SOURCE: Wade, Ira O. “On the Relationship between Structure and Meaning in Candide,” and “Thought, Too, Is A Power.” In Voltaire and Candide: A Study in the Fusion of History, Art, and Philosophy, pp. 243-80. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1959.

In these essays, Wade focuses on the artistic organization of Candide, providing context for the creation of the work.

On the Relationship Between Structure and Meaning in Candide,

Il est certain qu'il y a dans toutes les langues du monde une logique secrète qui conduit les idées des hommes sans qu'ils s'en aperçoivent, comme il y a une géométrie cachée dans tous les arts de la main, sans que le plus grand nombre des artistes s'en doute.

—Voltaire to Beauzée¹

In reading Candide we become immediately conscious of its basic short sentences, which run on, someone has said, like Walt...