What does Voltaire mean by the phrase cultivate our garden?

What does Voltaire mean by the phrase cultivate our garden?

By “garden” Voltaire meant a garden, not a field—not the land and task to which we are chained by nature but the better place we build by love. The force of that last great injunction, “We must cultivate our garden,” is that our responsibility is local, and concentrated on immediate action.

What is Voltaire’s message when Candide states that he will cultivate his garden ‘?

Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, “we must cultivate our garden”, in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, “all is for the best” in the “best of all possible worlds”.

What does the cultivation of Candide’s garden symbolize?

The Garden At the end of the novel, Candide and his companions find happiness in raising vegetables in their garden. The symbolic resonance of the garden is rich and multifaceted. Finally, the garden represents the cultivation and propagation of life, which, despite all their misery, the characters choose to embrace.

Who says we must cultivate our garden?

Voltaire
Voltaire, who liked to stir the prejudices of his largely Christian readers, especially enjoyed giving the idea for the most important line in his book – and arguably the most important adage in modern thought – to a Muslim, the true philosopher of the book known only as ‘the turk’: Il faut cultiver notre jardin: ‘we …

Who said we must cultivate our garden?

What is the main point of Candide?

Optimism vs. Reality: Voltaire’s Candide has many themes, but its most central is the inadequacy of optimistic thinking. Certain philosophers from Voltaire’s time actively preached that the world was in its best possible state, created in perfect balance and order.

What does Voltaire say about tending your own garden?

Voltaire in Candide says that “tending one’s own garden” is not only a private activity but also productive (1759)

What was the moral of Candide by Voltaire?

cultivate one’s own garden. To take care of one’s own needs before trying to take care of others: “The mayor ought to cultivate his own garden before he starts telling the governor what to do.” This is the moral of Candide, by Voltaire: take care of your own, and the world will take care of itself.

What did Voltaire mean by ” we must cultivate peace “?

To be at peace in the world, Voltaire argued, we must accept the world as it is, not as we want it to be, and give up utopian ideas of societies perfected by science and reason. In short, to “tie our personal moods” to human affairs writ large is to invite endless misery.

What did Voltaire mean by’live like an old Turk’?

Live quietly like the old turk, enjoying the sunshine in the orange bower next to your house. This is Voltaire’s stirring, ever relevant form of horticultural quietism. We have been warned – and guided. It was no coincidence that Voltaire should have put his lines about the cultivation of the garden into the mouth of a Muslim.