. Can an addict really ever kick the addiction? How many lives will drugs destroy?

Conte philosophique considéré comme l'un des chefs-d'œuvre de Voltaire, "Candide" frappe par sa légèreté, et sa justesse. Le héros est un jeune homme crédule à qui son précepteur, Pangloss, inculque une théorie très simpliste sur l'optimisme. Les mésaventures du jeune héros mettent à mal cette doctrine. Cela permet à Voltaire de se moquer de toutes les théories métaphysiques qui ne résistent pas à l'épreuve des faits.

Was macht den Menschen aus? Wie wurde er, was er ist? Welche großen Denker haben unsere Entwicklung beeinflusst? Unsere Box vereint Grundlagentexte der philosophischen Theorie über die Jahrtausende – und den ganzen Erdkreis.

The legendary ironic insightful classic by Voltaire, considered the greatest artistic genius of his era. Introducing the legendary, best-of-all-possible-worlds Pangloss. A whirlwind trip around the globe with irony, wit, insight, genius, and more at each stop.

Candide is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the age of enlightenment. It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world.