Vincennes ( / v ɪ n ˈ s ɛ n z , v æ̃ ˈ s ɛ n / , French: [vɛ̃sɛn] ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.7 km (4.2 mi) from the centre of Paris . Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes . It is next to but does not include the Bois de Vincennes , from which it took its name, which is attached to the city of Paris.
90-663: The Marquis de Sade was imprisoned in Vincennes fortress in 1777, where he remained until February 1784 although he escaped for a little over a month in 1778. Thereafter Vincennes fortress was closed and de Sade transferred to the Bastille . In 1821, the noted French poet, Alfred de Vigny, wrote his poem, "La Prison," which details the last days of the Man in the Iron Mask at Vincennes. The ministers of Charles X were imprisoned at
180-648: A lettre de cachet. Nanon was arrested and imprisoned at Arles where she remained for over two years. In July, Sade, fearing arrest, left for Italy where he remained for a year. In June 1776, Sade was back at La Coste writing a travel book, Voyage d'Italie . That summer, he hired three young women as servants, including Catherine Treillet, age 22. In December, he recruited four more servants. Three of them left after one night, claiming that Sade had offered them money for sex. They informed Treillet's father and, in January, he went to La Coste to retrieve his daughter. He fired
270-647: A 33-year-old actress, and they began a relationship which was to last until his death. Sade now called himself "Louis Sade, man of letters" and tried to launch a career as a writer. His novel Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue was published anonymously in June 1791. In October, his play Oxtiern opened at the Théâtre Molière in Paris, but closed after only two performances following audience uproar. Sade
360-430: A cane and an iron scourge which had been heated by fire, but she refused. Sade then threatened her with pistols and a sword, telling her he would kill her if she did not trample on a crucifix and exclaim obscene blasphemies. She reluctantly complied. She spent the night with Sade, who read her irreligious poetry. He asked her for sodomy (another capital offense) but she refused. The following morning, Testard reported Sade to
450-469: A knife and threatened to kill her if she did not stop screaming. He later gave her food and locked her in an upstairs room. She managed to escape out a window and sought help. She went to the authorities that evening and lodged a complaint. The local magistrate began an investigation the following day and news of the affair reached Madame de Montreuil on 7 April. She immediately sent representatives to Arcueil who paid Keller to withdraw her complaint. On 8 April,
540-529: A leader of the Directory regime , to have his name removed from the list of émigrés. Sade's émigré status was finally revoked in December 1799, by which time he had fallen deeper into poverty and had registered as indigent. In 1800, Sade published Crimes of Love , a collection of short stories published under his own name. The book received hostile reviews and a wave of articles appeared identifying Sade as
630-556: A literary career and became politically active, first as a constitutional monarchist then as a radical republican. During the Reign of Terror he was imprisoned for moderatism and narrowly escaped the guillotine. He was re-arrested in 1801 for his pornographic novels and was eventually incarcerated in the Charenton insane asylum where he died in 1814. His major works include The 120 Days of Sodom , Justine , Juliette and Philosophy in
720-548: A noble family dating from the 13th century, Sade served as an officer in the Seven Years' War before a series of sex scandals led to his detention in various prisons and insane asylums for most of his adult life. During his first extended imprisonment from 1777 to 1790, he wrote a series of novels and other works, some of which his wife smuggled out of prison. On his release during the French Revolution, he pursued
810-517: A number of plays. In the summer of 1782, he drafted Dialogue between a Priest and a Dying Man and began working on The 120 Days of Sodom . Vincennes prison was closed in February 1784 and Sade was transferred to the Bastille, where he produced a fair copy of The 120 Days of Sodom , which many critics consider his first major work. Sade began working on the novel Aline and Valcour and completed
900-478: A petition against religion to the National Convention . His speech probably alienated Robespierre and other members of the convention and its powerful Committee of Public Safety who were attempting to suppress atheism and attacks on religion. In December 1793, Sade was arrested and charged with "moderatism", associating with counter-revolutionaries, anti-republicanism and "feigned patriotism". He
990-399: A pistol at Sade from point-blank range, but it misfired. After a second attempt to shoot him, Treillet's father left and filed a complaint of kidnapping and seduction against Sade. Madame de Montreuil then wrote to Sade telling him that his mother was critically ill in Paris. Sade and his wife arrived on 8 February 1777 only to find that his mother had been dead three weeks. On 13 February, he
