The article considers the 1956 trial of the publisher Jean-Jacques Pauvert on the charge of an outrage against public morals. Pauvert decided to openly publish Marquis de Sade’s papers. The prosecution arguments, the responses of the publisher and of the witnesses for the defense – J. Paulhan, G. B ataille, J. Cocteau and A. B reton – are analyzed on the ground of the documents.
