A Speech For The Liberty Of Unlicensed Printing

Areopagitica: A speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing to the Parliament of England is John Milton's famous tract against censorship. Named after a speech by Isocrates, a fifth century BC Athenian orator, the work is counted as one of the most influential and inspired defenses of the right to freedom of expression in history. It is also a personal issue for Milton who was submitted to censorship himself when he tried to publish his defenses of divorce, radical works for the time that gained no quarter with censors. Distributed as a pamphlet, Milton's powerful arguments against 1643's Licensing Order note that classical Greek and Roman society was never subjected to such censorship, and he uses many classical and biblical references to reinforce his argument.

From the introduction of printing into England, the liberty of the press had been modified from time to time by royal proclamations. In 1557 the Stationers Company of London was formed. The exclusive privilege of printing and publishing in the English dominions was given to 97 London stationers and their successors by regular apprenticeship. All printing was thus centralised in London under the immediate inspection of the Government. No one could legally print, without special license, who did not belong to the Stationers Company. The Company had power to search for and to seize publications which infringed their privilege.In November, 1644, Miltons Areopagitica, a plea for the free expression of opinion, was published as a protest against this Order. It is a pamphlet in the form of a speech supposed to be addressed to the Parliament.This Premium edition is annotated with a commentary by Sir R. C Jebb and a biography by A. W Verity. It also comes with a beautiful layout that makes reading comfortable.

The Areopagitica, John Milton's famous defense of publishing and press freedoms, is available here anew in this inexpensive and well-presented edition. A pivotal text in the establishment of the right to publicised speech and expression, the Areopagitica offered the English Parliament a full and frank defense of the principles of printing. Crucial in the evolution of English, European and North American democracy, this impassioned speech steeled the development of a modern, liberal democracy in the Western world. The text remains an important reference for students, authors and journalists, being as it is one of the earliest and most eloquent examples of a defense of press freedom in existence. By the mid-17th century, the potency and power of the printing press as a means of communicating ideas and thoughts around the world was clear - to John Milton, a popular poet and writer, the freedom of printing from censorship and prohibitive licensing was a crucial tenet that civilised society should forever hold.

A passionate defense of free speech and the unlicensed printing of books, written by one of England's greatest poets and thinkers. Milton argues that censorship is counterproductive and that the pursuit of truth requires the free exchange of ideas. This book remains a classic defense of intellectual freedom and a powerful reminder of the importance of the written word. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.