I was unaware there was much controversy over the meaning of Voltaire's garden. To me it was obvious (although apparently I could be way wrong), it's similar to

I was unaware there was much controversy over the meaning of Voltaire's garden. To me it was obvious (although apparently I could be way wrong), it's similar to the saying that optimism and pessimism are two sides of the same coin. The small recap in this article misses the important point of Candide meeting and discussing life with Martin, the opposite of everything he'd known up to that point - Martin is a pessimist. Thus, in the end neither pessimism nor optimism are the answer, as they are different forms of fatalism, the idea we leave ourselves to faith. Instead, cultivate your garden, as well as you can because that's all you can really do.