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Chapter XXVII
Chapter XXVII of 30. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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Voyage de Candide à Constantinople.
Le fidèle Cacambo avait déjà obtenu du patron turc qui allait reconduire le sultan Achmet à Constantinople qu’il recevrait Candide et Martin sur son bord. L’un et l’autre s’y rendirent après s’être prosternés devant sa misérable hautesse. Candide, chemin fesant, disait à Martin: Voilà pourtant six rois détrônés avec qui nous avons soupé! et encore dans ces six rois il y en a un à qui j’ai fait l’aumône. Peut-être y a-t-il beaucoup d’autres princes plus infortunés. Pour moi, je n’ai perdu que cent moutons, et je vole dans les bras de Cunégonde. Mon cher Martin, encore une fois, Pangloss avait raison, tout est bien. Je le souhaite, dit Martin. Mais, dit Candide, voilà une aventure bien peu vraisemblable que nous avons eue à Venise. On n’avait jamais vu ni ouï conter que six rois détrônés soupassent ensemble au cabaret. Cela n’est pas plus extraordinaire, dit Martin, que la plupart des choses qui nous sont arrivées. Il est très commun que des rois soient détrônés; et à l’égard de l’honneur que nous avons eu de souper avec eux, c’est une bagatelle qui ne mérite pas notre attention. Qu’importé avec qui l’on soupe, pourvu qu’on fasse bonne chère?
A peine Candide fut-il dans le vaisseau, qu’il sauta au cou de son ancien valet, de son ami Cacambo. Eh bien! lui dit-il, que fait Cunégonde? est-elle toujours un prodige de beauté? m’aime-t-elle toujours? comment se porte-t-elle? Tu lui as, sans doute, acheté un palais à Constantinople?
Mon cher maître, répondit Cacambo, Cunégonde lave les écuelles sur le bord de la Propontide, chez un prince qui a très peu d’écuelles; elle est esclave dans la maison d’un ancien souverain, nommé Ragotski, à qui le Grand-Turc donne trois écus par jour dans son asile; mais, ce qui est bien plus triste, c’est qu’elle a perdu sa beauté, et qu’elle est devenue horriblement laide. Ah! belle ou laide, dit Candide, je suis honnête homme, et mon devoir est de l’aimer toujours. Mais comment peut-elle être réduite à un état si abject avec les cinq ou six millions que tu avais emportés? Bon, dit Cacambo, ne m’en a-t-il pas fallu donner deux au senor don Fernando d’Ibaraa, y Figueora, y Mascarenès, y Lampourdos, y Souza, gouverneur de Buénos-Ayres, pour avoir la permission de reprendre mademoiselle Cunégonde? et un pirate ne nous a-t-il pas bravement dépouillés de tout le reste? Ce pirate ne nous a-t-il pas menés au cap de Matapan, à Milo, à Nicarie, à Samos, à Petra, aux Dardanelles, à Marmara, à Scutari? Cunégonde et la vieille servent chez ce prince dont je vous ai parlé, et moi je suis esclave du sultan détrôné. Que d’épouvantables calamités enchaînées les unes aux autres! dit Candide. Mais, après tout, j’ai encore quelques diamants; je délivrerai aisément Cunégonde. C’est bien dommage qu’elle soit devenue si laide.
Ensuite, se tournant vers Martin: Que pensez-vous, dit-il, qui soit le plus à plaindre, de l’empereur Achmet, de l’empereur Ivan, du roi Charles-Édouard, ou de moi? Je n’en sais rien, dit Martin; il faudrait que je fusse dans vos coeurs pour le savoir. Ah! dit Candide, si Pangloss était ici, il le saurait, et nous l’apprendrait. Je ne sais, dit Martin, avec quelles balances votre Pangloss aurait pu peser les infortunes des hommes, et apprécier leurs douleurs. Tout ce que je présume c’est qu’il y a des millions d’hommes sur la terre cent fois plus à plaindre que le roi Charles-Édouard, l’empereur Ivan, et le sultan Achmet. Cela pourrait bien être, dit Candide.
