Voltaire - Collected Philosophical Works, incl. Candide (34 books)

* Voltaire - Collected Philosophical Works, incl. Candide (34 books)

VOLTAIRE (1694-1778) , the pen name of François-Marie Arouet, stands as one of the defining voices of the European Enlightenment. A tireless critic of intolerance, clerical power, and arbitrary monarchy, he combined philosophical argument with literary brilliance, wielding wit as a weapon against dogma. His vast body of work—spanning tragedy, poetry, history, philosophy, satire, and an immense correspondence—helped shape eighteenth-century debates on civil liberties and religious toleration. Though not a systematic philosopher in the manner of later thinkers, Voltaire’s clarity, accessibility, and relentless advocacy for reason made him one of the most influential public intellectuals of his age.

He cemented his reputation as a provocative thinker with LETTERS ON ENGLAND (1734). Written after his stay in England, he praises English constitutional monarchy, religious pluralism, and the scientific achievements of figures such as Newton and Locke, contrasting them implicitly with French absolutism and clerical rigidity. The book was condemned and publicly burned in Paris, forcing Voltaire into temporary exile, but it became a foundational Enlightenment text, introducing French readers to empiricism and political liberalism.

Voltaire’s most intense engagement with religious intolerance and philosophical error appears in his works of the 1760s. His best-known work and magnum opus, CANDIDE, OR OPTIMISM (1759) savagely mocks metaphysical optimism—especially Gottfried Leibniz's claim that this is “the best of all possible worlds”—through a rapid sequence of disasters exposing war, persecution, and injustice. Candide remains one of the most widely read works of the Enlightenment and showcases Voltaire’s sharp use of satire to challenge philosophical and societal norms.

In response to the wrongful execution of Jean Calas, a Protestant falsely accused of murdering his son, Voltaire's TREATISE ON TOLERANCE (1763) transformed outrage into sustained moral argument, calling for religious pluralism and judicial reform. THE PHILOSOPHICAL DICTIONARY (1764), published soon after, gathered sharp, alphabetically arranged articles attacking superstition, fanaticism, and cruelty, and was repeatedly banned for its audacity. Together, these later works crystallize Voltaire’s mature thought: skeptical of system-building, fiercely opposed to intolerance, and committed above all to the practical defense of reason and humanity.


The following books are in ePUB and/or PDF format as noted:

== NON-FICTION ==

* A Pocket Philosophical Dictionary [tr. Fletcher] (Oxford, 2011) – ePUB / PDF
* Letters Concerning the English Nation [ed. Cronk] (Oxford, 1994) – PDF
* Letters on England [tr. Tancock] (Penguin, 2010) – ePUB
* Miracles and Idolatry [tr. Besterman] (Penguin Great Ideas, 2005) – PDF
* Philosophical Dictionary [tr. Besterman] (Penguin, 2004) – ePUB
* Philosophical Letters [ed. Leigh] (Hackett, 2007) – PDF
* Philosophy of History [ed. Kiernan] (Philosophical LIbrary, 1965) – ePUB
* Political Writings [ed. Williams] (Cambridge, 1994) – PDF
* Treatise on Tolerance & Other Writings [ed. Harvey] (Cambridge, 2000) – PDF
* Treatise on Toleration [tr. Clarke] (Penguin, 2016) – ePUB

== FICTION ==

* Candide and L'Ingénu (Union Square, 2025) – ePUB
* Candide and Other Stories [tr. Pearson] (Oxford, 2006) – ePUB / PDF
* Candide and Other Writings [ed. Block] (Modern Library, 1984) – PDF
* Candide and Philosophical Letters [tr. Aldington & Dilworth] (Modern Library, 1992) – PDF
* Candide and Related Texts [tr. Wootton] (Hackett, 2000) – PDF
* Candide, or Optimism [ed. Cronk, 3e] (Norton Critial Editions, 2016) – ePUB
* Candide, or Optimism [tr. Blair] (Bantam, 1981) – ePUB
* Candide, or Optimism [tr. Constantine] (Modern Library, 2005) – PDF
* Candide, or Optimism [tr. Cuffe] (Penguin, 2013) – ePUB
* Candide, or Optimism [tr. Gordon] (Bedford : St. Martin's, 1999) – PDF
* Candide, or Optimism [tr. Morley] (Barnes & Noble, 2003) – ePUB
* Candide, or Optimism [tr. Raffel] (Yale, 2005) – PDF
* Micromégas & Other Short Fictions [tr. Cuffe] (Penguin, 2009) – ePUB
* Micromegas & Other Stories [tr. Fleming] (Dedalus : Hippocrene, 1989) – PDF
* Zadig and L'Ingénu [tr. Butt] (Penguin, 2006) – ePUB

== PLAYS ==

* Mahomet the Prophet, or Fanaticism [tr. Myers] (Ungar, 1964) – PDF
* Seventeen Plays [tr. Fleming] (Start, 2012) – ePUB

== LETTERS & NOTEBOOKS ==

* Love Letters to His Niece [ed. Besterman] (Kimber, 1958) – PDF
* Notebooks, Vol. I [ed. Besterman] (Institut Voltaire, 1952) – PDF
* Notebooks, Vol. II [ed. Besterman] (Institut Voltaire, 1952) – PDF
* Selected Letters [ed. Brooks] (NYU, 1973) – PDF

== MISCELLANEOUS ==

* Collected Works (Delphi Classics, 2015) – ePUB
* The Portable Voltaire [ed. Redman] (Penguin, 1977) – ePUB
* Voltaire's Revolution [ed. Noyer] (Prometheus, 2015) – ePUB


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