What is pornography ?
Sir: In discussing in his article 'What is porno- graphy?' (I December) the effect on unstable minds of the writings of the Marquis de Sade, Mr Anthony Burgess appeared to overlook the fact that de Sade's gleeful descriptions of resulting ;cruelties are accompanied by a preposterous philo- sophical justification. and even advocacy, of such ;praetices.
The arguments he advances are so absurd that one is forced to conclude either that de Sade was
always mad, or at least irrational, dr—and this theory was alluded to in the Marat-Sade play—that the arguments were intended by de Sade only as paradox, perhaps to challenge accepted ideas. But the evidence in the Moors case showed quite clearly that apart from any effect the incidents described may have had in exciting Brady's desire, the philosophic rubbish was taken seriously by him and adopted as 'the right idea.' It was inevitable that this kind of thing would happen when de Sade's works, instead of being available only in old French to educated and intelligent people, were put on sale in English for a few shillings and so reached the hands of ignorant and immature people.
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