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Sade

Donatien Alphonse François, (2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a nobleman, military officer in the Seven Years' War, revolutionary , and author whose explicit writings on sexual excess, dominance, and moral nihilism gave rise to the term in psychiatry. Born into aristocracy, he inherited the title of marquis and lived a life marked by aristocratic privilege, libertine pursuits, and repeated legal conflicts over alleged abuses including , poisoning attempts on prostitutes, and of a beggar woman named Rose Keller, leading to over three decades of imprisonment in bastilles, fortresses, and asylums under issued by his family and the state. Sade's literary output, composed largely during confinement, includes philosophical dialogues like Dialogue Between a Priest and a Dying Man (1782) critiquing and from a materialist , and notorious novels such as Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue (1791) and The 120 Days of Sodom (written 1785, published posthumously), which depict systematic cruelty as an expression of natural liberty unbound by societal or divine constraints. His works, blending hedonistic with graphic , were condemned as blasphemous and pornographic, resulting in bans that persisted in until 1957, though they later influenced thinkers on power dynamics and , from surrealists to modern libertarians, despite debates over whether his texts reflect genuine advocacy or hyperbolic . During the , Sade briefly aligned with radical factions, renouncing nobility, serving as a revolutionary commissioner, and authoring abolitionist plays, yet his survival amid purges underscores the contingency of his ideological shifts amid personal exigencies. Empirical records of his trials reveal convictions based on victim testimonies and physical evidence, such as Keller's scarred wounds, challenging romanticized portrayals that downplay causal links between his writings and documented acts.

People

Marquis de Sade

Donatien Alphonse François, , was a aristocrat, officer, and author born on June 2, 1740, in to a noble family with diplomatic ties at the court of . His father, Comte de Sade, served as a , while his mother came from the House of Condé; young Sade received a classical education at Louis-le-Grand, a Jesuit institution, before entering service at age 14 as sub-lieutenant in the Carignan Regiment. He rose to captain by 1755 and participated in the Seven Years' War, achieving the rank of in the king's by 1763, though his career was marred by early libertine behavior that drew official scrutiny. In 1763, shortly after his military promotion, Sade faced his first major scandal when he was accused of blaspheming a and flogging a named Keller during an encounter, leading to a lettre de cachet ordered by his mother-in-law, who had arranged his 1763 to Renée-Pélagie de Montreuil for financial and gain. Released after brief confinement, he continued such incidents, including whipping another woman in in 1768 (charges settled via payment) and orchestrating a six-week at his Château de La Coste in 1774 involving five young women and one man, supplied with aphrodisiacs and subjected to rituals that prompted complaints of poisoning and abuse. These events culminated in his arrest under another lettre de cachet, initiating over three decades of intermittent incarceration across , the , and other facilities, totaling about 32 years, often without formal trial due to and later revolutionary politics. During his confinement from to , Sade penned his most infamous manuscript, Les 120 Journées de Sodome (), a catalog of escalating sexual atrocities committed by four against imprisoned victims, completed in 37 days but lost during the prison storming—though rediscovered in and published posthumously. Freed by the , he renounced his title as "Citizen Sade," joined the Cordeliers Club, and was elected to the National Convention's Section des Piques, where he advocated moderation, opposed the death penalty, and published revolutionary pamphlets like Français, encore un effort si vous voulez être républicains (), critiquing as inconsistent with republican liberty. His revolutionary zeal included a 1793 speech from the ruins denouncing aristocratic abuses, but he narrowly escaped execution during the , possibly due to his prior denunciation of extremists. Post-Revolution, Sade produced philosophical-erotic works like Justine, ou les Malheurs de la Vertu (1791), depicting relentless victimization of a virtuous woman to argue virtue's futility, and its sequel Juliette, ou les Prospérités du vice (1797), extolling vice as aligned with nature's destructive forces. In La Philosophie dans le boudoir (1795), dialogues among libertines expound a materialist atheism rejecting divine morality, positing human drives—especially destructive pleasure—as sovereign, with nature observed empirically as amoral and predatory rather than benevolent. Arrested again in 1801 under Napoleon for alleged authorship of "obscene" publications (despite denials), he spent his final 13 years at Charenton asylum, directing inmate theater until banned, and died on December 2, 1814, from pulmonary congestion; his son burned remaining manuscripts against his wishes. Sade's writings, blending narrative excess with polemics against religious and social constraints, influenced later thinkers—Sartre deemed him an existential precursor for emphasizing radical freedom unbound by —but his real-life actions, involving documented and , underscore a consistency between and practice that prioritizes individual appetite over collective norms. The term "sadism," denoting derivation of pleasure from inflicting pain, emerged in the late from psychiatric analyses of his documented behaviors and texts.

