The Misfortunes of Virtue and Other Early TalesThe name of the Marquis de Sade is synonymous with the blackest corners of the human soul, a byword for all that is foulest in human conduct. In his bleak, claustrophobic universe, there is no God, no morality, no human affection, and no hope. Power is given to the strong, and the strong are murderers, torturers, and tyrants. No quarter is given; compassion is the virtue of the weak. Yet Sade was a man of savage intelligence who carried the philosophy of the French Enlightenment to its logical extreme. His writings effectively release the individual from all social and moral constraint: for many, Sade is the Great Libertarian. The Victorians considered him `Divine' and Apollinaire called him `the freest spirit'; the Surrealists recognised him as a founding father, and he is a key figure in the history of modernism and post-modernism. With Freud and Marx, Sade has been one of the crucial shaping influences on this century, and reactions to him continue to be extreme. But he has always been more talked about than read. This selection of his early writings, some making their first appearance in this new translation, reveals the full range of Sade's sobering moods and considerable talents. - ;Revered by Enlightenment and Victorian thinkers, de Sade was recognized as a founding father by the Surrealists, and holds a prominent place in the history of modernism and post-modernism. This selection of his early writings, some appearing in English translation for the first time, reveals the full range of his sobering moods and considerable talents. - ;The Misfortunes of Virtue; Dialogue Between a Priest and a Dying Man; The Successful Ruse; The Pimp Well Served; The Windbags of Provence; An Inexplicable Affair; The Prude; --Eacute--;mile de Tourville; Augustine de Villeblanche; The Law of Talion; The Self-Made Cuckold; The Husband who Said Mass; The Lady of the Manor of Longeville; The Confidence Men - |
Contents
Introduction | vii |
Select Bibliography | xxxix |
A Chronology of the Marquis de Sade | xl |
A Note on Money | xlv |
The Misfortunes of Virtue | xlvii |
Dialogue between a Priest and a Dying Man | 149 |
The Successful Ruse | 161 |
The Pimp Well Served | 164 |
The Prude or the Unexpected Encounter | 176 |
Émilie de Tourville or Brotherly Cruelty | 184 |
Augustine de Villeblanche or Loves Stratagem | 210 |
The Law of Talion | 223 |
The SelfMade Cuckold or the Unexpected Reconciliation | 227 |
A Provençal Tale | 238 |
The Lady of the Manor of Longeville or a Womans Revenge | 245 |
The Confidence Men | 253 |
The Windbags of Provence | 168 |
An Inexplicable Affair Vouched for by an Entire Province | 171 |
Explanatory Notes | 260 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
allowed answer Antonin asked believed Bressac Brother château creature crime cruel d'Esclaponville Dalville daughter dear death depravity Dubois Dutour DYING écus Émilie everything evil eyes fate father favour fear feel feet fortune Franville friars gave girl give Grenoble hand happy heart Heaven honour horror husband imagine innocence Juliette Justine Justine's La Coste leave lettre de cachet libertine live livres Longeville louis Luxeuil Madame de Lorsange Mademoiselle Marquis de Sade matter mind Misfortunes of Virtue Monsieur de Corville moral mother Nature never Omphale once Paris Parlement passions philosophical pleasure pretty PRIEST prison Provence punished Raneville Raphael reason Recollet remorse Rodin Sade's sadism Saint-Quentin Sernenval served Sophie sophisms tears tell thing thought tion told took Tourville turn Vermenton vice victim Villeblanche wife woman women words wretched young