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 will 

 again be accepted by society and take her place 

 with the rest. 



And so with other cases. On looking back 

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