Zadig, otherwise known as the Book of Fate, is a fictional story published in 1747 that was written by Voltaire. An entertaining read, Zadig tells the story of a young man named Zadig who is the epitome of goodness but comes across many problems due to his virtues.
The book begins with Voltaire’s description of Zadig: he was born in Babylon, was extremely intelligent, came from a rich family, wasn’t arrogant, never insulted anyone, was generous, and was well ahead of his time. For the last point, Zadig believed that the year lasted twelve months and that the Earth rotates around the sun at a time where few thought those ideas were true. Zadig was also handsome and kind, causing Voltaire to describe that few were ever like him, seeing how he was the best person in Babylon. He wanted to marry a woman named Semira, but a nephew of the Minister of State, Orcan, who believed himself more qualified to marry her, tried to take her away from him. She defended herself fiercely but was wounded, and when Zadig came to rescue her he succeeded in causing the kidnappers and assassins to flee, but in the process, an arrow pierced his right eye. Due to his partially ruined appearance and the testimony of a doctor that he would lose his right eye, Semira left Zadig and decided to marry Orcan. When Zadig learned the news, he was heartbroken and underwent months of emotional agony and physical sickness. “At last, however, by Dint of Reflection, he got the better of his Distemper; and the Acuteness of the Pain he underwent, in some Measure, contributed towards his Consolation.” After the incident, he began courting Azora, the daughter of very rich parents, and eventually married her. A friend of Zadig named Cador wanted to marry his wife and used trickery to do so. That is, when Cador went to the countryside and was returning, Cador told her that Zadig had died suddenly and was going to be buried (to test her loyalty to him). After she mourned for a while, she became closer to Cador, and he pretended to be sick and said that only the nose of a dead man can better his health. Azora, hearing this, went to the coffin with Zadig’s “body” (he was pretending to be dead, of course) and almost cut off his nose, as she thought him dead. Zadig, disappointed in her to some degree, decided to divorce her after their honeymoon, as he found her to be termagant. He moved to a country house near the Euphrates and spent his time pursuing mathematics (one of the values he’s interested in is how many inches of water go under the bridge in a second). One day some officials of the king and queen came to the area and asked Zadig whether he saw the queen’s dog or not. Zadig proceeded to give the specific details of the dog: “She has had Puppies too lately; she’s a little lame with her left Fore-foot, and has long Ears. By your exact Description, Sir, you must doubtless have seen her, said the Eunuch, almost out of Breath. But I have not Sir, notwithstanding, neither did I know, but by you, that the Queen ever had such a favourite Bitch.” At that same instant, some officials that served the king’s hunting needs asked Zadig whether he saw the king’s horse. Zadig, answering in a way akin to the previous instant, inferred that the horse “is about five Foot high, his Hoofs are very small; his Tail is about three Foot six Inches long; the studs of his Bit are of pure Gold, about 23 Carats; and his Shoes are of Silver, about Eleven penny Weight a-piece … I never cast Eyes on him, reply’d Zadig, not I, neither did I ever hear before now, that his Majesty had such a Palfrey.” The officials, seeing Zadig’s exact answers, thought that he was hiding information from them, causing them to arrest him and to sentence him to exile in Siberia. Before he could be sent there, however, the dog and the horse were found. Zadig, however, was charged four hundred ounces of gold for denying his seeing them. Zadig at the hearing elegantly explained how he was able to use his senses, intuition, and logic to figure out the exact characteristics of the dog and the horse without seeing them for himself: “As I was walking by the Thicket’s Side, where I met with her Majesty’s most venerable chief Eunuch, and the King’s most illustrious chief Huntsman, I perceiv’d upon the Sand the Footsteps of an Animal, and I easily infer’d that it must be a little one. The several small, tho’ long Ridges of Land between the Footsteps of the Creature, gave me just Grounds to imagine it was a Bitch whose Teats hung down; and for that Reason, I concluded she had but lately pupp’d. As I observ’d likewise some other Traces … I knew well enough she must have had long Ears. And foreasmuch as I discern’d; with some Degree of Curiosity, that the Sand was every where less hollow’d by one Foot in particular, than by the other three, I conceiv’d that the Bitch of our most august Queen was somewhat lamish, if I may presume to say so. As for the Palfrey … I was walking down the Lane by the Thicket-side, I took particular Notice of the Prints made upon the Sand by a Horse’s Shoes; and found that their Distances were in exact Proportion; from that Observation, I concluded the Palfrey gallop’d well. In the next Place, the Dust of some Trees in a narrow Lane, which was but seven Foot broad, was here and there swept off, both on the Right and on the left, about three Feet and six Inches from the Middle of the Road. For which Reason I pronounc’d the Tail of the Palfrey to be three Foot and a half long … I perceiv’d under the Trees, which form’d a Kind of Bower of five Feet high, some Leaves that had been lately fallen on the Ground, and I was sensible the Horse must have shook them off; from whence I conjectur’d he was five Foot high. As to the Bits of his Bridle, I knew they must be of Gold … he had rubb’d the Studs upon a certain Stone, which I knew to be a Touch-stone, by an Experiment that I had made … by the Prints which his Shoes had left of some Flint-Stones of another Nature, I concluded his Shoes were Silver, and of eleven penny Weight Fineness, as I before mention’d.”
