It is too often true that men of infamy tend to live in history longer than do men of good will, and so it is with Comte Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade, usually called the Marquis de Sade.
The Comte was a French soldier who lived from 1740 to 1814, but he is better known as a sexual pervert and an author of obscene writings.
Most of his adult life was spent either in prison or in asylums for the insane.
A form of perversion described by him consists in the obtaining of gratification by practicing cruelty upon the loved one, and it is to this practice that his name has been given.
By extension, sadism is now applied to a love of cruelty, and a sadist is one who receives pleasure through the practice of cruelty.
Related Posts
-
How Did French Fries Get Their Name and What Are French Fries Called In France?
They have pommes frites (pronounced "pum fritt") in France, which are basically what Americans call "French fries." The American term French Fries reportedly came, it is believed, from Thomas Jefferson. He brought a…
-
Where does the word “Toilet” come from and What does the word Toilet mean in French?
The word "toilet" has had a rather curious development in the little more than four hundred years it has been in the language. Its origin was the French toilette, the diminutive of wile,…
-
What Does the Word “Clock” Mean in French and Where Did the Word For a Large Timepiece Come From?
Like cloche in French, the word clock literally means bell. When the large mechanical clock was invented in the fourteenth century it didn't tell time with a face and hands, but rather by…
-
What Does the Word “Restaurant” Mean In French and How Did the Word For Dining Room Originate?
Up until 1765, diners were offered only what innkeepers chose to serve. But then, a Paris chef named Boulanger began offering a choice of nourishing soups to passersby and on a board hanging…
-
Where does the word “manure” come from and What does manure mean in French?
The word "manure" was originally a verb, its origin the Old French verb manouvrer. Thus, in the fourteenth century, it meant "to work by hand; especially, to work the soil by hand; to…
-
Where does the word “Taffeta” come from and What does Taffeta mean in French?
Although the name Taffeta has been applied and misapplied to many different fabrics during the span of the nearly six centuries during which it has been in the language, its original sense, "a…