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#17327654146181080-532: A political opportunist whose only consistent principles were libertinage, atheism, opposition to the death penalty and the defense of his own property and aristocratic privileges. Prior to the Revolution, Sade insisted on the observance of feudal customs. After the Revolution he supported the constitutional monarchy because that was the prevailing trend. Following the overthrow of the king, he publicly advocated republicanism only to protect himself from arrest as
1170-415: A precursor to anarchism in that he was libertarian in his desire to expand human freedom and contemplated a society without laws. Ultimately, however, Sade advocated a society with minimal laws. Marshall writes that Sade was a proponent of free public brothels paid for by the state in order to reduce sex crimes and satisfy people's wishes to command and be obeyed. Dworkin, however, states that this proposal
1260-582: A property in Paris which he used for sexual encounters. On 18 October 1763, Sade hired a prostitute named Jeanne Testard. Testard stated to the police that Sade had locked her in a bedroom before asking whether she believed in God. When she said that she did, Sade said there was no God and shouted obscenities concerning Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Sade then masturbated with a chalice and crucifix while shouting obscenities and blasphemies. He asked her to beat him with
1350-541: A reputation as a good soldier, but a gambler, spendthrift and libertine, all of which damaged any prospects of further promotion. In February 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War, and Sade was discharged. Back in Paris, he lived a life of pleasure, while his ill and seriously indebted father contemplated retiring to a monastery to avoid "having to welcome my son, with whom I am unhappy." Sade's father
1440-540: A revolutionary crowd and Sade's former cell was looted of his personal effects which remained there under seal. In March 1790, the National Constituent Assembly voted to abolish lettres de cachet and Sade was released from detention on 2 April. On Sade's release, his wife sought a legal separation and the marriage was dissolved in September 1790. In August, he met Marie-Constance Quesnet,
1530-429: A right to ignore laws and moral precepts that are contrary to the laws of nature and to pursue goals that are in accordance with nature. His libertines argue that human virtues such as charity, pity and respect for parents are against nature and should be shunned whereas murder and theft are natural passions and should be pursued. For Sade, the only human value is the egotistical pursuit of the passions. The primary passion
1620-500: A rival to their own power. John Gray argues that Sade's philosophy is fundamentally religious as it replaces God with nature. However, it is also confused as it rails against nature while nevertheless advocating that humans follow nature's "destructive impulses". Lester Crocker argues that Sade was the first to construct "a complete system of nihilism , with all its implications, ramifications and consequences." Sade believed morals are only human conventions and that individuals have
1710-428: A supporter of the monarchy. Gray concludes, "relentlessly opportunistic in his public stances, the ci-devant marquis ... was an unswerving moderate horrified by political excess." Albert Camus , writing in 1951, argued that Sade placed the sex drive at the centre of his thought. The sex drive is natural but a blind force that dominates man. The overthrow, in 1792, of a king ruling by divine right necessarily involved
1800-409: A theater for public performances. In January 1767, Sade's father died. That summer, Sade went to La Coste where the local dignitaries and vassals formally swore homage to their new lord; a revival of a feudal custom which his father had avoided. On 27 August, his first son, Louis-Marie, was born. On 3 April 1768, Easter Sunday, Sade approached a 36-year-old widow named Rose Keller who was begging at
1890-522: A young male secretary and five young women, all around 15 years old. That winter (1774–75), Sade, with the tacit consent of his wife, engaged in a series of orgies with his servants. Although the details are unknown, it is probable that the orgies included sexual intercourse and flagellation. In January 1775, the families of the young women filed charges of kidnapping and seduction, and a criminal investigation commenced in Lyon. Sade's wife arranged for three of
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#17327654146181980-458: Is twinned with: The commune has eight public preschools, six public elementary schools, and three private schools contracted by the state. There are three public junior high schools, Collège Hector-Berlioz, Collège Saint-Exupéry, and Collège Françoise-Giroud; as well as a contracted private junior high school, Notre-Dame de la Providence. Public senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: Private senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: In 1970
