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Autobiography
Publication date: 1872 Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there.
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“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.”
I had a more coherent statement available earlier but it was deleted by accident. So I'm going to spew this out and try and fix it later after I deal with other obligations. Forgive my wandering and ungrammatical thoughts.
Now I'm sure you've all heard by now about the new Goodreads policy changes and all the controversy surrounding them.
Goodreads has now officially apologized for deleting co ...more
I had a more coherent statement available earlier but it was deleted by accident. So I'm going to spew this out and try and fix it later after I deal with other obligations. Forgive my wandering and ungrammatical thoughts.
Now I'm sure you've all heard by now about the new Goodreads policy changes and all the controversy surrounding them.
Goodreads has now officially apologized for deleting co ...more
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In quite beautiful language, Milton argues against licensing (a process where a book had to be approved by a state official before it was published). He persuades his reader through a plethora of rhetorical strategies (hyperbole, reductio ad absurdum, morality, practicality) that people should not have their literature restricted by the state. Everything should be published, the public can judge it, and then if the public hates it and it is terrible and dangerous and bad (read: catholic lol), th
...more
Oh, if only Milton knew what his name was used for now. He's always been a symbol of freedom (see Wordsworth's poem to him, Oscar Wilde's prison poem to Milton, too--although I'm not sure Milton would be thrilled to have his name used to defend homosexuals). If only Milton knew that this little pamphlet were to be used to defend atheism, pornography, and all other nonsense, all under the heading of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_en...
But Milton favored no such BS. I don't think Christopher H ...more
But Milton favored no such BS. I don't think Christopher H ...more
In
Areopagitica
, John Milton delivers a finely-honed argument in opposition to the
Licensing Order of 1643
, which restored strict censorship laws to England. Milton relies primarily on classical references; indeed, the title is an allusion to the Areopagus, a hill in Athens and the name of a council who sat in judgement on that hill. In a single word, Milton links the crux of his argument to the zeitgeist of Hellenic antiquity, which held a great fascination for learned individuals of the sevent
...more
Brilliant pamphlet in defense of free speech. Some of my favorite quotes include:
"I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat."
"For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy ...more
"I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat."
"For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy ...more
Notable lines from the speech:
He that can apprehend and consider vice with all her baits and seeming pleasures, and yet abstain, and yet distinguish, and yet prefer that which is truly better, he is the true warfaring Christian.
. . . here the great art lies to discern in what the law is to bid restraint and punishment, and in what things persuasion only is to work.
They are not skilful considerers of human things, who imagine to remove sin by removing the matter of sin.
A man may be a heretic in ...more
He that can apprehend and consider vice with all her baits and seeming pleasures, and yet abstain, and yet distinguish, and yet prefer that which is truly better, he is the true warfaring Christian.
. . . here the great art lies to discern in what the law is to bid restraint and punishment, and in what things persuasion only is to work.
They are not skilful considerers of human things, who imagine to remove sin by removing the matter of sin.
A man may be a heretic in ...more
"Who kills a man kills a resonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye. Many a man lives a burden to the earth; but a good book is the precious life-blood of the master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life. 'Tis true, no age can restore a life, where of perhaps there is no great loss; and revolutions of ages do not oft recover the loss of a rejected truth, for the want of which wh
...more
The Iron Yoke of Outward Conformity
In mid-17th century England, the re-institution of a priori pubishing “licensure” was met with John Milton’s entreaty for free expression in Areopagitica . The Licensing Act of 1643 created 20 Licensers or Censors who would read all prospective published material in England and decide what was fit to be read (and, more importantly, what was not).
Milton is a religious man of letters and his arguments are infused with appeals to the Divine and the human ability to ...more
In mid-17th century England, the re-institution of a priori pubishing “licensure” was met with John Milton’s entreaty for free expression in Areopagitica . The Licensing Act of 1643 created 20 Licensers or Censors who would read all prospective published material in England and decide what was fit to be read (and, more importantly, what was not).
Milton is a religious man of letters and his arguments are infused with appeals to the Divine and the human ability to ...more
Apr 22, 2015
Gretchen Heisler
rated it
5 of 5 stars
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review of another edition
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I will reluctantly admit that this is not for everyone, but MIlton's pamphlet written in defense of free press is something that everyone should read. Censorship is something that continues to affect our lives and our libraries, and even though Milton was not arguing against censorship in this work (and actually stated that he favored it, unsurprisingly given the times), every single one of his arguments can be easily and effectively applied as a denouncement of censorship, and the entire piece
...more
"For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. I know they are as lively, and as vigorously productive, as those fabulous dragon’s teeth; and being sown up and down, may chance to spring up armed men. And yet … as good almost kill a man as kill a good book. Who kills a man, kills a reasonable c
...more
One of the most eloquent and convincing attacks on censorship ever written.
