Anthony Comstock

“ What would be the effect of such pictures upon young men? If nature cannot expose herself; if a photograph from life may not be allowed; why, then, should a photograph of an artist's attempt at reproduction of the nude figure of this girl be allowed a cheap and indiscriminate sale upon the public thoroughfares?
In the artist's picture the figure is chaste in expression and posture, and surrounded with a beauty and harmony of blended colors and attractions which practically clothes it. ”

“ There is no conflict, however, between either, of prose, poetry or art, and morals or law, until some person prostitutes some one of them to reproduce the impure conceptions of the individual mind.
Prose and poetry are not considered in danger when this demoralizing element in them is singled out and repressed by law, in the interest of public morals. Authors have never felt called upon to combine themselves together to assail the efforts being made to check what is obscene, lewd and indecent in prose and poetry. ”

“ The Court further adds, in words of unmistakable meaning, concerning the destruction of morality, as follows:
"The destruction of morality renders the power of government invalid, for government is no more than public order. It weakens the bans by which society is kept together. The corruption of the public mind in general, and debauching the manners of youth in particular, by lewd and obscene pictures exhibited to view, must necessarily be attended with the most injurious consequences, and in such instances courts of justice are, or ought to be, the school of morals." ”

“ Art is not assailed; the immoral feature is, though, and art must either divest itself of this demoralizing influence or be suppressed; or so closely confined that its power for evil is reduced to a minimum.
Because a painting of this character has been executed by some artist, who, after winning fame for himself, has lent his genius to a base purpose, and employed it to reproduce some lewd and obscene idea that he has given place in his own mind to, is no reason why such picture's tendency is not to deprave and corrupt the minds of persons open to such immoral influence ”

“ In charging the jury in the case of Muller, Judge Brady said:
"It does not follow that because a photograph or engraving, or representation of an engraving or picture, is exhibited in a salon in France or the United States that it is not an indecent or obscene one. The object in art, as we understand it, is high and ennobling. It aims at the reproduction and presentation of the beauties of nature, and its chief design should be the development of every form of the beautiful in nature, although it may be employed to exhibit the horrors of vice. ”

“ By what right does a few selfish men enter the privacy and denude women for the inspection of others or seek to put these representations of nudity upon the open market for all classes to gaze upon?
The painting, with its sweet harmony of blended colors and tints, is one thing to the cultured mind; but to the cold reality of black and white in the photograph, where the nude figure is placed prominently before the eyes of the uncultured, is, in character and effect a very different thing. ”

“ When the genius of art reproduces obscene, lewd or lascivious ideas, the deadly effect upon the morals of the young is just as perceptible as when the same ideas are represented by gross expressions in prose or poetry. ”

“ There is nothing on earth more chaste and beautiful than a modest and chaste woman, unless it be that of innocent childhood, and that chastity every chivalrous man ought to defend and protect. The nude in art is a menace upon this chastity. The youth of this country to-day are being cursed with the dissemination of pictures where woman is exposed to vulgar gaze, through the medium of photography and art. There is nothing more repulsive than an unchaste women; there is nothing more seductive than a beautiful woman. ”

“ Let the nude be kept in its proper place, and out of reach of the rabble, or those whose minds are already tainted or diseased with licentiousness, and its power for evil will be far less. The fault may be in the minds of the weak ones, but we must take the world as it is, not as we wish it might be. Many a youth inherits tendencies to lust and intemperance, and such ought not to be exposed to temptation.
The Obscene, Lewd and Indecent in Art, however, is placed upon an entirely different basis. Obscenity in any guise or form is a moral monster. ”

“ Expert Testimony It is claimed by artists and liberals, that experts should be permitted to testify before a jury, and give their opinions as to whether a picture or book is obscene or indecent. Do ladies and gentlemen of ordinary intelligence require an artist to inform them whether a book or picture contains lewd and indecent suggestions or not? Must a physician be called in to tell whether a disease that has prostrated a person is liable to make him sick or not? ”

“ Nude in art unclothes beautiful woman. To thus expose her in public is to rob her of her modesty which is her most beautiful mantle. It degrades her sex. It is food for impure imaginations and provokes commend among the evil-minded. In the sanctity of home the human form is only derobed in the privacy of the dressing-room, and then not for the gaze of others. ”

“ The greatest work has always gone hand in hand with the most fervent moral purpose. The requirement has been from time immemorial that whenever there is a contest as between artistic and moral beauty, unless the moral side prevail, all is lost. ”

“ Art has been employed to reproduce and represent all of these characteristics. And when art lends its charms to the seduction of the harlot, the law stretches out its strong arm over the heads of innocent children and says, "You shall not approach these innocent ones and contaminate them." The American artists, in their hasty and inconsiderate action, have placed themselves in a very deplorable position. ”

“ That before a medical class, for the purpose of instruction, it might be necessary and proper, and consonant with decency and modesty, to expose the human body for exhibition of disease, or for the purpose of operation; but that if the same human body was exposed in front of one of our medical colleges to the public indiscriminately, even for the purpose of operation, such an exhibition would be held to be indecent and obscene. ”

“ There is no doubt that all matters of importance to society may be made the subject of full and free discussion, but while the liberty of such discussion is preserved, it must not be allowed to run into obscenity, and to be conducted in a manner which tends to the corruption of public morals. ”