2070-949: Is ambiguous as to whether the speaker is Rochester himself, or a satirised persona. It criticises the vanities and corruptions of the statesmen and politicians of the court of Charles II. The libertine novel was a primarily 18th-century literary genre of which the roots lay in the European but mainly French libertine tradition. The genre effectively ended with the French Revolution . Themes of libertine novels were anti-clericalism , anti-establishment and eroticism . Authors include Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon ( Les Égarements du cœur et de l'esprit , 1736; Le Sopha, conte moral , 1742), Denis Diderot ( Les bijoux indiscrets , 1748), Marquis de Sade ( L'Histoire de Juliette , 1797–1801), Choderlos de Laclos ( Les Liaisons dangereuses , 1782), and John Wilmot ( Sodom, or
2160-475: Is infinitely broken down and reconfigured, never perishing. Free will is an illusion because everything has a cause which is determined by the materialist laws of nature. The character of libertines is therefore determined by nature and it is pointless to punish them for something for which they are not morally responsible. Sade's libertines sometimes substitute nature for God, regarding it as a destructive force whose laws must be respected, but sometimes see nature as
2250-576: Is possible that they began a sexual relationship. The following year, he devoted himself to theatrical productions at La Coste and his Mazan property. He incurred large costs hiring professional actors and building elaborate sets. In June 1772, Sade and his manservant , Latour, traveled to Marseilles on the pretext of obtaining a loan. On 27 June, they engaged in an elaborately staged orgy with four prostitutes. The orgy included sexual intercourse, flagellation , and, according to some witnesses, both active and passive anal sex involving Sade, Latour and one of
2340-407: Is the sex drive which is inextricably linked to passions for destruction, violence and domination. For Sade's libertines, crime is not only necessary to establish and preserve their domination, it is also a pleasure in itself. They construct a hierarchy of the pleasures of crime according to which mere failure to help those in need gives the least pleasure and the torture and murder of children provide
2430-527: The Place des Victoires in Paris. Keller stated that Sade offered her employment as a housekeeper. He took her in his carriage to his country residence in Arcueil , where he locked her in a room and threatened to kill her if she did not undress. He then tied her down on a bed and whipped her with a cane or a cat-o'-nine-tails. She stated he also cut her with a penknife and poured hot wax on her wounds. He brandished
2520-657: The Vaucluse region. The Abbé d'Amblet was appointed as Sade's tutor and the young marquis grew to respect him greatly. Meanwhile, the Count de Sade had lost favor with the king and had been recalled from his post in Germany. His career was now in ruins and his wife eventually left him to live in a Carmelite convent in Paris. In the autumn of 1750, ten-year-old Sade was sent to the Jesuit college Louis-le-Grand in Paris, where he
2610-545: The baccalaureat degree and introduced courses such as the History of Cinema, Sexology, and Third World Economics. Enrollments peaked at 32,000 with more than 40% of students holding full-time jobs off the campus. However problems associated with political unrest and alleged widespread drug usage among the student body led to the resignation of the Vincennes University President and the relocation of
2700-474: The " University of Paris VIII " was established in Vincennes as France's first major experiment in open admissions education, as a result of the academic reforms which followed the student risings of 1968. Intended to lessen the French university system's traditional emphasis on formal and elitist schooling, the school (generally known simply as Vincennes ) admitted students without the usual entrance requirement of
2790-539: The "difficulty of distinguishing a single authorial voice" from the multitude of characters in his fiction. Even in Sade's letters he was often playing a role which leads to "the ultimate impossibility of identifying the real Sade through his writing." The arguments his characters use to justify their more extreme behavior are often satire, parody and irony. Geoffrey Gorer states that Sade was in opposition to contemporary thinkers for both his "complete and continual denial of
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2880-487: The Bedroom , which combine graphic descriptions of sex acts, rape, torture, murder and child abuse with discourses on religion, politics, sexuality and philosophy. The word sadism derives from his fictional characters who take pleasure in inflicting pain on others. There is debate over the extent to which Sade's behavior was criminal and sadistic. Peter Marshall states that Sade's "known behaviour (which includes only
2970-579: The Hôtel de Condé. The infant Sade was spoilt, haughty, and prone to violent rages. In 1744, he was sent to live with his grandmother in Avignon , probably because he had fought with his playmate, Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé , who was four years his senior. The following year, Sade was placed in the care of his paternal uncle, the Abbé de Sade, a priest and libertine who lived in the château de Saumane in
3060-504: The Montreuil estate at Échauffour , Normandy. In September 1764, the king revoked Sade's exile and the marquis returned to Paris where he took up a series of mistresses. In the summer of 1765 he took his then mistress, Mademoiselle Beauvoison, to his favourite castle at La Coste , Provence, where he passed her off as his wife, greatly offending Madame de Montreuil. The following year, he undertook renovations of La Coste, including building