On arriva en peu de jours sur le canal de la mer Noire. Candide commença par racheter Cacambo fort cher; et, sans perdre de temps, il se jeta dans une galère, avec ses compagnons, pour aller sur le rivage de la Propontide chercher Cunégonde, quelque laide qu’elle pût être.
Il y avait dans la chiourme deux forçats qui ramaient fort mal, et à qui le levanti patron appliquait de temps en temps quelques coups de nerf de boeuf sur leurs épaules nues; Candide, par un mouvement naturel, les regarda plus attentivement que les autres galériens, et s’approcha d’eux avec pitié. Quelques traits de leurs visages défigurés lui parurent avoir un peu de ressemblance avec Pangloss et avec ce malheureux jésuite, ce baron, ce frère de mademoiselle Cunégonde. Cette idée l’émut et l’attrista. Il les considéra encore plus attentivement. En vérité, dit-il à Cacambo, si je n’avais pas vu pendre maître Pangloss, et si je n’avais pas eu le malheur de tuer le baron, je croirais que ce sont eux qui rament dans cette galère.
Au nom du baron et de Pangloss les deux forçats poussèrent un grand cri, s’arrêtèrent sur leur banc, et laissèrent tomber leurs rames. Le levanti patron accourait sur eux, et les coups de nerf de boeuf redoublaient. Arrêtez! arrêtez! seigneur, s’écria Candide; je vous donnerai tant, d’argent que vous voudrez. Quoi! c’est Candide! disait l’un des forçats; quoi! c’est Candide! disait l’autre. Est-ce un songe? dit Candide; veille-je? suis-je dans cette galère? Est-ce là monsieur le baron, que j’ai tué? est-ce là maître Pangloss, que j’ai vu pendre?
C’est nous-mêmes, c’est nous-mêmes, répondaient-ils. Quoi! c’est là ce grand philosophe? disait Martin. Eh! monsieur le levanti patron, dit Candide, combien voulez-vous d’argent pour la rançon de M. de Thunder-ten-tronckh, un des premiers barons de l’empire, et de M. Pangloss, le plus profond métaphysicien d’Allemagne? Chien de chrétien, répondit le levanti patron, puisque ces deux chiens de forçats chrétiens sont des barons et des métaphysiciens, ce qui est sans doute une grande dignité dans leur pays, tu m’en donneras cinquante mille sequins. Vous les aurez, monsieur; remenez-moi comme un éclair à Constantinople, et vous serez payé sur-le-champ. Mais non, menez-moi chez mademoiselle Cunégonde. Le levanti patron, sur la première offre de Candide, avait déjà tourné la proue vers la ville, et il fesait ramer plus vite qu’un oiseau ne fend les airs.
Candide embrassa cent fois le baron et Pangloss. Et comment ne vous ai-je pas tué, mon cher baron? et mon cher Pangloss, comment êtes-vous en vie, après avoir été pendu? et pourquoi êtes-vous tous deux aux galères en Turquie? Est-il bien vrai que ma chère soeur soit dans ce pays? disait le baron. Oui, répondait Cacambo. Je revois donc mon cher Candide! s’écriait Pangloss. Candide leur présentait Martin et Cacambo. Ils s’embrassaient tous; ils parlaient tous à-la-fois. La galère volait, ils étaient déjà dans le port. On fit venir un Juif, à qui Candide vendit pour cinquante mille sequins un diamant de la valeur de cent mille, et qui lui jura par Abraham qu’il n’en pouvait donner davantage. Il paya incontinent la rançon du baron et de Pangloss. Celui-ci se jeta aux pieds de son libérateur, et les baigna de larmes; l’autre le remercia par un signe de tête, et lui promit de lui rendre cet argent à la première occasion. Mais est-il bien possible que ma soeur soit en Turquie? disait-il. Rien n’est si possible, reprit Cacambo, puisqu’elle écure la vaisselle chez un prince de Transylvanie. On fit aussitôt venir deux Juifs; Candide vendit encore des diamants; et ils repartirent tous dans une autre galère pour aller délivrer Cunégonde.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the French text of all thirty chapters (Beuchot edition, 1829) for fidelity, the author’s force and cadence, and modern clarity. The editor’s notes are omitted.
