Candide: Crash Course Literature 405

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John Green teaches you about Voltaire's hugely important Enlightenment novel, Candide. Candide tells a pretty wild story, but for the most part, it's about the best of all possible worlds. Which, spoiler alert, doesn't seem to be the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire's novel is a pretty frank look at Enlightenment philosophy that finds a lot of the thinking of the time wanting. It's also got lots of sex, death, and travel!
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Пікірлер: 417

@DecodeChannel 6 жыл бұрын

“Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste.” ― Voltaire, Candide

@merrittanimation7721 6 жыл бұрын

Irony

@richarddawkinscoinedthewor2318 5 жыл бұрын

It's funny because it's a character that says it in the book but somehow Voltaire makes it very clear when he's speaking his mind THROUGH a character and when a character is talking for an alternative purpose

@agateplanet 4 жыл бұрын

@@merrittanimation7721 No irony I fear. Just a trademark clean stab into the idiot populist 'heart'. It's candid, simple and fair. More power to his elbow in these dark times. ( That was irony ).

@Redem10 6 жыл бұрын

Voltaire's a series of unfortunate events

@merrittanimation7721 6 жыл бұрын

Redem10 Understatement of the 18th century

@wisco_simple 6 жыл бұрын

You should read the "misfortunes of virtue"

@1980rlquinn 6 жыл бұрын

I always took the ending to be neither pessimistic nor optimistic but pragmatic: "Let us be productive with what little we have." Also, you missed highlighting the most timeless exchange in the entire book: “How many plays have been written in France?' Candide asked the abbe. 'Five or six thousand.' 'That's a lot,' said Candide. 'How many of them are good?' 'Fifteen or sixteen,' replied the abbe. 'That's a lot,' said Martin.”

@thJune-ze7dn 6 жыл бұрын

Q: How does Voltaire like his apples? A: Candied I'll see myself out...

@sudeepjoseph69 4 жыл бұрын

good go mans corona go mans go

@jacobdaugherty80 6 жыл бұрын

I think that the line let us go cultivate our garden means that the problems of the world are going to exist no matter what. The only true happiness you can find in it is by working on yourself and what you love, and that searching and searching for a utopia, or pretending the world you live in is one. Ultimately this novel is a criticism of several philosophers' views on life and what makes a good life, and I think that Voltaire gives both the simplest, and truest example by this quote. That a good life is one where you do what you are good at to the best of your abilities.

@theaturner784 6 жыл бұрын

Well said!

@jennkellie7341 6 жыл бұрын

I found throughout the book that Candide and others are constantly trying to go somewhere so they can be happy. As if all that is stopping them from happiness is their location. In El Dorado Candide sees a perfect location and is surprised that he is unhappy. He expects happiness to happen to him. It is only when they retire to the farm that Candide and the others start to actively create their own happiness. Another theme I found was that of the importance of relationships. Candide is happiest when traveling with friends, but he doesn't value these friendships until the farm. I took "cultivate our garden' to partially refer to their family. All is well because they are together. A third theme seems to follow "idle hands are the Devil's play things". Whenever Candide is busy, he seems content, but when he gets bored, crazy things happen. In the end, he finds joy in using his hands to create something, rather than just sit and think about his plight.

@fenzelian 5 жыл бұрын

It's basically the end of Fast & the Furious 6, where after all the globetrotting adventures what Dom Toretto and the crew believe will make them happy more than anything is to go back to their house in Los Angeles and say grace over a barbecue.

@Waltham1892 6 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't want to read a book about disembowelment. I guess you can say I don't have the guts.

@mahendrakrisnamurti9599 6 жыл бұрын

Waltham1892 gtfo

@FlyingTeaRex 6 жыл бұрын

Waltham1892 badam-pam--pshhh

@Waltham1892 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you. Remember to tip your waitress, I'll be in town till Thursday!

@lorriesherbet 6 жыл бұрын

you monster

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

Yes, I have a problem with words like chocolate and syphilis in the same sentence.....