3150-761: The Quintessence of Debauchery , 1684). Other famous titles are Histoire de Dom Bougre, Portier des Chartreux (1741) and Thérèse Philosophe (1748). Precursors to the libertine writers were Théophile de Viau (1590–1626) and Charles de Saint-Evremond (1610–1703), who were inspired by Epicurus and the publication of Petronius . Robert Darnton is a cultural historian who has covered this genre extensively. A three-part essay in The Book Collector by David Foxen explores libertine literature in England, 1660-1745. Critics have been divided as to
3240-413: The abandonment of a system of law and morals sanctioned by God and sovereign. In its place, Sade advocated absolute moral license, allowing the passions to rule. If satisfaction of the passions involves crimes such as murder then this accords with the laws of nature, for destruction is necessary for creation. But if murder is licensed, all are at risk of being murdered. Therefore, absolute freedom must entail
3330-409: The arranged marriage with the "plain and charmless" Renée-Pélagie, and did not attend court when, on 1 May 1763, the king and members of the royal family endorsed the marriage contract. Sade finally relented, and the two families signed the contract on 15 May. The wedding took place two days later. Sade and Renée-Pélagie moved into rooms provided by her parents in the Hôtel de Montreuil in Paris. Sade
3420-502: The arrest of Sade on charges of sodomy and poisoning. Sade went into hiding, and his wife paid Laverne and Coste to withdraw their complaints. The Marseilles court, however, continued the prosecution, sentencing Sade and Latour to death in absentia on 2 September. The sentence was confirmed by the Cours des Comptes de Provence in Aix on 11 September, and Sade and Latour were burnt in effigy
3510-699: The author of the scandalous Justine and Juliette . The Napoleonic Consulate was cracking down on public immorality and, in March 1801, Sade was arrested at his publisher's office and detained in the Sainte-Pélagie Prison . The stocks of The New Justine and Juliette were seized and the police minister Joseph Fouché ordered Sade's detention without trial as he believed the pornography laws did not provide for sufficient punishment and any trial would only increase Sade's notoriety. Following Sade's attempts to seduce young prisoners at Sainte-Pélagie, he
3600-457: The authorities. On 29 October, following a police investigation, Sade was arrested on the personal orders of the king and jailed in Vincennes prison. Sade wrote several contrite letters to the authorities in which he expressed remorse and asked to see a priest. After Sade's father begged Louis XV for clemency, the king ordered Sade's release on 13 November. On his release, Sade was exiled to
3690-653: The beating of a housemaid and an orgy with several prostitutes) departs greatly from the clinical picture of active sadism." Andrea Dworkin , however, argues that the issue is whether one believes Sade or the women who accused him of sexual assault. Interest in his work increased in the 20th century, with various authors considering him a precursor to Nietzsche , Freud , surrealism , totalitarianism , and anarchism . Many prominent intellectuals including Angela Carter , Simone de Beauvoir , and Roland Barthes published studies of his work and numerous biographies have appeared. Cultural depictions of his life and work include
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3780-414: The beating of a housemaid and an orgy with several prostitutes) departs greatly from the clinical picture of active sadism." Phillips states "there is no reason to believe that any of this behaviour involved compulsion." Dworkin, however, argues that the issue is whether one believes Sade or his female accusers and that admirers of Sade "attempt to justify, trivialize, or deny (even though records confirming
3870-400: The boy, who has not one good quality and all the bad ones." Meanwhile, Sade had fallen in love with a nobleman's daughter named Laure de Lauris, but was abruptly rejected after two months of courtship. He was enraged, and threatened to blackmail Lauris by blaming his venereal disease on her to the next young man she courted. Sade, who proclaimed that he would "only marry for love", resisted
3960-702: The campus to Saint-Denis by the French Government in 1980. Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade ( / s ɑː d , s æ d / ; French: [dɔnasjɛ̃ alfɔ̃z fʁɑ̃swa maʁki də sad] ; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814) was a French writer, libertine , political activist and nobleman best known for his libertine novels and imprisonment for sex crimes, blasphemy and pornography. His works include novels, short stories, plays, dialogues, and political tracts. Some of these were published under his own name during his lifetime, but most appeared anonymously or posthumously. Born into
4050-575: The château de Longeville in the Champagne region. There, he met Madame de Saint-Germain, for whom he would hold a life-long affection. Both women became mother-figures for Sade. In 1754, Sade was sent to the Chevaux-légers military academy. After twenty months of training, on 14 December 1755, aged 15, Sade was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the King's Foot Guard. He soon went to battle at
