rfect Being, he
would not have permitted the least sin or disorder to arise in his
dominions; yet, when they hear of any interposition on his part for the
good of the world, they pour ridicule upon the idea of such intervention
as wholly unworthy of the majesty of so august a Being. So weak and
wavering are their notions, that it agrees equally well with their creed,
that it becomes an infinitely perfect Being to do all things, and that it
becomes him to do nothing! Can you believe that an omnipotent God reigns,
says M. Voltaire, since he beholds the frightful evils of the world
without putting forth his arm to redress them? Can you believe, asks the
same philosopher, that so great a being, even if he existed, would trouble
himself about the affairs of so insignificant a creature as man?

Such inconsistencies are hardly worthy of a philosopher, who possesses a
wisdom so sublime, and a penetration so profound, as to authorize him to
sit in judgment on the order and harmony of the universe. They are
perfectly worthy, however, of the author of Candidus. The poison of this
work consists, not in its argument, but in its ridicule. Indeed, it is not
even an attempt at argument or rational criticism. The sole aim of the
author seems to be to show the brilliancy of his wit, at the expense of
"the best of all possible worlds;" and it must be confessed that he has
shown it, though it be in the worst of all possible causes.

Instead of attempting to view the existence of evil in the light of any
principle whatever, he merely accumulates evil upon evil; and when the
mass has become sufficiently terrific, with the jeering mockery of a small
fiend, he delights in the contemplation of the awful spectacle as a
conclusive demonstration that the Ruler of the world is unequal to the
government of his creatures. His book is merely an appeal to the ignorance
and feelings of the reader, and can do no mischief, except when it may
happen to find a weak head in union with a corrupt heart. For what does it
signify that the castle of the Baron Thunder-ten-trock was not the most
perfect of all possible castles; does this disprove the skill of the great
Architect of the universe? Or what does it signify that Dr. Pangloss lost
an eye; does this extinguish a single ray of the divine omniscience, or
depose either of the great lights which God ordained to rule the world?
Lastly, what does it signify that M. Voltaire, by a horrible abuse of his
powers, s