Areopagitica

Areopagitica: A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicenced printing to the Parliament of England is a prose tract or polemic by John Milton, published November 23, 1644, at the height of the English Civil War. Milton's Areopagitica is titled after a speech written by the Athenian orator Isocrates in the 5th century BC. (The Areopagus is a hill in Athens, the site of real and mythical tribunals. Isocrates hoped to restore the Council of the Areopagus.) Like Isocrates, Milton had no intention of delivering his speech verbally. Instead it was distributed via pamphlet, defying the same publication censorship he argued against.

Related Topics:
Prose - Tract - Polemic - John Milton - November 23 - 1644 - English Civil War - Athenian - Isocrates - 5th century BC - Areopagus

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Milton, though a supporter of Parliament, argued forcefully against the Licensing Order of 1643, noting that such censorship had never been a part of classical Greek and Roman society.

Related Topics:
Parliament - Licensing Order of 1643 - Censorship - Greek - Roman

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It is among history's most influential philosophical defences of the principle of a right to free speech.

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