4140-588: The city of Paris annexed the Bois de Vincennes , a large part of which belonged to the commune of Vincennes. Vincennes was also the site of some famous European colonial expositions in the 20th century in which fairs were held to showcase artifacts from former European colonies. The city is famous for its castle, the Château de Vincennes , and its park, the Bois de Vincennes hosting the only larger zoo in Paris, Paris Zoological Park (though these two are now within
4230-411: The direction of Parisian marchands-merciers . The Vincennes porcelain factory continued until 1756, when the production was transferred to new buildings at Sèvres , initiating the career of world-famous Sèvres porcelain . Vincennes is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 1 : Bérault and Château de Vincennes . Vincennes is also served by Vincennes station on Paris RER line A . Vincennes
4320-420: The disgrace of a criminal conviction in the family, sent a representative to Marseilles to bribe the prostitutes and other prospective witnesses. On 14 July 1778, after interrogating Sade and other witnesses, the appeals court overturned the sodomy conviction, finding him guilty of only "debauchery and immoderate libertinage." He was given a small fine and forbidden to enter Marseilles for three years. However, he
4410-595: The elite of Napoleonic society. Sade was also allowed to write. In April 1807, he completed Les journées de Florbelle, a ten-volume libertine novel. The novel was seized after a police search of Sade's and Quesnet's rooms. Sade later completed three conventional novels at Charenton. Coulmier's novel approach to psychotherapy and the privileges granted to Sade attracted much opposition in official circles. In 1810, new police orders put Sade into solitary confinement and deprived him of pens and paper. Coulmier, however, gradually restored most of Sade's privileges. In 1813,
4500-541: The facts exist) every assault Sade ever committed against women and girls." Gray states that Sade engaged in "psychic terrorism" and that "Sade's brand of sadism was often more mental than corporeal." According to Bongie, Sade perpetrated "crimes of physical violence committed during sexual assaults on hapless prostitutes. Such assaults, aggravated by death threats and the element of recidivism, could easily get an offender into similar difficulties today." John Phillips argues that Sade's views cannot be easily determined due to
4590-477: The first volumes of The New Justine and Juliette (1797–99). Sade had huge debts, little income from his properties, and the Vaucluse department had incorrectly placed him on its list of émigrés, leaving him vulnerable to arrest and confiscation of property. In October 1796, he was forced to sell La Coste, but his former wife obtained most of the proceeds. In 1798, Sade unsuccessfully petitioned Paul Barras ,
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#17327654146184680-620: The following day. Sade was now in Italy with Anne-Prospère, a liaison which turned Madame de Montreuil into his implacable enemy. He wrote to his mother-in-law from Italy, disclosing his location, and she used her influence to secure his arrest and imprisonment in the Fortress of Miolans , then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia . He escaped from the fortress on 30 April 1773 and returned to France. Sade narrowly avoided arrest in January 1774 when he
4770-549: The fortress of Vincennes after the July Revolution . A test was conducted in 1849 on Claude-Étienne Minié 's invention the Minié ball which would prove successful and years later be adopted by the French army. On the morning of 15 October 1917, famous femme fatale Mata Hari was executed for espionage by a French firing squad at Vincennes castle. In 1929, the commune of Vincennes lost about half of its territory when
4860-609: The girls to be sent to convents and one to the Abbé Sade until their wounds healed. One of the girls remained at La Coste and died of an illness a few months later. In June, Nanon Sablonnière, one of the servants involved in the La Coste orgies, quarreled with the Sades and left, finding refuge in a convent. Fearing that Nanon might provide damaging testimony, Madame de Montreuil falsely accused her of theft and successfully petitioned for
4950-521: The government ordered Coulmier to suspend all theatrical performances, balls and concerts. By this time, Sade was in a sexual relationship with Madeleine Leclerc, the teenage daughter of an employee at Charenton. The relationship caused consternation for Quesnet and further allegations of immorality against Sade. In September 1814, the new director of Charenton asked the Bourbon restoration government to transfer Sade to another institution. Sade, however,
5040-613: The greatest. Libertine A libertine is a person questioning and challenging most moral principles, such as responsibility or sexual restraints, and will often declare these traits as unnecessary or undesirable or evil. A libertine is especially someone who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour observed by the larger society. The values and practices of libertines are known collectively as libertinism or libertinage and are described as an extreme form of hedonism or liberalism . Libertines put value on physical pleasures, meaning those experienced through
