Voltaire's attack on optimism in Candide Leibnitz underlines, in his Discours de Metaphysicalque (Discourse on Metaphysics) (1686) the role of a benevolent creator. He called the constituent components of the universe monads, and although the philosophy of monads is of little interest to readers of Candide, the conclusion that Leibnitz drew from these monads is crucial to understanding optimism. Leibnitz argued that all these monads were connected in a complex chain of cause and effect and that this link was made by a divine creator as he created the harmonious universe. Since he was benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient, he would logically create the best of all possible worlds. So, everything that happens in the universe is part of this bigger plan and therefore must go well. Humans fail to appreciate how the evils encountered in everyday life contribute to the better of universes and universal harmony, but they do so anyway. Optimism appealed to many because it answered a deep philosophical question that humanity had been grappling with since the beginning of faith. : If God is omnipotent and benevolent, then why is there so much evil in the world? Optimism provides an easy way out of this philosophical dilemma: God has made everything for the best, and even though one might experience personal misfortune, God (through one's misfortune) is still aiding the greater good. Voltaire's experiences led him to reject the idea that this is the best of all possible worlds. Examining death and destruction, both man-made and natural (including the Lisbon earthquake), Voltaire concluded that all was not well. Bad things are ah... half the paper ...... and we reply, in closing, to our Optimist friend: "This is very well said, said Candide, but we must cultivate our garden" (75). Works cited and consulted: Bottle, William. "The Garden of Candide". Voltaire: a collection of critical essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Durant, Will, Ariel Durant. The History of Civilization: Part IX: The Age of Voltaire. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965. Frautschi, R.L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide. NewYork: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1968.Lowers, James K, ed. "Cliff Notes on Voltaire's Candide". Lincoln: Cliff Notes, Inc. 1995. Richter, Peyton. Voltaire. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Candide and the Critics of Voltaire. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1996. Voltaire. White. New York: Viking Publishers, 1998.