What happens in Chapter 23 of Candide?
Sailing toward England, Candide and Martin encounter a shocking scene: a blindfolded admiral is shot dead on a warship, with an indifferent crowd looking on. Confused, Candide asks a bystander to explain what's happening. The bystander replies, matter-of-factly, that the admiral failed to engage a French enemy during battle, and in England, it's seen as wise to occasionally execute an admiral "to encourage the others." Disturbed and disillusioned, Candide refuses to set foot in England, declaring the country too insane for him. He and Martin quickly redirect the ship toward Venice, their original goal, where Candide hopes to find Cunégonde. The chapter is short—just under a page—but its brevity is intentional: it captures an entire nation's moral decay in a single story.
Analysis
Voltaire based this chapter on the 1757 execution of Admiral John Byng, who was shot by a firing squad for failing to relieve Minorca—an event that shocked Europe and one that Voltaire actively opposed. The sharpness of the satire comes from Voltaire’s restraint; the bystander's explanation is delivered in a bureaucratic tone, and that flatness drives the humor. The phrase "pour encourager les autres" has since become a shorthand for institutional absurdity, showcasing how effectively Voltaire used understatement as a weapon.
This chapter also represents a tonal shift. While earlier parts of the book piled on catastrophes in a grotesque manner, Chapter 23 makes its point through stark simplicity—just one scene, one exchange, one devastating punchline. Martin, the novel's pessimist, hardly needs to say anything; reality speaks for itself. Candide's decision not to disembark is a subtle but significant character moment: he isn’t completely cured of his optimism, but he’s starting to express his dissent by choosing to walk away. The theme of corrupt authority—kings, inquisitors, Jesuits—now connects to military justice, completing a survey of every institution that Enlightenment Europe held in high regard. England isn’t portrayed as uniquely horrific; it’s just the most recent example in a list that Voltaire has been compiling since Chapter 1.
Key quotes from Chapter 23
“Dans ce pays-ci, il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encourager les autres.”
A bystander explains to the stunned Candide why an admiral has just been executed on his own quarterdeck—the line that gave the world its most durable phrase for institutional scapegoating.
“Candide fut si étourdi et si choqué de ce qu'il voyait et de ce qu'il entendait, qu'il ne voulut pas seulement mettre pied à terre.”
Candide's refusal to disembark signals a rare moment of agency: for once, he chooses to flee absurdity rather than simply survive it.
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