Candide's Journey to Constantinople.
The faithful Cacambo had already persuaded the Turkish captain who was taking Sultan Achmet back to Constantinople to receive Candide and Martin on board. Both went aboard after bowing low before his wretched Highness. On the way Candide said to Martin, "Yet we have had supper with six dethroned kings! And of those six kings, there is one to whom I even gave alms. Perhaps there are many other princes more unfortunate still. As for me, I have lost only a hundred sheep, and I am flying into Cunégonde's arms. My dear Martin, I say it again: Pangloss was right; all is well." "I hope so," said Martin. "But," said Candide, "what an improbable adventure we had in Venice! No one had ever seen or heard of six dethroned kings dining together at an inn." "That is no more extraordinary," said Martin, "than most things that have happened to us. Kings are very commonly dethroned; and as for the honor of dining with them, that is a trifle hardly worth our attention. What does it matter whom one dines with, provided one eats well?"
Candide had scarcely boarded the ship when he flung his arms around his former servant, his friend Cacambo. "Well," he said, "what is Cunégonde doing? Is she still a marvel of beauty? Does she still love me? How is she? No doubt you have bought her a palace in Constantinople?"
"My dear master," replied Cacambo, "Cunégonde washes dishes on the shore of the Propontis for a prince who has very few dishes. She is a slave in the household of a former sovereign named Ragotski, to whom the Grand Turk gives three crowns a day in his refuge. But far sadder is this: she has lost her beauty and become hideously ugly." "Ah! Beautiful or ugly," said Candide, "I am an honorable man, and it is my duty to love her always. But how can she have fallen so low, with the five or six million you took with you?" "Well," said Cacambo, "did I not have to give two million to senor don Fernando d’Ibaraa, y Figueora, y Mascarenès, y Lampourdos, y Souza, governor of Buénos-Ayres, to get permission to take Miss Cunégonde away? And did a pirate not cheerfully rob us of all the rest? Did that pirate not carry us to Cape Matapan, to Milo, to Nicarie, to Samos, to Petra, to the Dardanelles, to Marmara, to Scutari? Cunégonde and the old woman serve the prince I told you about, while I am a slave to the dethroned sultan." "What a chain of appalling calamities!" said Candide. "But after all, I still have a few diamonds; I shall easily free Cunégonde. It is such a pity she has grown so ugly."
Then, turning to Martin, he said, "Who do you think is most to be pitied: Emperor Achmet, Emperor Ivan, King Charles-Édouard, or me?" "I do not know," said Martin. "I would have to be inside your hearts to know that." "Ah!" said Candide. "If Pangloss were here, he would know and tell us." "I do not know," said Martin, "what scales your Pangloss could use to weigh human misfortunes and measure human suffering. All I can suppose is that there are millions of people on earth a hundred times more to be pitied than King Charles-Édouard, Emperor Ivan, and Sultan Achmet." "That may well be," said Candide.
In a few days they reached the channel leading to the Black Sea. Candide began by buying Cacambo's freedom at great expense. Without losing any time, he and his companions embarked on a galley to go to the shore of the Propontis in search of Cunégonde, however ugly she might be.
Among the chained rowers were two convicts who rowed very badly and whose bare shoulders the Levantine captain struck from time to time with an oxhide whip. On a natural impulse, Candide looked more closely at them than at the other galley slaves and approached them with pity. Certain features of their disfigured faces seemed to bear some resemblance to Pangloss and to that unfortunate Jesuit, the Baron, Miss Cunégonde's brother. The thought stirred and saddened him. He examined them even more closely. "Truly," he said to Cacambo, "if I had not seen Master Pangloss hanged, and if I had not had the misfortune to kill the Baron, I would think it was they who are rowing in this galley."