Zadig’s intelligence amazed the jury, and he was made exempt from paying the fine (three hundred ninety ounces of gold were given back to him; ten were kept to pay for the proceedings of the court). Zadig’s intelligence reached the king and queen, and he became famous. But fame comes at its cost: many magi (religious leaders) said that he was a sorcerer, and that he should be executed. Zadig decided that saying too much would hurt him, causing him to pay more attention to his words. Sometime after, an escaped criminal ran past Zadig’s house. Zadig pretended to be ignorant when the police came to question him, but it was ruled that he was withholding information. Zadig proceeds to say that it is impossible for him to get peace and quiet. He soon amassed a group of people who would provide interesting topics for him to learn and discuss, and he would dine with them frequently. In the house opposite to him lived a man named Arimazes who was proud and envious. Arimazes, who was envious of Zadig’s happiness, went into his property and came across a piece of a tablet that included some phrases that seemed to rebuke the king. They are as follows: “To flagrant Crimes / His Crown he owes; / To peaceful Times / The worst of Foes.” Ecstatic, he went to the king and presented him with the evidence. Zadig, two of his friends, and a woman he knew were put into prison, were refused a chance to defend themselves at a trial, and were sentenced to death. Right before being executed, the king’s parrot brought to the king a portion of the tablet that made it clear that Zadig wasn’t a traitor. That is, the tablet was broken in two, and the portion the king was first presented with was the right portion, while the left portion was the one that was later discovered. The completed tablet reads as follows: “Tyrants are prone to flagrant Crimes; / To Clemency his Crown he owes; / To Concord and to peaceful Times, / Love only is the worst of Foes.” The king ordered for Zadig and the others to be freed, and Zadig’s intelligence, kindness, and modesty made him admire him greatly. He ordered for the property of Arimazes to be given to Zadig as a monetary award, but Zadig graciously refused it, and returned to Arimazes all his belongings. Zadig became a trusted member of the king and queen’s court and grew more and more popular every day. In Babylon there was an annual holiday that involved celebrating the most heroic person. Anyone can qualify, so long that they did the necessary valorous and noble deed. There were three final contestants. The first was a judge who accidentally lost a court case for a client (though it was largely out of his control), causing him to give his client restitution. The next candidate was a young man who was infatuated with a woman that he wanted to marry but allowed his sick friend to court her instead. The third candidate was a soldier “who, in the Hyrcanian War, had done a much more glorious Action than the Lover. A Gang of Hyrcanians having taken his Mistress from him, he fought them bravely, and rescued her out of their Hands: Soon after, he was inform’d, that another Band of the same Party had hurried away his Mother to a Place not far distant; he left his Mistress … and ran to his Mother’s Assistance: After that Skirmish was over, he returned to his Sweet-heart, and found her just expiring. He would fain have plung’d a Dagger into his Heart that Moment; but his Mother remonstrated to him, that, should he die, she should be entirely helpless, and upon that Account only he had Courage to live a little longer.” Zadig was the judge of the case, but before he could cast his decision, the king spoke up on his behalf. A few days ago, he was going to banish the Prime Minister from the Court. When he discussed his decision with his court, the sycophants around him told him that he was too merciful and slandered and denounced the Prime Minister. Only Zadig was honest with his opinion and told the king that the Prime Minister was an honorable man. The king spoke, “I have read in our public Records, indeed, of Instances where Restitution have been generally made, for Injuries committed by Mistake; where a Mistress has been resign’d; and where a Mother has been preferr’d to a Mistress; but I never read of a Courtier, that would speak to the Advantage of a Minister in Disgrace, and against whom the Sovereign was highly incens’d. I’ll give 20,000 Pieces of Gold to every Candidate that has been this Day proclaim’d, but I’ll give the Cup to no one but Zadig.” The day ended on a happy note, as the three candidates were given a monetary award and saw their names inscribed in the Book of Fame for posterity while Zadig received the cup of honor. Beautiful festivities made the day even better, and Zadig believed he was finally happy, though he was still mistaken.
