/lit/ - Literature

>>5147447

It is a great little read, thoroughly recommend it to anyone with a light-heart.

>>5147447
>tfw I just want to cultivate my garden with my friends in a commune ;_;

I dunno if this is just me, but I see a bit of Thoreau in what Voltaire says about "gardening" whether it be metaphorical or otherwise. I know this is a simplistic comparison, but assuming Voltaire favors the anti-Melioristic retreat from society, these two are kindred spirits in at least that respect

>>5147447
If you thought that from Candide, read Joseph Heller's Picture This. It'll blow your fucking mind.

>>5147447
>Americlaps in charge of understanding any sort of humor more complex than cartoon strips

I know it was banned right from the start, and things have changed since the 1920s, but shit.

>>5147447
>SO BASED
>SO fucking prescient
>kernal of bastardized reddit-like neckbeard bullshit
>Laughed out loud around twenty times

Who the fuck counts the number of times they laugh while reading a book? You should learn to write before you make more posts

>>5147479
Sorry, if you thought this from Candide:
>how the fuck can one man be so right about so much through satire?

The rest isn't quite as applicable.

>>5147479
next on my list, thanks m80

>>5147481
chill out faggot, don't you have some Parisian plays to bitch about? I don't know how many times exactly, ya autist

;)

pro-tip:

We do live in the best of all possible worlds

Prove me wrong, fagit.

Hard mode: No bawww shit about bad stuff happening

>>5147521

*time to kant*

>>5147521
how's about giving me a couple of reasons?

>>5147447
>how the fuck can one man be so right about so much through satire?

I know right? Voltaire reminds me of an 18th century Jon Stewart. Not only is he HILARIOUS but he is just spot on about everything.

I mean it's common sense people! There's so many dumb people it's ridiculous and we need more books like this to show them just how stupid they are. Unfortunately, the only people who are going to read this are the smart ones so I doubt it's really helping much.

Either way, great book. Would recommend. 11/10.

>>5147567
jesus christ lmao

k

>>5147567

Yeah I know. I love Voltaire

>And one could say that if their intelligence is not of another species than ours, then it is greatly inferior. They are not capable of paying much attention; they mingle very little, and they do not appear to be made either for the advantages or the abuses of our philosophy.

>And it is a big question whether among them they are descendants of monkeys, or if monkeys come from them. Our wise men have said that man is the image of God: behold a pleasant image of the eternal Being with a flat black nose, with little or no intelligence! A time will come, without a doubt, when these animals will know how to cultivate the earth well, to embellish it with houses and gardens, and to know the routes of the stars. Time is a must, for everything.

what a man.

>>5147567

>there are people on /lit/ who watch jon stewart unironically

>>5147592
u being srs or being a sjw?

the man was one of the most voracious humanists in the world at the time, constantly strove to debauch extremely medieval and primitive church and govt practices, and was practically responsible for ending the church's refusal to bury actors.

just so's ya know's, a lot more people were openly racist back then bud

>>5147624
>There are people on /lit/ who watch Jon Stewart ironically
Why don't you just turn the television off?

>>5147624
>not getting pithy sarcasm

c'mon, son

>>5147624
>there are people on /lit/ who are simpleminded enough to do things "ironically"

that's just pretending you don't enjoy something because you want to be cool, which is stupid and pointless

>>5147636
I hope, that old hag wishes he was funny and his show appeals to the lowest denominator of people who have the nerve to think about themselves as of smart

>>5147651
okay, cool, now do you have any thoughts on Voltaire? I could give a blueberry-boated fuck about John Jewart

>>5147485
I hope you really do read it, anon. You won't be disappointed.

>>5147447
>this book has so many modern counterparts in terms of issues we believe modern society faces... SO fucking prescient. Too bad it's the kernal of bastardized reddit-like neckbeard bullshit.

I don't understand... maybe I should read it again, but to me it seemed pretty vapid and mostly cobbled together in order to show that we don't live in the best of possible worlds. Did I miss anything?

>>5147447
voltaire is pretty based. felt the same after reading micromegas

My favorite part was when he sold his last diamond. He went to find a Jew (obviously) who gave him half of what it's worth, swearing up and down that was all the money he had. Old school lighthearted antisemitism cracks me up.

Also the part when he gets captured wearing Jesuit clothing and they are going to kill him, and hes like relax guys I'm not a Jesuit, I just killed one and took his clothes, and they all have a good laugh about it.

>>5147828
oh god i know, the /pol/ack in me was having a field day with most of the book

"Candide" and "Micromégas" are great. I also read a few short stories by Voltaire picked at random and he wrote some seriously hilarious stuff as well as being spot on in his social comments. I'm glad our kids are still studying his works despite his antisemitism, let's hope it will last.

>>5147799
It's funny and makes fun of things in a fun and sometimes even clever way.

TL;DR: Fun and a bit of smartz

>>5148885
>those last two fucking sentences
heh

Voltaire followed up Candide with Zadig.

All of his books are in the public domain, and available at Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/

>>5147447
>Voltaire

>Not his plays
>Not his letters
>Not the Philosophical Dictionary

Since when /lit/ is THAT plebfag ?

>>5147447
Voltaire was a cunt.
For God's sake stop praising a guy who would try to put people who disagreed with him with false allegations. Thay guy is not based, he eas a selfish, decadent aristocrat. La France est le pays de Montaigne, pas celui de Voltaire.
(Oh and he basically simplified Leibniz's philosophy in order to mock. He's a mediocre troll.)

>>5147447
>with an appreciation by andre maurois
Fuck off andre we don't care.

>>5151346

I don't think anyone gives a shit about any of that.

People enjoy him cause he was funny. Most people can also judge the work and the person separately.

>>5151368
His work is a mess because "the person" always try to side with the winner. That guy was a bigger opportunist than Victor Hugo and it shows in his works.

>>5147828
no idea if there's an english version but you should read this

>>5151346
>a guy who would try to put people who disagreed with him with false allegations.
could you elaborate please?

>>5151143
haven't read them yet. Notice my last sentence asking where to go next with Voltaire. Got any suggestions? :^)

>>5151346
>not idolizing selfish aristocrats
Leibniz is boring as fuck and wrong, too.

>assuming that criticism of an ideology is required to be all encompassing for the sake of a 100 page satirical work written about not just said ideology
L M A O
christfag plz