Despite all the beautiful prose, whole sections where Milton is comparing books to food and comparing books to life itself, I'm still not completely sure I understand the whole dang thing. This rhetoric was so complex, involved, and imaginative that I can't even begin to understand the nuances behind his argument. I love the part where he speaks on the testing of virtues and describes how choice is actually the virtue, not just doing good things; one has to consciously make the choice to partake
...more
Justly famous for its most eloquent and learned defense of a free press, and liberalism in general (absolutely all of Mill's "On Liberty" is contained here), before the arrival of capitalism rendered such a defense morally bankrupt in the extreme, this pamphlet also contains, more curiously, the key to the meaning of Paradise Lost. Undoubtedly, ignorant Christians will always take Milton at his word when he says that the meaning of Paradise Lost is to "justify God's ways to man", but as soon as
...more
This is a passionate defense of liberty by one of the greatest British writers. Here, Milton vehemently criticizes efforts by the crown to restrict free expression, arguing that such freedom was one of the great advantages Britain had over much of the rest of the world, since freedom permits healthy innovation and progress, while censorship brings stagnation or even decline.
That said, the style of the times was quite different from now, and this essay (or "speech") is difficult to read. It takes ...more
That said, the style of the times was quite different from now, and this essay (or "speech") is difficult to read. It takes ...more
As a book lover, it’s difficult not to have a warm regard for Milton after reading this. His defense of free speech is both eloquent and persuasive. Drawing on history, philosophy, and religion, he puts forward multiple arguments for the free printing of books, all of which build upon one another, and almost all of which are still relevant today.
And, in addition to Milton’s compelling argument, we get his masterful prose. To many modern readers, I suspect this will be dense and hard to follow at ...more
And, in addition to Milton’s compelling argument, we get his masterful prose. To many modern readers, I suspect this will be dense and hard to follow at ...more
This is really interesting, but I couldn't help but giggle as it descended into the olden day version of an Internet rant about the government, something's don't change and the government trying to screw us over still hasn't, there is some awesome quotes that are still relevant!
I can see why this was so popular in 18th century America (and most other places) -- Milton's elegant and thorough attack on censorship is based in an argument for the societal fruits of individual liberty.
Classic text on freedom of speech. Bottom line: there is a right to speak and a right to listen - both are equally important for a democracy to function. Highly recommended read.
Feb 05, 2015
Yasmina Elhayane
rated it
5 of 5 stars
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A powerful, impassioned, beautifully written defense of free speech, acutely relevant to our contemporary religious and political situation.
Sep 14, 2014
Victoria
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I read this book for my Literature and Censorship class at the University of Toronto. Review to come after class discussion.
Dec 01, 2009
Nathan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
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Milton takes an almost libertarian approach to the issue of censorship, and though I didn't much care for his picking and choosing who gets the right of a free press (no Catholics allowed!), I thought his insight was ahead of his time. Marked by a passionate respect for books, Milton elevates the issue beyond censorship into a treatise on the importance of free will and moral responsibility. Eloquent, (it's Milton, after all) finely wrought prose, on a vital and interesting topic.
If I wished to convince someone to support freedom of speech and publishing, I would not offer up this work. Even if you read it in modern English, it's still a rambling piece without much order. Mill did a significantly better job in On Liberty. I don't disagree with Milton; indeed, a very good argument could very well be hidden in here, but outside of a few useful quotes I can't say it is worth the effort.
Very difficult to read but well worth the effort. Mr. Milton composed this treatise to defend the freedom of the press, freedom of expression and to declare that the government did not have the right to decide between 'improper' and 'proper' books under most cirumstances. Beautifully wriiten and powerfully persuasive.
One of the best books of its age. Defending open discourse against censorship, he calls on Democritus, Protagoras, Lucretius, Epicurus, and a host of others to defend innovative thinking against those who automatically suppress with prudish piety and fear of the different, of the new, and of the unknown.
I love Milton in general, but this one really hit home with me, having spent my teenage years in an oppressive environment that controlled all manners of learning, and reading books and talking about them in secret. John Milton, everyone: the revolutionary man's revolutionary!
A generally eloquent railing against literary censorship. Milton arguing that people have the right and responsibility to make their own moral choices after having gleaned all information available, not simply what the regulating bodies see fit for public consumption.
A tract supporting free speech written in England in 1644 to oppose a the Licensing Act that Parliament was debating. It was very influential regarding parts of our own constitution. It's difficult to read, but you'll probably be better for it.
Apr 05, 2009
Joshua Nomen-Mutatio
marked it as to-read
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Christopher Hitchens gave a wonderful speech and participated in a most excellent debate on freedom of speech which I've listened to/watched recently in which he referenced this text. I like Hitch, I like Milton, therefore I must read this text.
17th century English is not easy to read! :-)
This link http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/read... has a lot of hyperlinked notes to help the reader understand some of what might be confusing to the modern reader.
This link http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/read... has a lot of hyperlinked notes to help the reader understand some of what might be confusing to the modern reader.
Given that my IQ is just little bit over the average, I found this tract quite challenging. But with multiple readings, it is possible to be understood.
The topic is relevant for anyone interested in intellectual endeavors.
The topic is relevant for anyone interested in intellectual endeavors.
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John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under
Oliver Cromwell
. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem
Paradise Lost
(1667), written in blank verse.
Milton's poetry and prose reflect deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and ...more
More about John Milton...
Milton's poetry and prose reflect deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and ...more
“For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them.”
—
1379 likes
“A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.”
—
163 likes
More quotes…