Zadig was made the chief magistrate of all the juries in Babylon. He did a good job administering justice, as he firmly believed that “‘tis much more Prudence to acquit two Persons, tho’ actually guilty, than to pass Sentence of Condemnation in one that is virtuous and innocent.” The first day Zadig was appointed to his position, he received a case in which two brothers were arguing over the inheritance of their deceased father. To see who is more deserving, Zadig separately told them both that their father was in fact well and was coming to meet them. He proceeded to give the inheritance of thirty thousand Pieces to the son who showed more respect. In another incident, two magi courted a woman, as she became pregnant by one of them. When they debated who should get to marry her and raise the child, Zadig asked them both how they’ll instruct it as it matures. In the end, he let the magi who wanted the child to become an honest and kind man marry the woman instead of the magi who wanted to teach it a wide range of knowledge, seeing the importance of goodness. In another incident, he made a dissolute official quit his drunken ways by bombarding him with endless entertainment and praise that made it clear to him that living a life focused solely on pleasure actually decreases one’s overall enjoyment. Or as Voltaire wrote, “One continued Scene of Pleasure, is no Pleasure at all.” The queen of Babylon, Astarte, found herself admiring and adoring Zadig. Zadig reciprocated her feelings, though he didn't do anything dissolute, seeing how he tried to utilize his vast knowledge to calm his passion for the queen. Zadig, tormented by his feelings, confided his situation to Cador, who told him he should have an affair with Astarte seeing how his passion wouldn’t leave anytime soon. Zadig loathed the idea and refused to act on it. Astarte, however, found herself becoming obsessed with him, and spoke so often of him (and she blushed whenever she did) that the king believed that she was being unfaithful. The king, advised by those who were envious of Zadig, decided to have Astarte poisoned and Zadig strangled in retaliation for their imagined relationship. Fortunately for both of them, a dwarf of the court overheard the conspiracy and drew a picture that represented the king’s plan to have them both murdered before sending it to the queen in the utmost haste. “He could not write, ‘tis true, but he had luckily learnt to draw, and take a Likeness. He spent a good Part of the Night in delineating with Crayons, on Piece of Paper, the imminent Danger that thus attended the Queen. In one Corner, he represented the King highly incens’d, and giving his cruel Eunuch the fatal Orders; in another, a Bowl and a Cord upon a Table; in the Center was the Queen, expiring in the Arms of her Maids of Honour, with Zadig strangled, and laid dead at her Feet. In the Horizon was the rising sun, to denote, that this execrable Scene was to be exhibited by Break of Day.” When the queen received the picture, she realized what it meant and sent Zadig a letter imploring him to flee at once. The letter included the fact that he would be slain if he stayed any longer and that the king wished to have her dead as well. Zadig was devastated, but Cador helped spur him to action by getting him two fast horses. As Zadig escaped Babylon, he was full of melancholy as he went into Egypt. He cursed his bad fortune and the ridiculousness of life: “What is this mortal Life! O Virtue, Virtue, of what Service hast thou been to me! Two young Ladies, a Mistress, and a Wife, have prov’d false to me; a third, who is perfectly innocent, and ten thousand Times handsomer than either of them, has suffer’d Death, ‘tis probable, before this, on my Account! All the Acts of Benevolence which I have shewn, have been the Foundation of my Sorrows, and I have been only rais’d to the highest Spoke of Fortune’s Wheel, for no other Purpose than to be tumbled down with the great Force. Had I been as abandon’d as some Miscreants are, I had like them been happy. His Head thus overwhelm’d with these melancholy Reflections … his Very Soul thus plung’d in the Abyss of deep Despair, he pursu’d his Journey towards Egypt.” When he entered Egypt, he saw a beautiful woman being violently beaten by a man. Intervening, he begged for the Egyptian to stop his brutality. The Egyptian, wrathful, attacked Zadig. While he was physically strong, Zadig was nimble and prudent, which led to his victory. While he was willing to spare his life, the Egyptian stabbed him with a dagger. Zadig, having had enough, ended his life. Zadig comforted the woman and told her that he did what he did to save them both, but the woman, instead of showing gratitude, cursed him for murdering her lover. That is, she said that she loved him, and that he had every right to beat her. Zadig noted with astonishment that she was very ridiculous, as