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A review by mselaceyenglish
Areopagitica by John Milton
3.0
"Books are not absolutely dead things, but doe contain a potencie of life in them [...] hee who destroyes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe [...] a good Booke is the pretious life-blood of a master spirit, imbalm'd and treasur'd up on purpose to a life beyond life”- John Milton, Areopagitica
A fiery polemic against Parliament's passing of the Licensing Order of 1643 which introduced pre-publication licensing and the registration of all authors, printers, and publishers. Milton raises some excellent questions in this text, such as: Who should have the authority over publishing rights? Should books be banned because they contain controversial views? And, should there be a limit to a person's freedom of speech? Like most of Milton's prose, it's a battle to get through but there are some beautiful passages like the one quoted above.
A fiery polemic against Parliament's passing of the Licensing Order of 1643 which introduced pre-publication licensing and the registration of all authors, printers, and publishers. Milton raises some excellent questions in this text, such as: Who should have the authority over publishing rights? Should books be banned because they contain controversial views? And, should there be a limit to a person's freedom of speech? Like most of Milton's prose, it's a battle to get through but there are some beautiful passages like the one quoted above.