In his satirical novel published in 1759, Voltaire targeted Leibniz and his optimistic philosophy of the existing world as the "best of all possible worlds": Candide, the illegitimate offspring of a Westphalian baron, wanders through Europe and the entire world alongside his teacher and companion Pangloss. However, instead of heroic adventures, the two experience catastrophe after catastrophe, which Pangloss, a follower of Leibniz's teachings, always reinterprets in a positive light. Disillusioned, Candide ultimately realizes that the best of all worlds can only be found in a quiet, secluded life in the countryside.