her lover would have taken her life (or at least her health) if he didn't intervene on her behalf. She continued to yell at him, and at that moment four couriers from Babylon appeared. It turned out that the queen had gone missing, so the king sent his officers to retrieve her for execution. Upon seeing the woman, they believed that she was the queen, seeing her beauty, and took her away. As she was being taken away, she begged for Zadig to save her, but Zadig refused to do so, seeing her personality: “Find some other to be your Fool now, Madam; you shan’t impose upon me a second Time. I’ll assure you, Madam, I know better Things. Besides he was wounded; and bled so fast that he wanted Assistance himself … He made all the Haste he could towards the Village''.
When Zadig reached the village, the people believed that he was the violent man (it turned out the man murdered Cletofis, the lover of the woman whose name was correspondingly Missouf, and ran off with her). Zadig defended himself, saying that he wasn’t the person they were searching for and that he wouldn’t elope with a woman. He then stated that he defended Missouf and slew the violent man for the sake of self-defense. Zadig states that he would appreciate hospitality and that he desires stability and safety. The Egyptians gave him good treatment, as they treated his injury and put him on trial. Zadig was acquitted of murder and of the charge that he was the one who murdered Cletofis and ran off with Missouf. However, for murdering someone, he was forced to become a slave, and his two horses were sold to pay for the money used to assemble the jury. Zadig’s master had another slave, and Zadig took care to comfort his comrade by telling him to remain determined. Zadig’s master, named Setoc, became impressed with his knowledge of finance and commerce, and he respected him greatly when Zadig helped him in a court case. That is, Setoc lent five hundred ounces of silver to a Jew (Voltaire was quite prejudiced towards Jewish people due to how he loathed monotheistic religion, which he viewed as originating with them) who refused to pay it back. Zadig was informed of all the details of the transaction by Setoc, and he called a court case. He informed the judge that the Jew and his master had made their monetary contract on a rock and that it should be brought down as evidence. The judge thought it a reasonable request, and asked for the rock to be brought to court. Before the meeting was to be broken up due to how long it was taking, though, the Jew stated that the hearing should be continued the next day, as the stone is six miles away and requires fifteen people to move it. Zadig pointed out that the Jew thereby acknowledged his guilt due to his confessing the specific characteristics of the rock. Subsequently, the Jew was forced to pay back the five hundred ounces of silver. Over time, Zadig realized that Setoc was an honest, benevolent person. Thus, he told him that the stars are not in fact gods, as has been taught in society, but material objects that are large in size and far away. Zadig convinced Setoc to refrain from unnecessarily lavish spending, as he demonstrated that the stars provided enough light to not warrant the use of an extensive number of candles. Voltaire then writes that at that point in time Arabia believed in a form of sati: if a man dies and he’s married, the widow must perish with him. Near the area a man died, leaving a widow named Almona. She prepared to kill herself and throw her body on her husband’s funeral pyre before Zadig, outraged upon hearing the barbarous custom (he tellingly said that even if something foolish has been done a long time, it shouldn’t be allowed to continue even longer, seeing how reason and logic lasted far longer than any tradition), convinced Almona to not kill herself by merely engaging in conversation with her that revealed that the only reason she was willing to commit suicide was due to her fear that her reputation would be ruined if she wouldn’t go through with the custom. She tells him that she didn't like her husband at all, as he was an overcontrolling and angry man, and that she would be willing to live if she is allowed to remarry. Thus, Zadig went to the authorities and “prevailed with them to make it a Law for the future, that no Widow should be allow’d to fall a Victim to a deceased Husband, till after she had admitted some young Man to converse with her in private for a whole Hour together. The Law was pass’d accordingly, and not one Widow in all Arabia, from that Day to this, ever observ’d the Custom. ‘Twas to Zadig alone that the Arabian Dames were indebted for the Abolition, in one Hour, of a Custom so very inhuman, that had been practis’d for such a Number of Ages. Zadig, therefore, with the strictest Justice, was look’d upon all the Fair Sex in Arabia, as their most bountiful Benefactor.”
