Chapter 18 Summary

Candide wishes to know what this country is, that he has never heard of, and that is so much better than Westphalia, so the innkeeper directs them to the oldest man in the country, who can answer all of their questions. The old man receives them in his apartment, which is gilded in gold and encrusted in rubies. They drink from diamond cups as they talk.

The old man explains that he is one hundred, two-years-old and had heard from his father the history of his country. The land is that of the ancient kingdom of the Incas; however, most of the original inhabitants left to conquer other lands. The princes who stayed ordered that no one else be allowed to leave the country, as a way to keep the innocence of its inhabitants, and now the country is called Eldorado. The land...