“Do you believe that men have always massacred each other as they do to-day, that they have always been liars, cheats, traitors, ingrates, brigands, idiots, thieves, scoundrels, gluttons, drunkards, misers, envious, ambitious, bloody-minded, calumniators, debauchees, fanatics, hypocrites, and fools?”
This provocative question comes from the sharp pen of Voltaire. It is a rhetorical firework, designed to shock and provoke. The quote challenges us to confront the darkest aspects of human nature. Furthermore, it forces us to consider whether vice and violence are timeless features of our existence. This question is not just a historical curiosity. Indeed, it remains deeply relevant, echoing in our modern headlines and daily interactions. To understand its power, we must explore its origin, its meaning within its original context, and its enduring impact.
The Source: A Pessimist’s View in Candide
We find this powerful quote in Voltaire’s 1759 satirical novella, Candide, ou l’Optimisme (Candide, or Optimism). Source . The character Martin, a long-suffering scholar, poses this question to the naive protagonist, Candide. Their conversation happens in Chapter 21 as they sail towards France, discussing the moral state of Paris.
Candide has been raised on the philosophy of his tutor, Pangloss. This philosophy claims we live in the “best of all possible worlds.” However, Candide’s brutal life experiences—war, natural disaster, and relentless cruelty—have severely tested this optimistic belief. Martin represents the complete opposite viewpoint. He is a Manichaean pessimist who sees the world as a domain of evil. Consequently, Martin delivers this quote not as a genuine inquiry, but as a cynical confirmation of his worldview. He essentially asks Candide, “Look at the world. Has it ever been any different?”
A Catalogue of Human Vice
The quote’s structure is a rhetorical device known as a catalogue. It presents a long, overwhelming list of human failings. Voltaire does not stop at simple evils like liars and thieves. Instead, he piles on a mountain of vices, creating a suffocating portrait of humanity. The list moves from violence (“massacred,” “bloody-minded”) to deception (“cheats,” “traitors”) and personal moral decay (“gluttons,” “drunkards”). It also includes intellectual and spiritual corruption (“fanatics,” “hypocrites”). This relentless inventory is meant to leave the reader, and Candide, with little room for argument. It paints a picture where human depravity is not an exception but the norm.
A Challenge to Unthinking Optimism
Voltaire wrote Candide as a direct attack on the philosophical optimism popular during the Enlightenment. He specifically targeted thinkers like Leibniz, who argued that a perfect God must have created the best possible world. Voltaire saw this idea as an absurd and dangerous justification for suffering and injustice. Through the relentless horrors Candide endures, Voltaire shows the absurdity of claiming that everything is for the best.
Martin’s question serves as the philosophical climax of this critique. It is the voice of harsh experience cutting through naive theory. By asking if humanity has always been this way, Martin suggests that evil is a fundamental, unchanging part of the human condition. This directly refutes the Panglossian idea that evil is merely a shadow in a grand, good design. Voltaire uses this stark pessimism to force readers to engage with the world’s real problems rather than accepting them with passive optimism. Public opinion on this matter remains divided.
The Enduring Relevance of Voltaire’s Question
Centuries after Voltaire penned these words, the question has lost none of its sting. We need only look at current events to see the same vices at play. Wars and conflicts showcase the “massacred” and “bloody-minded.” Political scandals reveal “liars,” “cheats,” and “hypocrites.” Moreover, social media often amplifies the “envious” and “calumniators.” The list feels disturbingly contemporary.
However, Voltaire’s ultimate message in Candide is not one of complete despair. The novella famously concludes with the advice, “we must cultivate our garden.” This final line suggests a path forward. While we may not be able to fix the world’s vast and timeless problems, we can create pockets of meaning, productivity, and sanity in our own lives. Therefore, the quote is not a call to surrender to cynicism. Instead, it is a call for clear-eyed realism. It reminds us of the darkness humanity is capable of, urging us to actively work against it, starting in our own small corners of the world.