Voltaire was a true man of action, a knight of the Holy Ghost. He
plunged fiercely into the human arena, and fought through a laborious
life, against obscurantism, stupidity and tyranny. He had a clear-cut,
aristocratic mind. He hated mystical balderdash, clumsy barbarity, and
stupid hypocrisy. Candide is not only a complete refutation of
optimism; it is a book full of that mischievous humor, which has the
power, more than anything else, of reconciling us to the business of
enduring life.