Setoc took Zadig to a fair. At the fair some people began quarreling over their differing religious faiths, and Zadig solved the issue by stating that they worship the same being and that it wouldn’t want them to fight over some trivial facts. Upon hearing this, those who had been enraged just a moment ago became appeased. Unfortunately, Zadig was sentenced to death by the Priests of the Stars, religious authorities who made a large quantity of money by the barbaric tradition that females would kill themselves when their husbands die, seeing that they would give them their possessions. The Priests of the Stars went to the judges and told them that Zadig was a heretic, for he said that stars in the sky were separate planetary bodies that didn't come from the ocean of the earth. Upon hearing this, the judges sentenced him to death by burning. Although Setoc tried his best to have Zadig acquitted, he was ignored. But Zadig was aided by Almona, who enjoyed her life to some degree and resolved to live. She saved him by deciding to appeal to the corruption of the priests: she dressed herself in revealing clothing and applied various materials to better her appearance. She went to the Priests of the Stars and used all her attractiveness (and she was very fair) to beguile them, telling them that she would have an affair with them (she went to each priest separately to maintain her credibility) if they would but sign a form that would pardon Zadig. Once she got all the signatures, she showed the form to the judge and exposed the corruption and decadence of the Priests of the Stars. Zadig was subsequently released and Setoc married Almona. Setoc and Zadig tearfully separated, and Zadig moved towards Syria, recollecting his fate and possible future: “to pay four hundred Ounces of Gold for only seeing a Bitch pass by me; to be condemn’d to be beheaded for four witless Verses in Praise of the King; to be strangled to Death, because a Queen was pleas’d to look upon me; to be made a Prisoner, and sold as a Slave for saving a young Lady from being sorely abus’d by a Brute rather than a Man; and to be upon the Brink of being roasted alive, for no other Offence than saving for the future all the Widows in Arabia from becoming idle Burnt-Offerings, and mingling their Ashes with those of their deceased worthless husbands.” Zadig and his courier were soon attacked by bandits, and they fought so bravely despite being outnumbered that the leader of the brigand, a man named Arbogad, treated them kindly. Arbogad reveals to Zadig that he came from nothing (he compares his ascension to wealth as how a grain of sand becomes a diamond) and that although he is in charge of robbers, he doesn’t view himself in a negative light. He asks for Zadig to serve under him, and Zadig politely declines and asks for the situation at Babylon. Arbogad reveals that the king has gone insane and was then murdered, that the queen is still missing, and that Babylon is in chaos. Arbogad then passed out after drinking much alcohol, and Zadig left while thinking about Astarte. He soon came across a destitute fisherman who called himself the unhappiest person who ever lived. That is, before being financially ruined, he was famous for the cheese that he produced. He was also quite wealthy and had a wife, but then fate deprived him of those two things as well (his house was destroyed and his wife abandoned him). He attempted to jump into the river, seeing how his net got no fish, but Zadig stopped him. The Fisherman elaborates his story, telling Zadig that he made cheese for the royal court itself (he mentioned Zadig by name, as he didn't know the person he was talking to was he). However, when the king enacted his plan of executing Zadig and Astarte, he made it clear that he wouldn’t pay him for the large amount of cheese he bought. His wife then left him for Orcan and refused to have anything to do with him. Zadig tells the Fisherman to go to Babylon to see Cador, and that he should tell Cador that he encountered his friend on the way there. Zadig notes to himself that while he is willing to help others, no one seems to desire to help him. He gives the fisherman some money he brought him with from Arabia and the fisherman is ecstatic and begins to hope for a better future, telling Zadig that he is his savior. Zadig tells the fisherman that he is actually worse off than he is. The fisherman, unbelieving, asks him how that can be, seeing that he seems to be financially successful. Zadig tells him that his worst pains “arose from the Narrowness of your Circumstances; but mine proceeds from an internal, and much deeper Cause … He recollected the whole Series of his Misfortunes … such worthless Barbarians [Orcan] are the Favourites of Fortune … They took their Leave; the Fisherman blessing his propitious Stars, and Zadig cursing, every Step he went, the Hour he was born.”
