Defence of Criminals 



deal of the Robin Hood spirit, and are really 

 helpful to the poor. 



I need not I think quote that famous passage 

 from Lecky in which he shows how the prostitute, 

 through centuries of suffering and ill-fame, has 

 borne the curse and contempt of Society in order 

 that her more fortunate sister might rejoice in 

 the achievement of a pure marriage. The ideal 

 of a monogamic union has been established in a 

 sense directly by the slur cast upon the free woman. 

 If, however, as many people think, a certain 

 latitude in sexual relations is not only admissible 

 but, in the long run, and within bounds, desir- 

 able, it becomes clear that the prostitute is that 

 person who against heavy odds, and at the cost of 

 a real degradation to herself, has clung to a tradi- 

 tion which, in itself good, might otherwise have 

 perished in the face of our devotion to the splendid 

 ideal of the exclusive marriage. There has been 

 a time in history when the prostitute (if the word 

 can properly be used in this connection) has been 

 glorified, consecrated to the temple-service and 

 honoured of men and gods (the hierodouloi of 

 the Greeks, the kodeshoth and kodeshim of the 

 Bible, etc.) There has also been a time when 

 she has been scouted and reviled. In the future 

 there will come a time when, as free companion, 

 really free from the curse of modern commercialism, 

 and sacred and respected once more, she v/ill 

 again be accepted by society and take her place 

 with the rest. 



And so with other cases. On looking back 

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