@monicamoon9785 6 жыл бұрын

I loved reading candide in highschool but no teacher actually guided me through it. Like many other things in life, thanks for guiding me on this John

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

...Education at school, so often unsatisfactory....

@thetooginator153 4 жыл бұрын

Monica Moon - I’m a BIG advocate of teachers guiding students through literature. I read Candide in a college French literature class, so I had a bit more time to learn about things like philosophy and The Enlightenment. If I had read it in high school, I would have missed a lot of the meaning. Fortunately, Candide is great on many levels (as you know). It’s a serious shame your teacher didn’t provide proper context.

@P1nstr1p3 6 жыл бұрын

Katniss Everdeen: my life is suffering! Candied: Hold my beer

@samanastrix 6 жыл бұрын

Candied XD

@rparl 6 жыл бұрын

samanastrix Possibly Text-to-Speech.

@AssassinCreed108 6 жыл бұрын

*hold my sherbet drink .

@ilikeoranges4 5 жыл бұрын

Job: here they go again...

@Emi7Carol 6 жыл бұрын

"To cultivate our own garden" means introspection. Know Thyself. If you want to change the world to a better place, start by changing yourself (BE the change), and the rest will follow, if you just try to change the others, nothing will ever happen.

@lucr7830 6 жыл бұрын

Yep that's we were told it ment in French High Schools...

@Emi7Carol 6 жыл бұрын

Probably a message too revolutionary for Crash Course! I can't believe they thought that an illuminist as Voltaire was referring to the Bible and the Garden of Eden...

@rileyrose5166 6 жыл бұрын

I don't think that's what they were implying, merely that it's an odd coincedence

@Emi7Carol 6 жыл бұрын

Well, John Green says: "But as a conclusion of this particular novel, it does seem weirdly conservative? I mean, the ending is a return to a garden.What's more Biblical than that?". This is what Voltaire thought about the bible and christians: "It is characteristic of fanatics who read the holy scriptures to tell themselves: God killed, so I must kill; Abraham lied, Jacob deceived, Rachel stole: so I must steal, deceive, lie. But, wretch, you are neither Rachel, nor Jacob, nor Abraham, nor God; you are just a mad fool, and the popes who forbade the reading of the Bible were extremely wise." Voltaire was a revolutionary, not a conservative. Gardens are found in every culture, not only the bible.

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

Like Michael Jackson...'Man in the Mirror.....Lol !

@popcorn_consumer 6 жыл бұрын

"This novel is so dystopian that even the utopia sucks." Heh heh heh... You'd definitely go for a drink with Voltaire.

@lamarriere 6 жыл бұрын

I dunno, when I read the book for a class I read the ending differently. I saw it more like an idea that in order to effect change in the world we must work on ourselves first and understand how our actions contribute to the evil in the world. Not that we need to shut ourselves away in a selfish way.

@CatieChapman 6 жыл бұрын

lamarriere yes! Voltaire's response to Leibniz wholly denounces the means of fate being in the hands of an omnipotent, perfect creator that dictates the balance of good and evil (read: consequence/circumstance, essentially) and Candide saying "our garden" I thought too was more of a nod to the entire ensemble of characters finally escaping their violently changing circumstances (going in and out of comfortable nobility, to begging, to being soldiers, engagement to upper class society, prostitution, becoming a jesuit, etc etc) by working together as a means to dictate their fate-thus disproving Liebniz/Pangloss in their optimism theory. John's response to the end was really surprising, for me lol (I much prefer Bernstein's takeaway, if you ever have the time to find it on youtube)

@bbear27777 6 жыл бұрын

I took the "our" garden to be akin to everyone working together on our communal garden, the Earth, and that it was more a statement reminding the reader that we too need to work together on our part so that the overall whole is better for it. That is just my reading of the line though! It is super cool to hear others! :D

@timeaesnyx 6 жыл бұрын

I would agree with your statement but not your interpretation of the line.

