3 h 39 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if kindness and clear thinking make you a target rather than keep you safe?
In ancient Babylon, Zadig wants to live justly. He is clever, curious and kind, yet those gifts keep bringing trouble. King Moabdar notices his talents and raises him to high office. But fairness breeds envy at court, and the king who rewards him also has the power to ruin him.
Voltaire turns Zadig’s troubles into a quick, funny adventure with a serious question inside: why do good people suffer while the wicked prosper? Through failed love, corrupt judges and quarrelling priests, this short philosophical tale tests reason against injustice. Its half-imagined East gives sharp shape to the folly of calling every misfortune part of a wise plan.
What you’ll discover
- A good man under pressure Follow Zadig as he tries to act fairly in a world that punishes his gifts.
- The dangers of favour Enter a court where Zadig’s fairness stirs envy and his closeness to Queen Astarte brings danger.
- Virtue put to the test Meet Azora, whose admired virtue becomes the subject of a comic test arranged by Zadig.
- Wisdom beyond Babylon Travel with Zadig into exile and slavery, where the merchant Setoc comes to value his wisdom.
- Big questions, sharp humour Find short scenes that pair a joke with a lesson about reason, fate and human folly.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like short, witty stories with an argument inside them, and anyone curious about the Enlightenment. It may suit you less if you want deep characters or a slow, realistic novel, since the people here are sketches.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A wise young man meets bad luck
- Seeing clearly can make you a suspect
- Favour at court breeds envy and danger
- Exile and slavery widen his view
- Fate, reason and the problem of evil
- A light tale with a sharp edge
Who’s who
- ZadigA young, kind Babylonian who trusts reason and doubts easy answers, and who wants to live justly in a world that punishes him for it.
- SémireZadig's first betrothed, who loves him until he is wounded and then chooses a more comfortable match.
- OrcanA rival who takes Sémire from Zadig and stands for a world that rewards appearance over worth.
- AzoraZadig's wife in his second try at marriage, whose show of virtue teaches him how much to trust fine words.
- AstarteThe queen of Babylon, an intelligent woman who values Zadig and whose position makes their closeness dangerous.
- King MoabdarThe ruler of Babylon, who raises Zadig to high office and has the power to ruin him.
- SetocAn Arabian merchant who buys Zadig as a slave and comes to rely on his wisdom.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Zadig, o il libro del destino
by Voltaire· 1747
A thoughtful young man meets injustice in ancient Babylon.
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Language: Italiano
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A wise young man meets bad luck
The story opens in Babylon in the days of King Moabdar. Zadig is a young man of good family, rich, handsome and well taught. He has studied the sciences of his day and, more rarely, he has learned to doubt what he is told. He is engaged to Sémire, a beautiful young woman who seems to adore him.
His luck turns in a single day. Out walking with Sémire, he meets Orcan and his armed men, who try to carry her off. Zadig fights them to defend her and is badly wounded in the eye. Sémire, who has been told that a wound like his is incurable, does not wait. She decides that she cannot love a man who may lose his sight and marries a rival named Orcan.
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The author
Voltaire
1694–1778 · French Enlightenment writer and philosopher
Voltaire was a French Enlightenment writer and philosopher, famous across Europe in his own lifetime for his wit and his campaigns against intolerance. Candide, his satirical tale of a naive optimist battered by the world, remains his most widely read work.
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What is Zadig about?
It follows Zadig, a wise young Babylonian whose good deeds keep landing him in trouble. He loses love, rises at court, is exiled and enslaved, and searches for a reason behind his misfortunes.
When was Zadig written?
Voltaire published it in the late 1740s, in France. It is fiction in an imagined ancient East, though it hints at real events and people in the Europe of his own day.
What is the main message of Zadig?
The book urges honest reasoning, doubt of grand theories and kindness toward others. It also asks if the suffering of good people has a purpose, and it leaves the reader free to judge.
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