5130-444: The institution on humane principles with an emphasis on "moral treatment" in accordance with the nature of the mental illness. He allowed Sade to write, produce and perform in plays, and also encouraged balls, concerts, dinners and other entertainments. In 1805, Coulmier had a theater built on the premises with seating for about 200. The performances, which included professional actors and inmates, became fashionable, attracting many among
5220-542: The king issued a lettre de cachet (a royal warrant for arrest and detention without trial) and Sade was imprisoned at the Château de Saumur and later the Pierre-Encize prison. On 15 April, the criminal chamber of the parlement de Paris took up the case and soon issued an arrest warrant for Sade. On 3 June, the king issued a pardon for the marquis, probably on the petition of the Montreuil family. The parlement interrogated Sade on 10 June and he stated that Keller
5310-528: The king ordered his release on the condition that he stay at La Coste under supervision. The Arcueil affair was widely publicized, causing the Sade and Montreuil families great concern for their reputation. In June 1769, Renée-Pélagie gave birth to a second son, Donatien-Claude-Armand, and the Montreuils hoped this would help domesticate Sade. In July 1770, Sade returned to his Burgundy regiment where he encountered some hostility. In March 1771, however, he
5400-592: The limits of the City of Paris). It also features a large military fort , now housing various army services. This fort and an adjoining plain known as the "Polygon" has historically been an important proving ground for French armaments. The city is also home to the Service Historique de la Défense (SHD), which holds the archival records of the French Armed Forces . In 1933 Georges Saupique
5490-411: The literary merits of William Hazlitt 's Liber Amoris , a deeply personal account of frustrated love that is quite unlike anything else Hazlitt ever wrote. Wardle suggests that it was compelling but marred by sickly sentimentality, and also proposes that Hazlitt might even have been anticipating some of the experiments in chronology made by later novelists. One or two positive reviews appeared, such as
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#17327654146185580-561: The massacre of the French. This was the last great political challenge Calvin had to face in Geneva". In England, a few Lollards held libertine views such as that adultery and fornication were not sin, or that "whoever died in faith would be saved irrespective of his way of life". During the 18th and 19th centuries, the term became more associated with debauchery. Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand wrote that Joseph Bonaparte "sought only life's pleasures and easy access to libertinism" while on
5670-475: The need for uniformity of discipline in Geneva, Samuel Rutherford (Professor of Divinity in the University of St. Andrews, and Christian minister in 17th-century Scotland) offered a rigorous treatment of "Libertinism" in his polemical work "A Free Disputation Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience" (1649). A Satyr Against Reason and Mankind is a poem by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester which addresses
5760-467: The novellas The Misfortunes of Virtue (1787) and Eugénie de Franval (1788). As revolutionary tension increased in Paris, Sade was outraged that his daily exercise was curtailed. On 2 July 1789, he improvised a megaphone and shouted to passers-by below that the warders were killing the prisoners. Sade was transferred to the Charenton insane asylum that evening. On 14 July, the Bastille was stormed by
5850-685: The one in the Globe , 7 June 1823: "The Liber Amoris is unique in the English language; and as, possibly, the first book in its fervour, its vehemency, and its careless exposure of passion and weakness—of sentiments and sensations which the common race of mankind seek most studiously to mystify or conceal—that exhibits a portion of the most distinguishing characteristics of Rousseau, it ought to be generally praised". Dan Cruickshank in his book London's Sinful Secret summarized Hazlitt's infatuation stating: "Decades after her death Batsy (Careless) still haunted
5940-706: The onset of the Seven Years' War . After thirteen months as a sub-lieutenant, he was commissioned to the rank of cornet in the Brigade de Saint-André of the Comte de Provence's Carbine Regiment on 14 January 1757, and again promoted to the rank of captain in the Burgundian Cavalry on 21 April 1759. Despite this, Sade generally refused to ingratiate himself with his superiors, and "disdained making friends with his peers." He frequently infuriated his father with his gambling and womanizing. By 1761, Sade had gained
6030-584: The performance. He began publicly espousing more radical republican views and became more prominent in his local revolutionary section , the Section des Piques . Following the fall of the monarchy in September 1792, he was appointed the section's commissioner on health and charitable institutions, and in October 1793 he was chosen to deliver the funeral oration for the revolutionary martyrs Marat and Le Peletier . In November, his section delegated him to deliver