@bbear27777 6 жыл бұрын

a hellenic pagan :D

@Mr_Wallet 6 жыл бұрын

Candide has to _repeatedly_ state that "we must cultivate our garden" as a gentle reminder to Pangloss every time he starts off on another lecture of Leibnizian optimism. To me, it seems really clear in that context that it was meant to be read as Starlessbooks wrote. Something along the lines of, "yeah, yeah, this world is perfect, but regardless of what you choose to believe, as a matter of pragmatism we're going to suffer if we don't invest effort in fixing it, so you can keep talking but please grab a trowel."

@nathansauveur6704 6 жыл бұрын

I always thought of it as 'Pangloss, philosophy is nice and all, but tot stay alive we need to actually work and do stuff, not just sit and think about life.'

@KCN8er 5 жыл бұрын

The world is decent, but only if WE make it that way.

@Pfhorrest 6 жыл бұрын

It would be a pretty optimistic world if everyone just had their own garden they could go cultivate. My entire life is just a long uphill struggle to obtain a little garden to cultivate.

@chadatchison145 6 жыл бұрын

If you got a bucket and some dirt, you have the makings of a garden. Don't let space stop you from achieving your dreams. :)

@Pfhorrest 6 жыл бұрын

The garden is figurative for space, but in any case: you need space to put your bucket full of dirt in, and space for yourself to occupy next to that bucket, space to stand or sit or lay down when you get too tired to stand anymore, and space for your gardening tools (not that you would need much to "garden" a bucket), etc. And even if you had all of that, you're not going to last long "tending your own garden" if that garden is a mere bucket.

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

and gardening in a container is much easier, no back breaking digging...

@ilikeoranges4 5 жыл бұрын

Got a job? Because I’m pretty sure that would count.

@magnoliansoup 5 жыл бұрын

This book was actually very fun to read. I couldn't put it down. One of the best pieces of literature I have ever read.

@nickhoffman470 6 жыл бұрын

A thought on Voltaire's final message, I imagine he sees this as a universal rule. That, if everyone just worried about their own garden, they wouldn't have much time for evil deeds.

6 жыл бұрын

"Let us cultivate our garden" can also refer to stop worrying about what happens in the "best possible world" and focus in our own. In that sense, it is completely in line with what you suggest at the end of the video. Also, working in our garden can mean setting ourselves to our tasks, which does include involvement with the world: the task of living and mastery. I can definitely see a critique to overthinking and idleness; such questions, such as one that judges as good or evil the nature of existence, when given a too predominant importance tends to a dispersion of thinking and focus. Maybe this is Voltaire telling us to stop complaining and speculating so much about everything, and do something with our life.

@Violetcas97 6 жыл бұрын

"Voltaire's racism and misogyny might reflect his times, but his pseudoscientific justifications for them are worth noting in our times" Couldn't agree more.

@kyrab7914 6 жыл бұрын

great response to past attitudes imo

@petersellers9219 4 жыл бұрын

I'm good too

@justinedautelle7737 6 жыл бұрын

I studied Voltaire at school and from what I learned, Voltaire wasn't racist he was just extremely sarcastic. I believe you can find a bit of truth in that in a chapter of Candide: Candide and slavery as well as other texts of his denouncing slavery.

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

Yes, but I read that he did have a problem with Jews because of some bad dealings with moneylenders,.....but he didn't like Christians much either...

@stealthyjun 6 жыл бұрын

I loved this book. To be honest; everything important is in the the first and last paragraphs. I would have loved it if you would have touched the topic of the burden of knowledge.

@Th3laughingman 6 жыл бұрын

Just wanted to say thanks for being a channel that is entertaining and educational. I hope to show these videos to my children one day

@cube.9816 6 жыл бұрын

I learned in these 12 mins more than I did in 4 months of French Literature class !

