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Martin in Voltaire's Candide

'All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.' So Voltaire's Dr. Pangloss proclaims in the satire Candide. Candide skewers the philosophy of life of the idealistic philosopher Leibnitz, with whom Voltaire disagreed vehemently. Leibnitz believed that the world existed in a state of perfect harmony. The unbridled optimism embodied by Pangloss is constantly undermined by the horrible events in the world around him, including inquisitions, rapes, and murders.

To take issue with the Panglossian philosophy of optimism, Voltaire introduces a man named Martin who functions as Pangloss' antithesis. Martin, like all of the characters of the work, has survived countless horrors, but he seems to see the world clearly, unfiltered by dogmatic philosophy. Martin calls himself a Manichean -- someone who believes the world is evil, and created by an evil god, while the true heaven lies in a pure and isolated spot. Of all the characters in the novel, he seems to argue a philosophy that is closest to Voltaire's. "I scarce ever knew a city that did not wish the destruction of its neighboring city; nor a family that did not desire to exterminate some other family. The poor in all parts of the world bear an inveterate hatred to the rich, even while they creep and cringe to them; and the rich treat the poor like sheep" (Chapter 20). In other words, neither the poor nor the rich are good, and the world is innately unjust.

When Candide points out the sinking ship of the Dutch captain who swindled him as evidence of God's goodness and Martin says: "Very true…but why should the passengers be doomed also to destruction? God has punished the knave, and the Devil has drowned the rest" (Chapter 20). This pattern continues throughout the satire: wherever Candide sees something good, Martin peers beneath the surface and sees evil. Martin calls the world 'mad,' and says that nothing surprises him any more. However, when asked to articulate his philosophy, Martin's personal ideology does not seem completely Manichean -- he does not see the world so much as evil as he sees human nature as unchanging and unalterable. "Do you believe…that hawks have always been accustomed to eat pigeons when they came in their way?" (Chapter 21). In Martin's view, which is supported by all of the events of the novel, humans are by nature greedy, and want to accumulate as much as possible, no matter what moral codes they may violate in the process.

Voltaire's own concept of human nature might not be quite as negative as Martin's -- Martin is so inexorably pessimistic, he is just as much of a parody as is Pangloss -- however it is clearly closer to Martin's than it to Panglossian ideals. Some aspects of the book, such as Candide's goodness towards others and Candide's faith in Pangloss and Cunegund, indicate that not all human beings are rapacious and evil. Candide treats Martin with great kindness, and Martin seems to care about Candide enough to follow him through the world, even though the older man advances an ideology of cynicism. As is typical of Voltaire's anti-religious philosophy, when Candide appears to be ill and is mistaken for a rich man, he is besieged by incompetent doctors and priests. Martin threatens to throw the priest out the window (again showing his kinship with Voltaire) but his concern for Candide shows that although bitter, Martin is capable of showing compassion to his fellow human beings.