Areopagitica
right|thumb|Des Wilson in 1987 as president of the Liberal Party, holding as symbol of his office a copy of Areopagitica '''''Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England''' is a 1644 prose polemic by the English poet, scholar, and polemical author John Milton opposing licensing. Areopagitica'' is among history's most influential and impassioned philosophical defences of the principle of a right to freedom of speech and expression. Many of its expressed principles have formed the basis for modern justifications of that right.
Key facts
- Book.name
- Areopagitica
- Book.image
- Areopagitica bridwell.jpg
- Book.author
- John Milton
- Book.language
- Early Modern English
- Book.country
- Kingdom of England
- Book.genre
- Speech, prose polemic
- Book.caption
- Title page circa 1644
- Book.release_date
- 1644
- Book.pages
- 30 pages
- Book.title_orig
- Areopagitica; A Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, To the Parlament of England.
- Book.dewey
- 323.445
- Book.congress
- Z657 .M66
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Background
- Synopsis
- Origins of licensing system
- Use of books and reading
- Usefulness of licensing order
- Harmfulness of licensing order
- Conclusion
- Critical response
- Modern references to ''Areopagitica''
- Editions
- See also
- References
- External links
right|thumb|Des Wilson in 1987 as president of the Liberal Party, holding as symbol of his office a copy of Areopagitica '''''Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England''' is a 1644 prose polemic by the English poet, scholar, and polemical author John Milton opposing licensing. Areopagitica'' is among history's most influential and impassioned philosophical defences of the principle of a right to freedom of speech and expression. Many of its expressed principles have formed the basis for modern justifications of that right.
==Background== thumb|The Areopagus, viewed from the [[Acropolis]] Areopagitica was published on 23 November 1644 at the height of the English Civil War. It takes its title in part from Areopagitikós (), a speech written by Athenian orator Isocrates in the 4th century BC. The Areopagus is a hill in Athens, the site of real and legendary tribunals, and was the name of a council whose power Isocrates hoped to restore. Some argue that it is more importantly also a reference to the defence that St Paul made before the Areopagus in Athens against charges of promulgating foreign gods and strange teachings, as recorded in .