Address pronounced at the Fête held by the Piques Section, in memory of Marat and Le Pelletier, by Sade, citizen of this section, and member of the Société Populaire

by Marquis de Sade, Paul Chan (Contributor), Claire Fontaine (Contributor)

"Weep no more, citizens; they breathe, these celebrated men for whom we cry; our patriotism reanimates them..."

Presented in honor of Marat and Le Pelletier, "Citizen Sade" wrote this memorial address at the height of violence during the French Revolution, just after the start of the Reign of Terror. The text, effusive and cloyingly patriotic, brings to question Sade's own political position – a provocative impulse all the more remarkable given the addresses audience: the gathered Section des Piques, amongst the most hardline Jacobin districts of Paris. Though frequently cited and made infamous as the inspiration for Peter Weiss' influential work of avant-garde theater Marat/Sade, the text itself has remained obscure outside of France.

Presented in English for the first time, this new translation by Robin Mackay serves as the historical foundation for a collection of artists' writings. Included are Paul Chan, Claire Fontaine, Gareth James, Sam Lewitt, Pratchaya Phinthong, Pamela Rosenkranz, John Russell, and Antek Walczak.

146 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 1793

About the author

A preoccupation with sexual violence characterizes novels, plays, and short stories that Donatien Alphonse François, comte de Sade but known as marquis de Sade, of France wrote. After this writer derives the word sadism, the deriving of sexual gratification from fantasies or acts that involve causing other persons to suffer physical or mental pain.

This aristocrat, revolutionary politician, and philosopher exhibited famous libertine lifestyle.

His works include dialogues and political tracts; in his lifetime, he published some works under his own name and denied authorship of apparently anonymous other works. His best erotic works combined philosophical discourse with pornography and depicted fantasies with an emphasis on criminality and blasphemy against the Catholic Church. Morality, religion or law restrained not his "extreme freedom." Various prisons and an insane asylum incarcerated the aristocrat for 32 years of his life: ten years in the Bastile, another year elsewhere in Paris, a month in Conciergerie, two years in a fortress, a year in Madelonnettes, three years in Bicêtre, a year in Sainte-Pélagie, and 13 years in the Charenton asylum. During the French revolution, people elected this criminal as delegate to the National Convention. He wrote many of his works in prison.