As Zadig traveled, he came across young female Syrians who were trying to find a basilisk for their master, a man named Ogul who owns a castle. That is, Ogul suffers from bad health and has been told by his doctor that he needs to eat a basilisk to recover. When Zadig examined the scene, a specific woman caught his eye. To be specific, she was graceful but seemed to be melancholy, as she sighed in a heartbroken way. It then turned out that she was tracing letters on some sand, and the word she wrote formed “Zadig.” Zadig asked her why she wrote his name, and when she saw him, she fainted: she was Astarte. Astarte, coming to, told Zadig of what happened to her. To begin, before she was executed, she was taken by Cador and his brother (a Magus, a religious official) into the Temple of Orosmades and was locked into a statue for her safety. Thus she was able to survive for the moment. Cador, to divert attention from himself and to aid the escape of Zadig and Astarte, tells the king that Zadig went to India and Astarte Memphis. The king proceeded by sending soldiers to catch them. The soldiers, however, didn't know what Astarte looked like, causing them while in Egypt to believe that a certain beautiful young woman was she. They brought her back, and when they presented her to the king, he was astounded by her beauty. It turns out that the woman who was caught was the one Zadig saved from being beaten to death—Missouf. The king quickly became utterly infatuated with her, and she acted in a spoiled, dissolute, and ridiculous way, causing people to loathe her and to desire the return of Astarte. The king quickly degenerated in his behavior and allowed Missouf to do as she pleased. One day the king went to the temple that Astarte was hiding in and asked Missouf to be blessed by the gods. Astarte then utilized the opportunity to prank him: she spoke from the inside of the statue that “The Gods reject the Vows of a Monarch, that acts the Tyrant o’er his Subjects; One, who could think of murdering an innocent Wife; and admit of a worthless Beauty to supply her Place.” After hearing this, the king believed that the gods had told him that, and he went insane in a matter of days. His subjects, seeing how he had finally lost his mind, rebelled and a civil war broke out. Astarte finally escaped from the statue, and while the king tried to escape with Missouf, he was killed by his enemies. The prince of Hyrcania found Astarte and made her his servant (concubine). When Astarte told him that she would rather kill himself, “He replied, with a Sneer, that young Ladies, like me, seldom kill’d themselves, and that they were made for Enjoyment; and then turn’d upon his Heel, with as careless an Air, as a Man would part with his Paroquet, when he had shut her up close in her gilded Cage.” Missouf was also captured, and Astarte flattered her, telling her that she will do a much better job pleasing the prince of Hyrcania than her, and asked her aid in escaping, as she heard that Zadig was in Memphis. Missouf, pleased, helped her escape. When Astarte left, the underlings of Arbogad captured her and sold her to some merchants who then sold her to Ogul. The cause of Ogul’s ill health is then made quite obvious: he is sick due to his obesity and how much food and drink he consumes while refraining from exercise. Zadig and Astarte talked some more before Zadig approached Ogul and told him that he had the basilisk to help him. He asks that in exchange for better health he be given Astarte, and he offers himself in her place if he fails to make him healthier. Ogul gladly accepted and Zadig quickly went to work. He tells Ogul that the basilisk requires much physical movement by the person in order to spread throughout their body, which means that he must kick a punching bag once a day for an hour with all the strength he can. Although Ogul struggled to follow Zadig’s advice on the first day, it became easier for him over time, so much so that in eight days his health had vastly improved. Zadig then reveals to him that the cure lay not in basilisks (seeing that they don’t exist) but in exercise and temperance. He also informs him that luxury is to be avoided, seeing how it encourages laziness. Ogul’s head physician plotted to harm Zadig for humiliating him, but Zadig left for Babylon due to receiving a message from Astarte before he could be victimized.
