The Complete Marquis de Sade, Vol. 1

Let no one accuse me of being evil’s apologist; let no one say that I seek to inspire wrongdoing or to blunt remorse in the hearts of wrongdoers: my sole purpose throughout these endeavors is to articulate thoughts which have gnawed at my consciousness since I first was able to reason; that these thoughts might be in conflict with the thoughts of some other persons, or of most other persons, or of all persons except me, is not, I believe sufficient reason to suppress them. As to those susceptible souls who might be “corrupted” by exposure to my writings, I say, so much the worse for them. I address myself only to men who are capable of examining with an objective eye everything before them. Such men are incorruptible. —Donatien Francois Alphonse de Sade “La Philosophie dans le Boudoir” Paris France: 1975