@leafm1181 6 жыл бұрын

There are two primary hypotheses: one proposes that syphilis was carried to Europe from the Americas by the crew of Christopher Columbus as a byproduct of the Columbian exchange, while the other proposes that syphilis previously existed in Europe but went unrecognized. Syphilis might have been always present in the Old World but was not identified as a separate disease from leprosy before about A.D. 1500.

@KannikCat 6 жыл бұрын

"...try to work to change and improve this not yet best of all possible worlds." I'm right there with you John, making the "our" garden less personal, and more of the larger, grander, communal garden. Thank you for opening us up to inquiry. :)

@MakeMeThinkAgain 6 жыл бұрын

I was really hoping to see some red sheep. Introducing Voltaire, I think you should have said a word or two about Jansenism, since Voltaire's father and brother were Jansenists, and Voltaire was reacting against that, as well as Leibniz. Also, it's worth noting that at the end of his life, Voltaire devoted himself to being a good seigneur over the extensive land his wealth had bought him. He was cultivating his garden, which included the lives of all the people who lived and worked on those lands. And finally, if you are going to read this in English translation, find the Norton Critical Edition.

@stefanetienney2666 4 жыл бұрын

MakeMeThinkAgain Hey! I live in the village of Ferney-Voltaire, which is where Voltaire’s estate was. The garden is gorgeous.

@johnnyguerrero9871 6 жыл бұрын

each time I watch John Green I learn !!! and I love learning

@annamattos8627 6 жыл бұрын

Man, now I feel obligated to actually read that copy of Candide that's been sitting on my shelf for 6 months... It sounds sooooo horribly cool!

@mmartinisgreat 6 жыл бұрын

Anna Mattos it really is

@merrittanimation7721 6 жыл бұрын

I'd advise having annotations if your copy lacks them. Lots of obscure 18th century reference

@agilemind6241 6 жыл бұрын

Second that Merritt, you'll miss a lot of the humour/satire without them.

@icampos89 6 жыл бұрын

You don't really need annotations to enjoy the novel. First copy I got was without them, second had them and only slightly added to the story.

@theocean1973 6 жыл бұрын

It's insightful, gruesome, and hilarious. How many other classic novels have references about noble women putting pipes in their butts, for instance? And don't forget they flying red sheep!!!

@rbzvncnt 6 жыл бұрын

'Candide fruit', honestly? Nice one

@1hugarcia 5 жыл бұрын

I had a totally different interpretation and the video missed my favorite part. My understanding was a critique of two pre-enlightenment ideas 1 - Everything happens for a reason and has it should be 2- leaders are worthy and people should live for the glory of their country, religion or identity. Voltaire or Candide's Statement that "we must take care of our garden" is to ignore those nationalist and religions philosophies and identities and take care of what is important. Garden means the real world, the one we live in. My favorite part was the meeting of former leaders gathered in a meeting all going through misery, showing that their former positions were purely arbitrary and meant nothing.

@JoshDare 6 жыл бұрын

It was really nice getting to hear about this book again after having not gotten to talk about it myself since last year in school! I liked getting the crash course version to revisit it again and think about all it said while getting John's view at the end as well. Thanks for the video, Crash Course!

@LuisTheFilmHack 6 жыл бұрын

Cunegonde is a Persian play on words. Voltaire could speak Persian or at least was familiar with it. In Persian, "cun" means anus and "gonde" means huge or corpulent. Thus, Cunegonde means huge butt in Persian.

@kentgallmann1979 6 жыл бұрын

Please do Catch 22 it's among the greatest antiwar books of all time and has great implications to current events.

@adamweishaupt3733 6 жыл бұрын

It's also hilarious

@kentgallmann1979 6 жыл бұрын

Yes, it and Hitchhiker's Guide are my two favorite written comedies.

@merrittanimation7721 6 жыл бұрын

I'd put this book on the list as well of great comedic books

@monsouranda2822 6 жыл бұрын

I up vote for that

@Isaiah_McIntosh 6 жыл бұрын

Wish we could do Wilfred Owen for poetry.