6120-558: The play Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss and the film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom by Pier Paolo Pasolini . Dworkin and Roger Shattuck have criticized the rehabilitation of Sade's reputation, arguing that it promotes violent pornography likely to cause harm to women, the young and "unformed minds". Sade was born on 2 June 1740, in the Hôtel de Condé , Paris , the only surviving child of Jean-Baptiste François Joseph, Count de Sade and Marie-Éléonore de Maillé de Carman. The Sade family
6210-401: The prostitutes. Sade offered the prostitutes aniseed -flavored pastilles laced with Spanish fly . One of the prostitutes, Marianne Laverne, became ill after eating the pastilles. That evening, Sade had sex with another prostitute, Marguerite Coste, who became critically ill after eating the pastilles. Coste filed a complaint with the police and, after an investigation, a warrant was issued for
6300-421: The question of the proper use of reason , and is generally assumed to be a Hobbesian critique of rationalism . The narrator subordinates reason to sense. It is based to some extent on Boileau 's version of Juvenal 's eighth or fifteenth satire, and is also indebted to Hobbes, Montaigne , Lucretius , and Epicurus , as well as the general libertine tradition. Confusion has arisen in its interpretation as it
6390-473: The right to property" and for viewing the political conflict in late-18th-century France as being not between "the Crown, the bourgeoisie , the aristocracy or the clergy, or sectional interests of any of these against one another," but rather all of these "more or less united against the people." Thus, Gorer argued, "he can with some justice be called the first reasoned socialist ." Peter Marshall sees Sade as
6480-738: The senses. As a philosophy, libertinism gained new-found adherents in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, particularly in France and Great Britain . Notable among these were John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , and the Marquis de Sade . The word libertine was originally coined by John Calvin to negatively describe opponents of his policies in Geneva , Switzerland. The group, led by Ami Perrin , argued against Calvin's "insistence that church discipline should be enforced uniformly against all members of Genevan society". Perrin and his allies were elected to
6570-423: The struggle to dominate. For Camus, Sade advocated freedom of desire for the few which required the enslavement of the majority. Sade thus prefigured totalitarianism in the name of freedom. Phillips states that Sade was greatly influenced by the materialism of La Mettrie and Holbach and by the determinism of Hume . According to this view, God does not exist, and man and the universe are nothing but matter which
6660-449: The throne of Naples. Les Liaisons dangereuses ( Dangerous Liaisons , 1782), an epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos , is a trenchant description of sexual libertinism. Wayland Young argues: "... the mere analysis of libertinism ... carried out by a novelist with such a prodigious command of his medium ... was enough to condemn it and play a large part in its destruction." Agreeable to Calvin's emphasis on
6750-518: The town council in 1548, and "broadened their support base in Geneva by stirring up resentment among the older inhabitants against the increasing number of religious refugees who were fleeing France in even greater numbers". By 1555, Calvinists were firmly in place on the Genevan town council, so the Libertines, led by Perrin, responded with an "attempted coup against the government and called for
6840-399: Was a prostitute who willingly supplied her services. He denied tying her down, cutting her with a knife or burning her with hot wax and stated that Keller did not complain about the flagellation at the time. The parlement accepted the king's pardon and ordered Sade to pay 100 livres in alms for prisoners. Sade was returned to Pierre-Encize prison under the lettre de cachet. On 16 November,
6930-420: Was also negotiating with the Montreuil family for his son to marry their eldest daughter, Renée-Pélagie. Although the Montreuils were of bourgeois origin, and had only been ennobled in the 17th century, they were wealthy and had influential contacts, both at court and in legal circles. The count considered his son a financial burden with a poor character: "As for me, what makes up my mind is that I will be rid of
7020-399: Was arrested under the existing lettre de cachet and imprisoned in the Vincennes fortress. With Sade now in custody, the parlement de Provence in Aix agreed to hear his appeal against his conviction for sodomy and poisoning. On 30 June 1778, the court overturned his conviction on poisoning and ordered a retrial on charges of debauchery and pederasty . Madame de Montreuil, wishing to avoid
7110-458: Was commissioned to work on one of three "dessus-de-porte" to be placed above the doors of the new Vincennes' city hall "salle des fêtes". His composition involved allegorical figures representing commerce and industry supporting the Vincennes' coat of arms. In the old royal château, a porcelain manufactory was established in 1740, specializing in imitations of Meissen porcelain and naturalistic flowers, which were incorporated into bouquets under
