'If this is the best of all possible worlds, then what must the others be like?' "Candide", published simultaneously in five European capitals in 1759, became an instant bestseller and is now regarded by many as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. A master story-teller, Voltaire found the philosophical tale the perfect vehicle for his preoccupations with evil, human folly, and intolerance. He combined often wildly entertaining action with profoundly serious sense, parodying the traditional chivalric and Oriental tales with which his public was more familiar. This brilliant new translation of five of the major stories - "Micromegas", "Zadig", "The Ingenu", and "The White Bull", as well as "Candide" - is accompanied by a full introduction and notes which are indispensable to the modern reader.