Torture

February 15, 2006 8:03 PM

Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes-Marquis de Sade (tyannizes NSFW) (MI)
posted by snsranch (24 comments total)

From almostcool's earlier query:
There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,

And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,

And wild plum trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire,

Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one

Will care at last when it is done,

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,

If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn

Would scarcely know that we were gone.
posted by snsranch at 8:05 PM on February 15, 2006

sorry: query.
posted by snsranch at 8:08 PM on February 15, 2006

OK, who checked "tyrannizes" first?

*puts her hand up*
posted by arcticwoman at 8:21 PM on February 15, 2006

*sheepishly raises hand*
posted by Malor at 8:29 PM on February 15, 2006

I was going to, until I saw it was rotten.com.
posted by ook at 8:38 PM on February 15, 2006

Then I did anyway, and realized rotten.com isn't the site I was thinking of, and posted a lame apology.
posted by ook at 8:39 PM on February 15, 2006

It's just dirty, ook, not disgusting.

I found the 1896 language in the 2nd link almost incomprehensibly opaque. I suppose that's deliberate.
posted by dhartung at 8:44 PM on February 15, 2006

Hmm, I probably would have been satisfied with 18th century pornography.
posted by Citizen Premier at 8:47 PM on February 15, 2006

Great set of links, thanks.

arcticwoman said 'OK, who checked "tyrannizes" first?'
<British>You mean the spelling?</British>
posted by jack_mo at 8:52 PM on February 15, 2006

arcticwoman: I did, but only because the rest of you pervs left me with no choice. Heh.
posted by socratic at 9:00 PM on February 15, 2006

Actually, i clicked that one last.

Even more actually, i didn't click it, i dragged it into a new browser window.
posted by delmoi at 9:24 PM on February 15, 2006

The rotten library is an amazing place. Move around and you will see stuff that you would never expect rotten.com to have. It is a depository of all thatmankind swore to forget.
posted by Dean Keaton at 10:54 PM on February 15, 2006

The rotten library is an amazing place.

You know.... you're right about that. I stay away from rotten like the plague, but the library is just fascinating. The writing is surprisingly good. It's got this world-weary, detached, ironicly clinical voice that just fits the subject matter so well.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:03 AM on February 16, 2006

What a dirty bugger.
posted by NinjaPirate at 5:19 AM on February 16, 2006

Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes

Or, you know, you could just keep it in your pants and work for the good of your fellow man.

I guess even fat, spoiled, sweaty little troll-men with a penchant for pottytalk can become heroes when they start making pseudo-philosophical statements about fucking.
posted by xthlc at 5:27 AM on February 16, 2006

Good heavens, xthlc -- the tagline geiger counter is clicking like crazy at your comment!

Metafilter: it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes
Metafilter: you could just keep it in your pants
Metafilter: fat, spoiled, sweaty little troll-men
Metafilter: psuedo-philosophical statements about fucking.
posted by namespan at 7:42 AM on February 16, 2006

Xthic -
I don't know if you intended to sound like an elitist snot, but bravo. I can almost feel your upturned nose through my monitor.

English. Batter your friends for fun.
posted by daq at 7:54 AM on February 16, 2006

daq: I can almost feel your upturned nose through my monitor.


That's not his nose.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:15 AM on February 16, 2006

Sorry for a dumb question, but what does (MI) mean?
posted by dunderhead at 9:03 AM on February 16, 2006

"more inside"
posted by crunchland at 9:13 AM on February 16, 2006

I didn't intend to insult snsranch -- I just think deSade is highly overrated. A legendary pervert, yes. Prophet of a new philosophy of the flesh (like so many pretentious dipshits in the BDSM community seem to think), no. If deSade were around today, he'd just be another creepy fat man hanging out near playgrounds despite the restraining order.
posted by xthlc at 10:05 AM on February 16, 2006

Unless he had a lot of money.
posted by Smedleyman at 11:13 AM on February 16, 2006

I don't think xthlc was being "an elitist snot," and furthermore he's right. If de Sade had written about anything other than sex he would have been ignored. Besides which, it's puzzling that he is seen by so many as this hero of sexual liberation when, if I recall correctly, he's usually writing about a non-consensual fantasy of brutalizing and torturing women.

If you want good writing about a provocative sexual topic, read Lolita. If you want to discover how reading about revolting sexual fantasies can be boring, go ahead and read de Sade.
posted by lackutrol at 11:44 AM on February 16, 2006

Sorry, that should read "brutalizing and torturing everybody."
posted by lackutrol at 11:45 AM on February 16, 2006