@Benjijart 6 жыл бұрын

Such miraculous timing! I picked Candide to read for my spring project just a week ago.

@ProfPrigarci 4 жыл бұрын

Mr. Green, I love your lessons! Thanks for all you've helped me learn.

@kacp6485 Жыл бұрын

Oh my gosh that was probably one of the best videos i've ever seen on the internet! Thank yoo so much!!!

@sasasa7774 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks to my french teacher , i really love this book because it shows that working on your own project is better than just talking and not doing anything

@lujaynselim5735 6 жыл бұрын

I read this book for my french class. I am excited to «study» it from a different angle ! Thank you Mr Green :D

@lauragazzari 4 жыл бұрын

My teacher sent us a link to this during our online class and I was so proud and happy she sent us John’s video explaining the lecture :))

@inesfancaria4586 6 жыл бұрын

Lisbon! I had no idea that there was a book that mentioned the 1755 earthquake. Thank you so much

@seir323 6 жыл бұрын

Oh man. I've been thinking about Candide a LOT lately, as to how some ideas only work in the 'best of all possible worlds,' and have been wanting to revisit the novel. Thank you for this!

@merrittanimation7721 6 жыл бұрын

One funny scene in the book is when Candide visits this Venetian senator and they discuss literature and the Senator goes on a page long tirade on how he hates Paradise Lost, much to Candide's bafflement

@caseyjones9621 6 жыл бұрын

Voltaire is my favorite writer of all time. Amazingly witty, clever and his writing style is so majestic

@anagabrieltrevino5439 6 жыл бұрын

I red this book in its original french (wayy) back in High School. I gotta say that I wasn't mature enough to apreciate it then. It's one of my favs. now, and I **Love** to see that John Green is talking about it on CC literature!! DFTBA!! Big fan of CC literature! 💚💙

@rashmika9742 6 жыл бұрын

Tending to garden is not a selfish act: it's a way of reconnecting with the world on a grassroots level and being sustainable. Growing one's own food is a way of feeding oneself with one's own hands and effort.

@CatieChapman 6 жыл бұрын

Rashmika the Artsy rt! Voltaire actually had a passion for gardening, so the symbolism throughout candide was thought to be a nod to his own preoccupation with such an efficient and self sustaining hobby :)

@vistaestrada 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Mr. Green!

@salmaanali1583 6 жыл бұрын

"with great power come great responsibility"-Volataire. Not spiderman

@timeaesnyx 6 жыл бұрын

Salmaan Ali so Stan Lee was quoting Voltaire?

@salmaanali1583 6 жыл бұрын

a hellenic pagan yh

@Mr_Wallet 6 жыл бұрын

"I may not agree with the way you misattribute quotes in a way that can be easily refuted in one Google search, but I'll defend to the death your right to do so." -Volotaraire

@antpoo 5 жыл бұрын

Mr. Wallet voluntaire

@Liutgard 6 жыл бұрын

I come from a very long line of Mennonites- scholars, preachers, and farmers. Yes, you share your tomatoes. You also helped your neighbors plant and bring in crops if he needed help, and if someone's barn burned down, everyone in the community showed up to help build a new one. Yes, you tend your own garden. But if something happens and ypur neighbor is in need, you are all better off if you all pitch in and help him.

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

That's nice..I love the scenes i the Harrison Ford film WITNESS, where everyone helps to build a barn in a few hours......

@fenzelian 5 жыл бұрын

Yes! Candide gets the idea that it would be good to tend his own garden while somebody else is being generous with him and sharing with him the fruits of their own garden. So helping your neighbor is definitely part of it. Socially engineering all of humanity? Playing the games national of international politics to achieve transcendental justice? Those, not so much. But sharing what you can with your neighbor (which requires you getting some for yourself), yes, definitely.

@chadatchison145 6 жыл бұрын

Great video John! You've explain Candide perfectly. :)

@almostideal1306 5 жыл бұрын

I read Candide, amazing, made me fall in love with Voltaire.

