Compatible theories included the idea that people who had the disease were contagious, but also the idea that the disease was a punishment for sinful deeds. Rape would be a sinful deed. Breaking a vow of chastity, if you were a member of the clergy, would be a sinful deed. But for a while, sex within the confines of marriage was not seen as a way to pass on the disease. And so a man who contracted syphilis from a sex worker would not see any problem in having sex with his wife, even if his penis was covered in sores.
