Zadig
Zadig, a wise and virtuous young man in an imagined ancient Babylon, seems destined for happiness, yet fate flings him without warning from favor to disgrace and back again. Falsely accused, enslaved, raised to power, and cast down once more, he puzzles endlessly over why the good so often suffer while the wicked prosper. Voltaire uses the fast, glittering tale to mock superstition, tyranny, and the comfortable belief that everything happens for the best. Light on the surface and sharp underneath, it is one of his most entertaining philosophical stories and a small masterpiece of the Enlightenment. Free to download as a PDF or EPUB.
About the Author
Voltaire (1694-1778), pen name of Francois-Marie Arouet, was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher, and polemicist. Celebrated for his wit and his campaigns against tyranny and religious intolerance, he produced plays, histories, essays, and tales, of which Candide remains the most widely read.
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