“ Another person has a beautiful daughter. He says, "I have something more chaste, perfect and beautiful in form than that figure on the artist's canvas. If he can exhibit a beautiful figure of a nude girl for money, why not I exhibit nature itself, which outshines his imitation, and thus makes money too?" Would this be allowed? Would the father be permitted to even photograph his nude child and sell those photographs upon the public street? ”

“ The world is open to the artist. He may represent objects and subjects in whatever colors he may see fit to adopt, but his methods must commend themselves to the morality of the people. He must see to it that they do not invade the law of public morals, and, according to some writers, endanger the public peace. ”

“ He who has not yet perceived how artistic beauty and moral beauty are convergent lines, which run back into a common ideal origin, and who therefore is not afire with moral beauty just as with artistic beauty, . . . he is not a great artist. ”

“ The morals of those open to immoral influences are most sacredly guarded in law and by the courts.
Another thing, this decision, whether intentionally or not, indirectly draws a very broad distinction between a photograph and a work of art. The photograph which takes out the nude figure of a woman from a painting entirely removes the "other incidents and qualities" of attraction which go to make a painting a work of art. ”

“ But the Court says to you that such an argument cannot be received or considered by you, and cannot make any difference in the question of guilt or innocence. A man might believe that obscene things may be, and ought to be, corrected, and he may argue against them and publish for this purpose, but still the book might not be allowed to go through the mails if obscene in itself. It is not the design. There is no reference in the statute to the design that a man has in putting a book in the mail whether for a good or a bad purpose ”

“ If they shall find anything proven to our discredit, with a full knowledge of the facts and circumstances before our minds, then such are at liberty to make known to the public their finding. We challenge, and have challenged, the press and our enemies to come and secure the facts, and with the assistance of these facts, and the records of our office, prove anything to our discredit. ”

“ To young men, cursed as thousands of the present day are, with secret vices, these photographs leave impressions upon their imaginations which are a continual menace to them. They fan the flame of secret desires. ”

“ The law was in Curl's case established upon true principles. What tended to corrupt society was held to be a breach of the peace, and punishable by indictment. The courts are guardians of the public morals, and therefore have jurisdiction in such cases. Hence it follows that an offense may be punishable if in its nature, and by its example, it tends to the corruption of morals, although it be not committed in public...A picture tends to excite lust as strongly as a writing; and the showing of a picture is as much a publication as the selling of a book. ”

“ Constituted as society is, with hundreds of thousands in the community who cannot appreciate the nude in art at its best, photographs of the nude are a curse to many. They appeal to passion, and create impure imaginations. ”

“ By acts of Parliament in England, by acts of Congress in the United States, and legislative enactments in the various States of the Union, those Common Law principles have since been emphasized by statutory provisions against obscene, lewd and indecent matters.
Test of Obscenity The next subject of importance as a help to a clear understanding of the method of enforcing the law, is the legal definition or test of obscenity.
The question of obscenity is always a question of fact for the Jury. ”

“ The leading purpose of these requests was to induce the Court to lay down the rule, that the intent of the defendant, in selling a picture claimed to be indecent and obscene, is an important element in determining his guilt. The statute makes the selling of an obscene and indecent picture a misdemeanor. There is no exception by reason of any special intent in making the sale. The object of the statute was to suppress the traffic in obscene publications, and to protect the community against the contamination and pollution arising from their exhibition and distribution. ”

“ In addition to these hardships a creature unworthy of the name of man, residing in Philadelphia, has, for more than two years, been endeavoring to undermine our standing and character by sending around libelous publications to the contributors and friends of this cause, seeking to turn away the respect and sympathy of good men, and undermine the cause of moral purity, as represented by this society. ”

“ The high Court re-affirmed the case Regina vs. Hicklin.
It must be observed that Morals have ever been jealously guarded, and every test and decision contains the words, "tends" or "tendency," or words synonymous with them. Coming now to the decisions in the United States, we find the same test of obscenity and principles at common law fully concurred in and sustained by our courts. ”

“ A more recent case of equal celebrity with the others is the case of People vs. August Muller, tried before Mr. Justice Brady, of the Supreme Court, and a jury in the Oyer and Terminer Court, New York City, in 1884. Muller had been indicted for the sale of nine pictures under section 317 of our Penal Code. Eight of these pictures, it was claimed, on the part of the defense, and was conceded by the prosecution, were copies of works of art exhibited in the Salon of Paris, and the other one had been exhibited at the Centennial in Philadelphia. ”

“ Resolved, That it is the sentiment of this meeting that the cause of art education in the United States and of higher education in general demands that measures be taken to restrain the agents of said society from exceeding the limits of the field in which its work properly belongs ”

“ It is free also from any unchaste posture or expression. He has produced this to win fame for himself, and as a profitable venture from a business standpoint. He exhibits it or sells it to make money. ”

“ While conceding that in the original painting the nude may be chaste and pure, yet when torn from its proper sphere its character and effect are changed, and it is capable of ministering to the lowest imaginings of uncultured minds. ”

“ The defendant, however, absconded before the trial, and was outlawed.
In 1808, in Connecticut, it was held:
"Every public show or exhibition which outrages decency, shocks humanity, or is contra bonas mores, is punishable at common law." (Knowles vs. State, 3 day's Conn. R. p.103.)
In Massachusetts, in 1821, one Peter Holmes was indicted under Common Law for selling an obscene print. In this case it was held that
"Obscene matter need not be set out in the indictment lest the Court should give permanency and notoriety to the indecency." (Com. vs. Holmes, 17 Mass. R. p.337.) ”