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Line 8: − − == Controversy and Revisionism == − − Hailed by the early 20th-century French poet Guillaume Apollinaire − as ‘the freest spirit who ever lived’, but demonized throughout the last − two hundred years as a misogynistic pornographer, and as the original − proponent of sexual sadism and lustmurder, the Marquis de Sade is a − creature of myth. The popular assumption that Sade was as sadistic as − his monstrous fictional villains is still current today among the majority − of the population who have never read a line of his work. In fact, − Sade’s thought, which is expressed at great length in novels, short − stories, plays, critical essays, and personal correspondence, is − considerably more complex than allowed by any of the simplistic − labels, positive or negative, associated with this mythical reputation. − − Best known as the author of four sexually violent novels that were − destined to shock readers for centuries to come, Sade was, certainly, − a subversive iconoclast and life-long rebel. Yet, most of his writings − contained neither obscenity nor extreme violence, and many of his − works of fiction are considered masterpieces of their genre. The − sheer breadth and intellectual complexity of Sade’s creative output − encompasses the whole range of human experience, from sexuality to − morality, from politics to religion, from metaphysics to aesthetics, from − literature to life and death. Standing at the end of the classical era − and the beginning of the modern age, Sade is, for Michel Foucault, a − pivotal figure in the history of philosophy. − − Spanning two centuries and − successive political regimes, from monarchy to empire, he is also the − only French philosopher of importance to live through the French − Revolution and to comment on its events as they happened. Sade was a − writer of astonishing energy and remarkable courage. He was unafraid − to speak his mind, and paid for this temerity with his freedom. What − makes him unique, however, is a dogged determination to tell the truth − about the human condition, a truth that he located, not in a soul or − spirit, as most previous philosophers had done, but simply, scandalously, − in the sexual body, which for him was the only reality. Were it not for − his explicit use of language and complete disregard for the artificially − constructed taboos of a religious morality he despised, the novelty and − profundity of Sade’s thought, and, above all, its fundamental modernity, − would have long since secured him a place alongside the greatest − authors and thinkers of the European Enlightenment. − −
Reverted edits by Tovarishch (Talk) to last version by JimP
His work was largely banned in the [[USA]] until the relaxation of obscenity laws in the 1950s and 1960s.
His work was largely banned in the [[USA]] until the relaxation of obscenity laws in the 1950s and 1960s.
===References===
===References===