When Astarte entered Babylon, the prince of Hycrania was dead, for he was killed in battle. The Babylonians stated that Astarte should wed the victor of an extensive tournament that tests both knowledge and physical prowess. When Zadig received the information and went to Babylon, he received his armor from Cador and a horse from Astarte. In the tournament, a very wealthy but cowardly and inexperienced man named Itabod was trounced, though he plotted trickery to get the queen’s hand and the throne. On the contrary, Zadig fought intelligently and fiercely, so much so that his opponent, an athletic prince named Hottam, was defeated. In the night, Itabod stole Zadig’s armor and proclaimed himself the victor, as he wore his clothing (it should be noted that all those in the competition had to wear armor to conceal their identities from the spectators and the queen). Thus, when Zadig awoke, he was horrified, and cursed his fate once again: he murmured “at the unequal Dispensations of Divine Providence; and was tempted to believe, that all Occurrences were govern’d by a malignant Destiny, which neer fail’d to oppress the Virtuous, and always crown’d the Actions of such Villains as the green Knight [Itabod], with uncommon Success.” Zadig left the area and encountered a friendly and wise hermit who showed him a book titled the Book of Fate that includes much knowledge and allows people to see the future. It turns out that the hermit is an extremely intelligent being with much wisdom. The hermit and Zadig traveled for some time so that Zadig could become wiser himself. They first came unto a castle with a rich and friendly host who provided them with food and drink. When they left, the hermit stole a valuable. They then went to the cottage of a miser who treated them poorly, and the hermit gave his stingy and unpleasant host the valuable he had taken from the rich lord. He tells Zadig that what he did was justified: “the Grandee, who receives Visits of Strangers, with no other View than to gratify his Pride, and to raise their Astonishment at the Furniture of his Palace, will henceforth learn to be wiser; and the Miser to be more liberal for the Time to come.” They then came across a house where a philosopher lived. The philosopher treated them with kindness and let them stay for some time. The philosopher told them that he constructed his house to help travelers, and offered them some silver for their journey (which the Hermit refused). When Zadig and the hermit left, the hermit set the philosopher’s house on fire. Zadig was outraged and confused, but the hermit informed him that he did the philosopher a great good, for hidden underneath the house, unbeknownst to the philosopher, is a valuable treasure that will better his life and others. “In the Ruins, he will find an immense Treasure, that will enable him, from henceforth, to exert his Beneficence, and render his Virtues more and more conspicuous.” They then arrived at the house of a widow who had a nephew fourteen years of age who appeared to be promising. They stayed at their house for a night and the nephew prepared to lead them across a bridge that has the potential to be dangerous to strangers. Once they reached the bridge (which was over a river), the hermit threw the young boy into the river, where he quickly drowned. Zadig was utterly horrified and cursed the hermit for committing murder. The hermit then reminded him that he had promised not to judge his actions, and revealed that the Book of Fate mandated that if he had lived one more year, he would have murdered the widow. The hermit then took on his true form: he was an angel. Zadig paid his proper respects and engaged in a discourse with the angel regarding the nature of the world: “Would it not have been better to have chastise’d the Lad, and by that Means reform’d him, than to have cut him off thus unprepared’ in a Moment. Jesrad, replied, had he been virtuous, and had he liv’d, ‘twas his Fate not only to be murder’d himself, but his Wife, whom he would afterwards have married, and the little Infant … Is it necessary then … that there should be Wickedness and Misfortunes in the World, and that those Misfortunes should fall with Weight on the Heads of the Righteous? The Wicked, replied Jesrad, are always unhappy. Misfortunes are intended only as a Touch-stone, to try a small Number of the Just, who are thinly scatter’d about this terrestrial Globe: Besides, there is no Evil under the Sun, but some Good proceeds from it: But, said Zadig, Suppose the World was all Goodness, and there was no such Thing in Nature as Evil. Then, that World of yours, said Jesrad, would be another World … That great and first Cause has created an infinite Number of Worlds, and no two of them alike … And whatever you see on that small Atom of Earth, whereof you are a Native, must exist in the Place, and at the Time appointed, according to the immutable Decrees of him who comprehends the Whole … all Misfortunes are intended, either as severe Trials, Judgments, or Rewards; and are the Result of Foreknowledge … the Angel took his Flight towards the tenth Sphere. Zadig sunk down upon his Knees, and acknowledg’d an over-ruling Providence with all the Marks of the profoundest Submission. The Angel … cried out … Make thy Way towards Babylon.”