@miaash3870 4 жыл бұрын

thank you

@yashsinojia6170 6 жыл бұрын

Candide wasn't actually "bored" with the so-called Utopia of El-dorado, he was just too much infatuated with Cunégonde that he can't stop thinking about her and so he leaves the place to rescue her.

@Ofthevalley84 6 жыл бұрын

Please do The book thief or the butcher boy Not sure if they’re classics but it will be interesting

@yetigriff 6 жыл бұрын

I love this book. The sarcasm runs strong.

@LightDragon777 4 жыл бұрын

Just finished reading the book, and this video was insightful in digesting it. Voltaire does make a lot of good points throughout the book, but I did find the ending a little unsatisfying too. I agree that we don't live in the best of possible worlds, but just minding your own business and tending your own garden seems too passive a stance too.

@neitenone5631 6 жыл бұрын

fun fact: In French the title of Huxley's Brave New World is The Best of all Possible Worlds ("le Meilleur des Mondes"), I always thought the point was to have it be a literary reference that has the same relevance has the original title from Shakespeare's Tempest but would be more immediately recognizable by "learnt" French speakers but I haven't fact-checked that (and I guess it's quite hard to do, since text has why translators made a certain choice are hard to come by) Wikipedia says Voltaire was trying to satirize an expression originally from Liebniz but I didn't know of the Liebniz thing and always connected it with Voltaire, dunno about other French speakers.

@merrittanimation7721 6 жыл бұрын

Neite None That's interesting.

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

Very interesting.....

@salmaanali1583 6 жыл бұрын

Brilliant video

@Brandon-dy8us 5 жыл бұрын

I'm really glad my literature teacher in highschool made me read this book. It's a good read.

@torn6981 6 жыл бұрын

Can you do Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. That book is deep.

@rashmika9742 6 жыл бұрын

Senpai God Yes! And Waiting for Godot would be great too, if we're tackling French literature. Les Mis is such a superb book and musical that has really stood the test of time. 😄

@KingsleyIII 6 жыл бұрын

@Rashmika the Artsy: I don't know how interesting you can make _Waiting for Godot._ I've never read it, but I've had an English teacher who hated it. From what I know of it, it literally has no plot; the main characters are just waiting for and constantly talking about this Godot person who never appears. I'm not sure how you can make a play that has no plot sound interesting.

@amyclarke6176 6 жыл бұрын

Senpai God yeah as someone that I looking at les mis from several different way The book in literature analysis The film in film studies The play as a performance as stage manager There are so many things that are interesting that never made it into the musical(s) And the order of it changes in every version: Broadway vs Westend Original vs tour vs current Film vs stage School adaptation vs original Musical vs book Very version has a different order and that impact how you see the characters if they do x before y then it changes their motivation and reactions As much as I don't think he would talk about it but it would be nice to look at it from a why orders change in adaptations and how does it change the characters In short agree would love to watch an episode on Les mis

@mazsola1037 6 жыл бұрын

it's my favorite !!

@selenabaozi 6 жыл бұрын

PLEASE OMG

@hamzaasri9 6 жыл бұрын

thank you i like your work i do understand frensh but never thought of reading Candide thank you so much

@CharlesBukowski0 6 жыл бұрын

Well done.

@Shealynne7 6 жыл бұрын

Candice is one of my favorite. So exciting

@shofuzaki 6 жыл бұрын

"This novel is so dystopian that even the utopia sucks!" I don't know why I laughed so hard at this comment 😂

@natehirt4297 6 жыл бұрын

Love the captain underpants reference!

@mayasamaa4521 6 жыл бұрын

Brilliant! as usual. So cool btw cause you end the video with one of the permaculture principles

@LordDice1 6 жыл бұрын

I've read this book many times and never liked it. Your summary was much more entertaining😄

@IceMetalPunk 6 жыл бұрын

Share our vegetables with others? You commie! :P (Author's Note: This comment was satire of people who don't know the difference between communism and socialism, and who are against both on the grounds that encouraging people to help others is terrible and immoral. It does not reflect the views of the commenter in any way.)