At the names of the Baron and Pangloss, the two convicts cried out, stopped at their bench, and dropped their oars. The Levantine captain rushed at them, and the blows of the oxhide whip came faster. "Stop! Stop, sir!" cried Candide. "I shall give you as much money as you wish." "What! Is that Candide?" said one of the convicts. "What! Is that Candide?" said the other. "Is this a dream?" said Candide. "Am I awake? Am I in this galley? Is that the Baron I killed? Is that Master Pangloss whom I saw hanged?"
"It is we, it is we," they answered. "What! Is that the great philosopher?" said Martin. "Sir, Captain," said Candide, "how much money do you want for the ransom of the Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh, one of the foremost barons of the empire, and Master Pangloss, the most profound metaphysician in Germany?" "Christian dog," replied the Levantine captain, "since these two Christian dogs of galley slaves are barons and metaphysicians, which must be great ranks in their country, you will give me fifty thousand sequins for them." "You shall have them, sir. Take me back to Constantinople like lightning and you will be paid on the spot. No, take me to Miss Cunégonde." At Candide's first offer the Levantine captain had already turned the bow toward the city, and he made the men row faster than a bird cleaves the air.
Candide embraced the Baron and Pangloss a hundred times. "And how did I fail to kill you, my dear Baron? And my dear Pangloss, how can you be alive after being hanged? And why are you both on the galleys in Turkey?" "Is it really true that my dear sister is in this country?" said the Baron. "Yes," replied Cacambo. "So I see my dear Candide again!" cried Pangloss. Candide introduced Martin and Cacambo to them. Everyone embraced; everyone spoke at once. The galley flew; they were already in port. A Jew was summoned, to whom Candide sold for fifty thousand sequins a diamond worth a hundred thousand; the man swore by Abraham that he could give no more. Candide immediately paid the ransoms of the Baron and Pangloss. Pangloss threw himself at his liberator's feet and bathed them in tears; the Baron thanked him with a nod and promised to repay him at the first opportunity. "But can it really be that my sister is in Turkey?" he said. "Nothing could be more certain," replied Cacambo, "since she is scouring dishes for a prince of Transylvania." Two more Jews were summoned at once; Candide sold more diamonds, and they all set out again in another galley to free Cunégonde.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the French text of all thirty chapters (Beuchot edition, 1829). The editor’s notes are omitted.
Candide's journey to Constantinople.
Faithful Cacambo had already persuaded the Turkish ship captain who was taking Sultan Achmet back to Constantinople to let Candide and Martin come aboard. Both went to the ship after bowing low before His Wretched Highness. On the way, Candide said to Martin, "Just think: we had dinner with six deposed kings! And I even gave charity to one of them. Perhaps many other princes are even more unfortunate. As for me, I have lost only a hundred sheep, and now I am rushing into Cunégonde's arms. My dear Martin, once again Pangloss was right: everything is for the best." "I hope so," said Martin. "But," said Candide, "what happened to us in Venice was very hard to believe. No one had ever seen or heard of six deposed kings having dinner together at an inn." "That is no stranger," said Martin, "than most of the things that have happened to us. Kings are deposed quite often. And as for the honor of eating dinner with them, it is a small matter not worth our attention. What does it matter who you eat with, as long as the food is good?"
Candide had hardly boarded the ship when he threw his arms around his old servant and friend Cacambo. "Well?" he asked. "How is Cunégonde? Is she still astonishingly beautiful? Does she still love me? How is her health? You have surely bought her a palace in Constantinople?"
"My dear master," Cacambo answered, "Cunégonde washes dishes on the shore of the Propontide for a prince who owns very few dishes. She is a slave in the household of a former ruler called Ragotski, to whom the Grand Turk gives three écus a day in his exile. But what is much sadder is that she has lost her beauty and become terribly ugly." "Ah, beautiful or ugly," said Candide, "I am an honorable man, and it is my duty always to love her. But how could she fall into such a low condition when you took five or six million with you?" "Come now," said Cacambo. "Didn't I have to give two million to senor don Fernando d’Ibaraa, y Figueora, y Mascarenès, y Lampourdos, y Souza, governor of Buénos-Ayres, to get permission to take Miss Cunégonde back? And didn't a pirate steal all the rest from us? Didn't that pirate take us to Cape Matapan, Milo, Nicarie, Samos, Petra, the Dardanelles, Marmara, and Scutari? Cunégonde and the old woman serve in the household of the prince I mentioned, and I am the slave of the deposed sultan." "What a terrible chain of disasters!" said Candide. "Still, I have a few diamonds left. I can easily free Cunégonde. It is such a shame she has become so ugly."