Sade Adu

Helen Folasade Adu, known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade, is a Nigerian-born British , and of the band Sade. Born on 16 January 1959 in , , to a Nigerian university economics lecturer and an English nurse who had met and married in before relocating, Adu moved to at age four following her parents' separation, settling with her mother and elder brother near in . After studying fashion design at in , Adu entered the music scene by providing backing vocals for the North London funk band . She formed the band Sade in the early 1980s with longtime collaborators guitarist and saxophonist , bassist , and keyboardist Andrew Hale. Their debut single "Your Love Is King" reached the UK Top 10 in February 1984, followed by the album later that year, which sold millions worldwide and established their signature blend of soul, jazz, and influences. The band has released six studio albums—Diamond Life (1984), Promise (1985), Stronger Than Pride (1988), Love Deluxe (1992), Lovers Rock (2000), and Soldier of Love (2010)—amassing over 60 million album sales globally according to . Adu's career is marked by extended periods of seclusion from the public eye, with no new studio album since 2010 and infrequent touring. She was appointed Commander of the (CBE) in the for services to music.

Other individuals

Sade Baderinwa (born Folasade Olayinka Baderinwa, April 14, 1969) is an American of Nigerian descent. She serves as a co-anchor for 's at 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. in , a position she has held since rising from reporter roles after joining the station in 2003. Prior to WABC-TV, Baderinwa worked as a reporter and anchor at stations including WICS-TV in , and WICD-TV in , beginning her career after earning a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of in 1992. In September 2025, Baderinwa received the Humanitarian Impact Award at the for her reporting on social issues, including community advocacy and public health. She has covered major events such as the and local New York crises, contributing to WABC-TV's Emmy Award-winning coverage. Baderinwa returned to the anchor desk in April 2024 following a recovery from an undisclosed medical procedure.

Arts, entertainment, and media

Films and television

Sade is a 2000 French film directed by , focusing on the Marquis de Sade's experiences in a mental following the , with portraying the title character. De Sade is a 1969 American-German biographical directed by , depicting the Marquis de Sade's life through flashbacks, starring in the lead role. Sade is a 2012 Spanish television miniseries directed by unknown (per available records), centered on a man's quest for against a murderer, featuring actors including Pablo Viejo and Andrés Barriales. Sade (also known as Marquis de Sade), a 1996 Italian erotic thriller directed by Cy Endfield (uncredited reshoots), follows a woman's search for her sister leading to encounters with the , starring in an early role. The singer Sade Adu made her acting debut in the 1986 British musical film Absolute Beginners, appearing as an Athens club singer alongside and .

Music

"Sade" may refer to several musical compositions, primarily songs by various artists. released an instrumental track titled "Sade" on his album Duotones, issued on October 28, 1986, by ; the saxophone-led piece contributed to the album's commercial success, reaching number six on the chart with over five million copies sold worldwide. Nigerian singer issued "Sade" as a on March 16, 2017, marking his first release that year under DMW Records; the track features romantic lyrics and gained traction in West African music charts. Adekunle , another Nigerian artist, released "Sade" in 2015 via , adapting elements from One Direction's "Story of My Life" into an Afropop rendition that appeared on his debut album in 2016. More recently, American-Nigerian singer Rotimi collaborated with and on "Sade", released February 22, 2024, under FrontRo Music Group and ; the song blends and rhythms, emphasizing themes of love and resilience. Additional lesser-known tracks include "Sade" by featuring Elujay, JULiA LEWiS, and Lake Stovall from 2018, and "Sade" by Netkaycoded in 2020, both available on streaming platforms but without significant chart performance.