@radioactivated 6 жыл бұрын

IceMetalPunk The last statement is somewhat inaccurate, as the commenter had to choose to deliver the satire first and foremost.

@user-bl6ix9dt7r 6 жыл бұрын

You don't have to be a socialist to think that kindness is good and that people should be encouraged to share what they have, you know.

@BTheBlindRef 6 жыл бұрын

I'm not against all government social assistance, but I will point out that there is a difference between encouragement and government mandated "encouragement". Socialism is not the former.

@user-bl6ix9dt7r 6 жыл бұрын

bjr1822 I agree. Which is why I don't think you need to have any socialistic tendencies to agree with John's point, making the whole "parodying people who can't distinct socialism and communism" bit kind of out of place.

@maxfieldjoyner5244 6 жыл бұрын

I don't think there is a best world to live in, they all have their flaws.

@raystaar 6 жыл бұрын

Hey Crash Coursers! You can read this WHOLE BOOK in less than two hours.

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

That's good to know...

@musicalrambling8437 5 жыл бұрын

WHEN ONE DISMISSES THE REST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS ONE FINDS THAT THIS IS THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS *overture riff*

@MattMorency 6 жыл бұрын

Jordan Peterson talks about a balance between chaos and order. In particular when there is too much order, like in El Dorado, Candide is bored and is yearning to leave. Peterson makes the argument that if humanity were ever placed in a situation of perfect order, we would tear it apart just so that something interesting would happen. We live on the border between order and chaos, not in either domain.

@TheLethalIntrospectionCrew 5 жыл бұрын

Well, to be fair it's Dostoyevsky who posits this originally in Notes from underground (the crystal palace), J.B.P references it constantly and we would highly recommend it as well.

@whitwoodruff4334 6 жыл бұрын

Random but I'd love to see a Crash Course on the history of radio, especially radio drama. Orson Welles to Night Vale.

@LaurenceRoberge 6 жыл бұрын

I literally have a final on Candide tomorrow, so the timing couldn’t have been better!

@shilohschwartz8671 5 жыл бұрын

I genuinely had a laugh at that intro... nice job 😂

@gailcbull 6 жыл бұрын

I think of Candide as Voltaire's "angry young man" novel. In an introduction to an edition I read, it said that Voltaire wrote this novel as a rebellion against the lesson of his own tutor who was a great believer in the "best of all possible worlds" philosophy.

@therandomassduderobleek991 6 жыл бұрын

I didn't think that they teach us something this dirty in school. now i started to love morocco a bit more ♥

@breyes1067 6 жыл бұрын

my favorite story ever!!!! o subscribed because of this and because i just found crashcourse yesterday because Sylvia Plath!

@gm2407 Жыл бұрын

One of the funniest books I've read. Catch 22 esque in farce like events.

@jamestang1227 6 жыл бұрын

I'm gonna read this next year, Seconde will be fun-ish.

@ada19z 6 жыл бұрын

WORLD Literature are my fav Literature crash courses :)

@karenhodges7545 6 жыл бұрын

Candice is an excellent book. Even grisly but not too graphic and laugh out loud. It explains the how we don't have control of life. Points out that if we did we would be bored. He tells a great tale with politics included of the day. Candice resonates with the fact of the powers that be

@Luboman411 4 жыл бұрын

My reading of "cultivating our own garden" is something I live by now, which makes "Candide" one of the more influential books in my life. I also came from a highly Christian background growing up, so reading this book at 15 or 16 years old finally put the nail on the coffin that God is a benevolent deity who created a perfect world polluted by sinful humans. The book took me to the agnosticism I have long embraced. In any case, I always read "cultivating our own garden" as taking care of our patch of the world, to tend to it and make it better. It's futile to fix the world's vast problems most of the time. But it is easy and sensible to fix up the tiny patch that we have within our control.