Zadig followed the command of Jesrad. Upon arriving, he was happily received by the populace. He requests the chance to demonstrate that he be the one who should become king by being allowed to participate in the remainder of the tournament. That is, the part of the tournament that remains involves a test of knowledge. It was agreed to allow Zadig to demonstrate his competency, and when he was asked questions by the Grand Magus, he answered them all with flying colors. The first question involved that which destroys everything yet gives life to all in existence. Zadig responds that it’s time, seeing how time involves continual creation, growth, decay, and destruction. The next question involves the identity of that which people receive without asking, give without knowing, and lose without being conscious of its absence. Zadig answered that it is life, seeing how no one asked to be born, the importance of allowing people one’s time, and the unconsciousness of death from the perspective of the deceased, as death is very likely to be accompanied by the obliteration of the ego. All the other questions that were asked were answered with ease by Zadig, impressing everyone, causing some to remark that it was a shame that someone of his intelligence couldn’t fight properly. Zadig then told all present that Itobad had stolen his armor while he was asleep, and then challenged him to a duel to demonstrate that he had indeed been wronged and that Itobad is indeed guilty of theft. Itobad, having no other option, accepted. As expected, he was rapidly beaten, and Zadig was declared the king of Babylon. He married Astarte and ruled justly. When it came to his reign, he allowed Missouf a certain degree of freedom, appointed Arbogad to a position in the military and made it clear that if he continues robbing people he will be severely punished, called Setoc and Almonza to act as leaders in the commercial life of Babylon, made Cador his favorite minister, gave the dwarf some recompense, gave the fisherman a house, punished Orcan by forcing him to pay the fisherman a large fine for stealing his wife and giving her back (the fisherman, “grown wise by Experience,” took only the fine and decided to cut his wife out of his life), and allowed Semira, Azora, and Itobad to live unmolested. The envious informer eventually died “with Shame and Vexation.” As a whole, “The Empire was glorious abroad, and in the full Enjoyment of Tranquility, Peace and Plenty, at home: This, in short, was the true golden Age. The whole Country was sway’d by Love and Justice. Every one blest Zadig; and Zadig blest Heav’n for his unexpected success.”
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Personal thoughts:
Zadig by Voltaire is an entertaining, humorous, powerful, and insightful novel. Voltaire’s imagination is a sheer pleasure to note, and his critique of the frequently wanton behavior of the aristocracy and the rigidities of dogmatic religion is powerful and to the point. I enjoyed this novel greatly, though I personally don’t agree with Jesrad regarding how everything supposedly happens for a reason. There is so much random misery in the world (disease, famine, accidents) that it seems foolish to me to try to justify all of it. After all, it’s easy to say that everything has a reason when one is in a favorable position in life, while it’s much harder to allege that same notion when one goes through much unexpected, harsh tragedy. Aside from that, the novel is wholly worthwhile to read, especially seeing how Voltaire does include a variety of life lessons in the text, from the importance of temperance to patience to justice. I highly recommend Zadig to anyone interested in novels, humorous works, Voltaire, life lessons, and critiques of certain aspects of society.
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