The Wages of Sin: Sex and Disease, Past and Present

By Peter Lewis Allen

Book Overview

Near the end of the century, a new and terrifying disease arrives suddenly from a distant continent. Infecting people through sex, it storms from country to country, defying all drugs and medical knowledge. The deadly disease provokes widespread fear and recrimination; medical authorities call the epidemic "the just rewards of unbridled lust"; a religious leader warns that "God has raised up new diseases against debauchery." The time was the 1490s; the place, Europe; the disease, syphilis; and the religious leader was none other than John Calvin.

Throughout history, Western society has often viewed sickness as a punishment for sin. It has failed to prevent and cure diseases--especially diseases tied to sex--that were seen as the retribution of a wrathful God. The Wages of Sin, the remarkable history of these diseases, shows how society's views of particular afflictions often heightened the suffering of the sick and substituted condemnation for care. Peter Allen moves from the medieval diseases of lovesickness and leprosy through syphilis and bubonic plague, described by one writer as "a broom in the hands of the Almighty, with which He sweepeth the most nasty and uncomely corners of the universe." More recently, medical and social responses to masturbation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and AIDS in the twentieth round out Allen's timely and erudite study of the intersection of private morality and public health. The Wages of Sin tells the fascinating story of how ancient views on sex and sin have shaped, and continue to shape, religious life, medical practice, and private habits.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226014606
• ISBN13: 9780226014609
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A Fascinatng and Unique View of History

Peter Allen takes three of the most compelling aspects of human history--sex, disease, and religion--and weaves them together in a fascinating exposition of how religious authorities in the West have viewed disease since the late Middle Ages. His book discusses the histories of lovesickness, leprosy, syphilis, plague, masturbation, and of course AIDS. For each disease (and yes, masturbation was considered a serious disease well into the 20th Century!), he discusses how sex, and the sins associated with it, figured into the religious and popular views of illness. Allen's book is meticulously researched (he read texts in the original French, Latin, German, and Italian) and elegantly written. It is a far easier read than most academic works. Most importantly, it offers insight into how religious and sexual intolerance can hamper the fight against disease, even in today's world.

Long Over-due

What a terrific book! Extremely well researched, written in lively fashion (by an open-hearted author) and frank in exploring past mis-steps from which we can, and certainly should, learn. We have been waiting for this one for a long time.

Catholic compassion

This gripping book raises far-reaching questions about what Roman Catholic teach. It fits nicely with two other books this year -- John Portmann's When Bad Things Happen to Other People and Garry Wills's Papal Sins. All three make us wonder about the state of Catholicism today and how it will it respond to such powerful criticism.Portmann examines Bernard Haring's account of illness. Haring is the most important Catholic moral theologian of the twentieth century; the Catholic culture Lewis fleshes out culminates in Haring, whose thinking about illness was remarkably sophisticated. Even someone as modern as Haring allows a link between illness and sin. Haring gives permission to celebrate the suffering of others who have broken God's law. Both Lewis and Portmann seem to think of Judaism as generally more compassionate than Catholicism. This point could be debated.Wills turns to the question of whether Rome has responded compassionately to gay and lesbian people. You can guess what Wills thinks, just on the basis of the title of his penetrating book. Lewis looks much more closely at sexuality and sexual sins than Wills does. Who doesn't find the topic of sexual sins worthwhile?The three books have just come to light. Like others that have preceded them, they make us wonder how Rome will respond to serious analyses of Catholic compassion.The Wages of Sin is part philosophy, part religious studies, part cultural studies. It is interesting through and through.

Exceptional, revealing, and intriguing

This is by far the most intriguing and revealing story about sexuality throughout the ages. The practices Allen reveals in his well-written and humorous tales are almost unbelievable. This is an enjoyable read and exceptional education on society and sex. I recommend this book to all!

Sinners or Patients?

In _The Wages of Sin_, Peter Allen has provided a broad, brilliant, and beautifully-written overview of the long and complex relationship between religious and cultural values and the definition and social perceptions of disease. Organized as a series of case studies of particular diseases--including plague, syphilis, masturbation, and AIDS--the book teaches us that Western culture has a long tradition of ambivalence in caring for the victims of diseases for which we have decided that victims' lifestyles are at least partially responsible. By casting his net widely to include masturbation, Allen has been able to discuss not just the moral components of disease diagnosis and treatment, but also the medicalization of specific behaviors. While the reader will be left with many questions about the details of the history of these diseases, Allen has given us a compelling and readable introduction to the issues underlying the current AIDS crisis. The section on AIDS is both a balanced overview of a very messy debate, and an eloquent call to action. This text is a valuable contribution to the literature on the history of medicine, and to public discussion of the moralization of disease and the effects of that process on patients.