Literature and publications

The Marquis de Sade produced a body of literature comprising novels, philosophical dialogues, short stories, and plays, much of it written during his multiple incarcerations between 1777 and 1790, as well as later in life. These works, characterized by graphic explorations of libertinism, violence, and critiques of religious and social institutions, were frequently published pseudonymously or posthumously due to censorship and legal repercussions; for instance, Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue appeared in 1791 under the name "Donatien le Poëte," while The 120 Days of Sodom remained unpublished until the early 20th century after its manuscript was recovered from the Bastille ruins in 1803. Among his most notable novels is The 120 Days of Sodom (Les 120 Journées de Sodome), an unfinished manuscript drafted in 1785 during imprisonment at the Bastille, detailing the systematic sexual excesses of four libertines and their victims over four months; the work's extreme content led to its suppression, with a full critical edition not emerging until 1954, and a Penguin Classics translation in 2016. Justine (1791) narrates the persecution of a virtuous woman by corrupt authorities, incorporating Sade's arguments against divine providence and in favor of vice as aligned with nature; it sold widely but prompted arrests and bans. Its sequel, Juliette, or Vice Amply Rewarded (1797–1801), contrasts by glorifying the protagonist's libertine success, spanning multiple volumes and blending adventure with atheistic philosophy. Sade's Philosophy in the Boudoir (La Philosophie dans le boudoir, 1795) combines dramatic dialogue with explicit scenes to advocate for moral relativism, the rejection of Christianity, and political radicalism amid the French Revolution, including an appended essay on reading as essential to citizenship. Shorter forms include novellas like Eugénie de Franval (written circa 1787, published 1800 in collections) and tales such as those in The Mystified Magistrate and Other Tales, which explore themes of deception and desire. His plays, including Oxtiern (written 1785) and adaptations like Marat/Sade (a 1963 work by Peter Weiss inspired by Sade's asylum period, though not by Sade himself), number over a dozen, but few survive intact and none were staged in his lifetime due to content. Posthumous collections, such as Selected Writings (Dover Thrift Editions, 2019 reprinting 18th-century texts), compile excerpts from these, highlighting Sade's influence on later thinkers despite condemnations for obscenity; editions like Grove Press's , , and Other Writings (1965) restored uncensored versions suppressed in 19th-century . Scholarly analyses, including ' Sade//Loyola (1976), examine his texts as systematic perversions of ethical norms rather than mere .

Other uses

Science and nature

Sagina decumbens (Elliott) Torr. & A. Gray, known as trailing pearlwort, is a low-growing annual in the family, designated by the USDA Plants Database SADE. Native to eastern and central , it features small, opposite leaves and tiny white flowers, thriving in moist, disturbed soils such as lawns, paths, and wetland edges. The exhibits prostrate growth, forming mats up to 5 cm tall, and reproduces via seeds and vegetative spread, often considered weedy in managed landscapes. In astronomy, SADE denotes the Starspot and Dynamo Explorer, a proposed space telescope mission from 2003 aimed at observing and magnetic processes on late-type stars to understand stellar activity cycles and analogs. The concept involved UV and visible photometry to map surface features and variability, though it was not implemented.

Organizations and brands

SADE, officially known as SADE - Compagnie Générale de Travaux Hydrauliques, is a firm founded in 1918 and headquartered in . The company specializes in the design, construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of distribution networks, systems, and related hydraulic , operating in and internationally with a workforce supporting major projects in water management. In March 2024, SADE was acquired by the NGE Group, enhancing its capabilities in trenchless technologies and global operations. Smaller organizations bearing the name include Sade's Voice Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit established to support families of missing and girls, inspired by the 2024 case of Sade Robinson. Additionally, S.A.D.E.'s , operates as a platform addressing teen dating abuse and . Among brands, Shop Sade functions as an online retailer specializing in European women's statement fashion, emphasizing high-quality fabrics and construction from selected designers. Sade offers international apparel and accessories targeted at women, focusing on fashionable and durable items. These entities are distinct from more prominent cultural references to the name.

References

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