@EmmaHunterstartingtospark 6 жыл бұрын

I wish you had done this for my exam last year!

@scopophobemusic7555 5 жыл бұрын

I like to think that cultivate our garden offers an alternative to Eden, the idea that one can better the earth rather than simply accept that this is as good as it gets. The idea of let us not accept that we have been excluded from paradise nor that we must find paradise but that we should build paradise.

@frankupton5821 5 жыл бұрын

"Cultivating our garden" is a nod to Epicureanism.

@MrGoMaster 6 жыл бұрын

"best of all possible worlds"-was an satirical side punch against the philosophical point of view of the german Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz; so in Candide we see Voltaire at his bests.

@r7029 6 жыл бұрын

I just realized that Candide by Leonard Bernstein was based on the novel. I wondered why it sounded familiar.

@humzahkhan6299 6 жыл бұрын

Wow, I read this book once (in French) when I was in grade 7, clearly I missed out on most of the important stuff. I only knew that he ended up really rich from el dorado and eventually found his crush, even though she was uglier and older. 😅😅

@catklyst 4 жыл бұрын

Candide and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

@patzimmy 6 жыл бұрын

John Green over here acting like gardening isn't an ongoing adventure.

@PatchworkGirlofOZ 6 жыл бұрын

Truly, all is for the best in the best of all possible comment sections.

@isaacliu896 6 жыл бұрын

ah a favorite!

@hjd832 6 жыл бұрын

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS....Found a quote by Voltaire that I liked ("God is a comedian, playing to an audience tat is too afraid to laugh) ... and I am now trying to educate myself about this very important historical figure and prolific writer who knew Leibniz, Sir Isaac Newton (why was nothing mentioned about him during my schooling ?)....Your video is fast paced, thorough and amusing and has given me the connections to pursue other philosophical connections & people......and you have also prepared me for the time when my translation of 'Candide' arrives via Amazon...(.I hope I can stomach it.).......Great stuff..

@JoaoPessoa86 6 жыл бұрын

We have a bust of Voltaire in our special exhibit at the museum where I work

@romariohomario 5 жыл бұрын

Awesome.....your awesome

@caseyandrew5930 6 жыл бұрын

Any chance there could be a Brave New World crash course? Being as we're talking about dystopian fiction and whatnot. Please?

@thatoneweirdgirlvlogchanne3647 4 жыл бұрын

This is my favorite philosophical satire.

@temp_name_change_later 6 жыл бұрын

:O I'm playing Overture to Candide in my high school band

@nicoville20 4 жыл бұрын

I only know Candide through the operetta by Leonard Bernstein, even then I knew that through the overture that our high school band played two years ago.

@precious_muse 6 жыл бұрын

I always thought that last sentence about tending the garden was rather snide. Someone, I don't remember who, starts commenting on optimism again and asks for Candide's input, and he said that in response. I interpreted that as his way of saying, "I've been through too much bad stuff, and I don't want to hear it."

@symoneontheinternet 5 жыл бұрын

watching this in 2019 for funsies. woo!

@rossheintzkill4848 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Candide is and has been one of my favorite books for 15-odd years. I think you captured perfectly his satirical points and philosophical curiosity. The book really is a piece of genius. I love the questions you ask about working in OUR garden, I don't disagree. But I think there's equal importance on THE WORKING of it. What characterize as opting-out of social ills, I think is more focusing on productivity. Candide is the passive recipient of actions throughout much of the book while searching externally for justification that we live in the best world. In the end (I read) the source of happiness is to A) make your own best world B) or at least work toward it C) inflict that viewpoint upon others as little as possible. I love your sentiment of sharing vegetables, but I think we should also focus most on our own gardens - the armies and bandits throughout the book I think represent the awful ramifications of thinking you should carry your good ideas to another place.

@merrittanimation7721 6 жыл бұрын

Ross Heintzkill It worked well for the guy who told them to garden