The rulers of Geneva expressed their view of Candide by burning it. The idea that the authorities in one part of Europe were incensed enough to set the work ablaze was very good publicity. Smugglers, meanwhile, made sure that anyone anywhere in Europe could get a copy of the small work on the black market. In general, that is the history of Voltaire's reception—people either fervently loved him, or they wanted to burn him. Today Voltaire's works are studied as artifacts and for amusement.

Immediate reviews of Candide were often defensive. For example, an anonymous review of the work in the The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle, in May of 1759, defended Leibnitz. The reviewer stated that no less a figure than Alexander Pope, in his An Essay on Man,expressed a belief in optimism. Furthermore, wrote the reviewer, it is not possible to disprove...