THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF HUMANS
IS THE HISTORY OF LUXURY.
male
genital exhibitionists
on mediæval churches
beard-pullers
in the silent orgy
From
clothing in the Garden of Eden to meals in expensive restaurants.
Degrees of luxury have defined progress.
In
the 11th and 12 centuries, a powerful element in the Western Christian
Church launched a propaganda campaign against it.
Celibate monks in small cells in palace-sized abbeys in the extreme west of Europe abhorred it.
They abhorred pleasure.
They
abhorred the wealth that provided it.
Most
especially, they abhorred sexual pleasure,
which for them
involved long hair, breasts and genital exposure.
Luxury required Wealth.
The purse of the rich man was considered to be