Then he turned to Martin. "Who do you think has the most to complain about," he asked, "Emperor Achmet, Emperor Ivan, King Charles-Édouard, or me?" "I do not know," said Martin. "I would have to be inside your hearts to tell." "Ah," said Candide, "if Pangloss were here, he would know and tell us." "I do not know," said Martin, "what scales your Pangloss could use to weigh people's misfortunes and judge their suffering. I only suppose that there are millions of people on earth a hundred times worse off than King Charles-Édouard, Emperor Ivan, and Sultan Achmet." "That may well be," said Candide.
In a few days they reached the strait leading to the Black Sea. Candide's first step was to buy Cacambo's freedom at a high price. Then, without wasting time, he and his companions boarded a galley to go to the shore of the Propontide and find Cunégonde, however ugly she might be.
Among the galley slaves were two convicts who rowed very badly. From time to time the Levantine captain whipped their bare shoulders with a strip of oxhide. Candide naturally looked more closely at them than at the other rowers, and approached them with pity. Some features of their disfigured faces seemed a little like Pangloss's and those of that unfortunate Jesuit, the baron, Miss Cunégonde's brother. The thought moved and saddened him. He looked at them even more closely. "Honestly," he said to Cacambo, "if I had not seen Master Pangloss hanged, and if I had not had the misfortune of killing the baron, I would think those two men were rowing in this galley."
At the sound of the baron's and Pangloss's names, the two convicts cried out, stopped rowing, and dropped their oars. The Levantine captain rushed toward them and whipped them harder with the oxhide. "Stop, stop, sir!" cried Candide. "I will give you as much money as you want." "What! It's Candide!" said one convict. "What! It's Candide!" said the other. "Am I dreaming?" said Candide. "Am I awake? Am I in this galley? Is that the baron, whom I killed? Is that Master Pangloss, whom I saw hanged?"
"It is us, it is us," they answered. "What! Is that the great philosopher?" said Martin. "Sir, Captain," said Candide, "how much money do you want to free Mr. de Thunder-ten-tronckh, one of the foremost barons of the empire, and Mr. Pangloss, Germany's most profound metaphysician?" "Christian dog," answered the Levantine captain, "since these two Christian dogs of galley slaves are barons and metaphysicians, which must be very high ranks in their country, you will give me fifty thousand sequins for them." "You will have it, sir. Take me back to Constantinople as fast as lightning and you will be paid immediately. No, wait. Take me to Miss Cunégonde." At Candide's first offer, the Levantine captain had already turned the bow toward the city. He was making the men row faster than a bird can fly.
Candide hugged the baron and Pangloss a hundred times. "How did I fail to kill you, my dear baron? And my dear Pangloss, how are you alive after being hanged? And why are you both galley slaves in Turkey?" "Is it really true that my dear sister is in this country?" said the baron. "Yes," answered Cacambo. "So I see my dear Candide again!" cried Pangloss. Candide introduced them to Martin and Cacambo. They all embraced and all talked at once. The galley sped on; they were already in port. They brought in a Jew, to whom Candide sold a diamond worth a hundred thousand sequins for fifty thousand. The buyer swore by Abraham that he could pay no more. Candide immediately paid the ransom for the baron and Pangloss. Pangloss threw himself at his rescuer's feet and soaked them with tears. The baron thanked him with a nod and promised to repay the money at the first opportunity. "But can my sister really be in Turkey?" he kept asking. "Of course she can," replied Cacambo. "She scrubs dishes for a prince of Transylvania." They immediately called in two Jews. Candide sold more diamonds, and they all set off again in another galley to free Cunégonde.