While Candide had lost his head to sadness, Cacambo kept his head and suggested that instead of fighting against the Jesuits that they should go fight for them because they would be overjoyed to have a captain that knew the Bulgar military drill. Cacambo describes the empire as great and orderly, but he also say that the fathers of the land own everything and that the people have no money at all. Upon their arrival in Paraguay, Candide and Cacambo request a meeting with the Reverend Father.
Candide receives this meeting and comes to find that the Reverend Father is the Baron's son and Cunégonde's brother. They rejoice at this reunion and Candide tells the German Jesuit that his sister is still alive. Candide also informs him of the intentions of marriage between himself and Cunégonde. At this, the Reverend Father is furious and says that Candide is not worthy of someone of such high status. This outrages Candide and he kills the Baron's son. Here Voltaire shows that good men are sometimes bound to do evil things, but this only proves Pangloss' theory further because it is done out of necessity so that the best of all things can then occur in the best of all worlds.
Immediately Candide and Cacambo ran from that land to one where Candide killed the lovers of two young ladies, seemingly in despair. Their lovers, having been monkeys, confused Candide greatly for he thought he had saved the girls. This shows man's devolving from man to ape. Later the two men fell asleep on the ground, only to find that when they awoke they were tied up and surrounded by Orellians, the natural inhabitants of the land. Voltaire stabs at the Jesuits in that the Orellians are thrilled to cook Candide for he is dressed in the Reverend Father's clothes. Luckily, Cacambo talked them out of it saying that Candide was not really a Jesuit and they should go ask along the border of Paraguay. The Orellians, resembling Hobbes, agreed that it was human nature to kill our neighbor if he is an enemy. They soon found that Cacambo told the truth and gave them many civilities as well as set them free.
Candide and Cacambo soon found themselves in a place called Eldorado, where jewels were of no value, technology was magnificent, and resources were abundant, this brought peace to all the land. “What is this country, which is unknown to the rest of the world, and where nature operates under laws so utterly different to ours? It is probably the land where all is well, for clearly such a place has to exist. And despite what Maître Pangloss may have said, I often noticed that everything went fairly badly in Westphalia.” In this last paragraph of the seventeenth chapter on page forty-five, Candide admits that some of what Pangloss said was wrong.
After receiving a warm welcome and feasting with the natives of this land, the two explorers sought out answers about this unique culture from the oldest man in the village, who was one hundred seventy-two years of age. They asked him of courts, there were none. They asked him of prisons, there were none. Finally they asked him of religion. The sage answered as if it should have been obvious, “Can there be two religions, then? Ours, I apprehend, is the religion of the whole world; we worship God from morning till night.” Considering Voltaire's time, it is likely that this sage could represent John Calvin of the Protestant Reformation, who defended religious tolerance wholly.
Filled with the enlightenments of the land, Candide and Cacambo carry on to meet the king of Eldorado. Once again they are met with great pleasure. They are given thousands of civilities and are in a paradise, but Candide could not help himself for he had gone a month without trying to find a way to get back to Cunégonde. With many sheep holding precious gems and food, the wealthy duo were hoisted out of Eldorado in a machine built by the scientists of that land.
After a long journey, Candide and Cacambo reach a town called Surinam. Very quickly they stumbled upon a slave with only one leg and one hand. When Candide asked if his mater had treated him so cruelly, the slave said it was the custom in those parts. He also went on to say that the Dutch preachers taught that everyone is from the same father, Adam, and that all are equal. This in turn, he adds, would make everyone related and no one treats his or her relatives worse than he had been treated. This sight disturbed Candide greatly and with one last look of sympathy, he curses Pangloss' optimism, heading further into the corrupted city.
