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  1. Mar 2018
    1. he met a beggar all covered with scabs, his eyes diseased, the end of his nose eaten away, his mouth distorted, his teeth black, choking in his throat, tormented with a violent cough, and spitting out a tooth at each effort

      A little bit later on in the book we will discover that Pangloss contracted the STD Syphilis from the lady in waiting for Cunegonde. He goes into the entire genealogy about how the maid contracted her disease from a long tree of misfortunate souls. The only problem? None of the listed symptoms in the book are actual symptoms of Syphilis. According to the Center for Disease Control “ Syphilis has been called ‘The Great Pretender’, as its symptoms can look like many other diseases. However, syphilis typically follows a progression of stages that can last for weeks, months, or even years” (CDC, 2017). According to the CDC, Syphilis has three main stages that it can show up as. During the Primary stage one or more chancres appear on the site of initial infection, they are painless and usually heal over with or without treatment. If not treated the infection will move onto the Secondary stage in which the areas affected by Syphilis will become inflamed and agitated with rashes. The rashes will also go away but if not treated the disease may move onto the third stage. The third stage’s symptoms can vary depending on the organ it affects but the most infamous symptom are the degradation of mental faculties which may ultimately lead to death if not treated. Needless to say, even after looking up several more sources, tooth loss and necrotic skin conditions were not listed as any symptoms. “Syphilis - CDC Fact Sheet.” CDC, 13 Feb., 2017, []https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-syphilis-detailed.htm.!