7200-536: Was declared insane with "libertine dementia" and transferred to the Bicêtre Asylum . After intervention by his family, he was transferred once more to the Charenton Asylum , where his ex-wife and children agreed to pay his room and board. Marie-Constance, pretending to be his illegitimate daughter, was allowed to live with him there. The director of Charenton, Abbé de Coulmier , attempted to run
7290-466: Was for compulsory prostitution from childhood on, where women and girls could be raped by men. The proposal is from one of Sade's fictional characters, Le Chevalier, in the novel Philosophy in the Bedroom . Phillips argues that the views of Sade's characters cannot always be attributed to Sade . Gray suggests that Le Chevalier's speech should be read as subversive irony. Maurice Lever, Laurence Louis Bongie and Francine du Plessix Gray present Sade as
7380-430: Was granted a commission as Master of Cavalry which amounted to an official rehabilitation. Soon after, a daughter, Madeleine-Laure, was born. Sade, heavily in debt, was forced to sell his commission but this did not save him from a short spell in debtors' prison. In November 1771, Renée-Pélagie's 19-year-old sister, Anne-Prospère, visited the Sades at La Coste. Sade developed "a fatal passion" for his sister-in-law and it
7470-403: Was immediately re-arrested on a lettre de cachet and returned to police custody. Sade escaped custody while being transferred back to Paris and he returned to La Coste. On 26 August, he was re-arrested after a police raid on his château and was returned to Vincennes prison. In prison, Sade engaged in extensive correspondence, mostly with his wife, and continued working on Voyage d'Italie and
7560-467: Was increasingly involved in politics, at first supporting a constitutional monarchy. However, as republican sentiment grew in 1792, Sade found himself in political difficulty due to his noble ancestry, public support of the monarchy and the emigration of his two sons. In March, his play Le Suborneur premiered at the Théâtre Italien but only lasted one night when Jacobin activists disrupted
7650-508: Was initially pleased with his new, strictly Catholic bride, writing to his uncle, "I don't know how to praise her enough." Two years later, however, he told the Abbé that she was "too cold and too devout." She gave birth to two sons and a daughter, and later became an accomplice to his alleged crimes with adolescents. Four months after his wedding, Sade was accused of blasphemy and incitement to sacrilege, which were capital offenses. He had rented
7740-443: Was listed for execution on 27 July 1794 ( 9 Thermidor ) but was saved either by bribery or bureaucratic error. Robespierre and his supporters fell from power that day, ending the Reign of Terror and paving the way for Sade's release from prison in October. On his release, Sade concentrated on literature and his personal affairs. He published a series of anonymous novels: Philosophy in the Bedroom and Aline and Valcour (1795), and
7830-616: Was now seriously ill. He died on 2 December 1814 after an attack of "prostrating gangrenous fever." Sade had left instructions in his will requesting that he be buried at his property at Malmaison without an autopsy or "pomp of any kind." However, Malmaison had been sold years earlier and Sade was buried with religious rites at Charenton. His skull was later removed from the grave for phrenological examination. His surviving son, Claude-Armand, had all his remaining unpublished manuscripts burnt, including Les Journées de Florbelle . Marshall writes that Sade's "known behaviour (which includes only
7920-619: Was of the provincial nobility dating to the 13th century. Sade's mother was from a junior branch of the house of Bourbon-Condé and therefore Sade was related to the King of France by blood. Sade's father was a captain of dragoons who was entrusted with diplomatic missions to the Russian Empire , Britain and the Elector of Cologne . His mother was lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Condé and, for his first four years, Sade lived in
8010-726: Was taught Latin, Greek and rhetoric, and also participated in the school's theatrical productions. Sade's father was now heavily in debt and could not afford to enroll his son as a residential student, so Sade probably lived in private accommodation with Amblet. Residential students were discouraged from mixing with external students and this might have isolated Sade from his aristocratic peers. Biographers and historians are divided on whether or not Sade experienced caning (or other forms of corporal punishment ), sexual abuse or sodomy while at school, and whether or not this influenced his sexual development. Sade spent his summer holidays with Madame de Raimond, one of his father's former lovers, at
8100-504: Was warned of an imminent police raid on his home in La Coste which had been arranged by Madame de Montreuil. Following the death of Louis XV in May, Madame de Montreuil successfully petitioned for a new lettre de cachet for Sade's arrest in the name of King Louis XVI . Meanwhile, Renée-Pélagie requested an appeal of her husband's death sentence. In September 1774, Sade and his wife hired seven new servants for their La Coste property, including
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