Zadig

Voltaire · 1694–1778 · France

Originally Zadig (French)

Why it matters

A Babylonian philosopher's misadventures test whether virtue and reason can survive an unjust world. A dry run for Candide's method: the philosophical tale as a machine for testing an idea against relentless bad luck.

At a glance

Short fable-like chapters in clean, aphoristic Enlightenment prose.