AREOPAGITICA - JOHN MILTON

(Synopsis) Areopagitica, a speech of Mr. John Milton for the liberty of unlicenced printing to the parliament of England was published in 1644 after the repeated introduction of the licencing of printing in England. John Milton found this step of government incorrect and that is the main reason why ho wrote this work.

The book itself is for Milton a real treasure, has dateless value and to destroy any book only because it contains the opinions we do not agree with, or we simply dont like it equals to crime, to the murder: hee who detroy a good Booke, kills reaon it ele, kills the Image of God,, but a good Booke is the pretious life-blood of a mater pirit, imbalmd and treaur d on purpoe to a life beyond life.In certain meaning, it is more important than a human being. And there should be valuable but also the bad books. God also creates bad man equally as good ones, with different temper and skills. There is the reason for the existence of evil too. If there would be any, we couldnt have recognised what is goodness and good or valuable. And the books are the same. We have to choose, decide whether we do good or evil things, whether pick good or bad book. The fears that people would be more influenced by evil and invaluable book is inappropriate, because: evill manners are as perfectly learnt without books a thouand other ways which cannot be lopt, and evill doctrine not with books can propagate, The State cannot control all the influences of the evil, and the literature is the least functional for these bad influences. Any well-instituted State, in his opinion, does not use this way of licensing. Because new books are holders of new thoughts of progress, they enrich the society. If there is a licensing and only the books with appropriate content and with no rebel thoughts are published, the society will start to stagnate. There will be still the same pieces of knowledge, opinions, and no progress, there wont be no space for new ones. People will starts to feel they need some change some new things. If the people are not exposed to the influence of the bad or incorrect thoughts they wont be resistible. And indeed, there is no possibility to protect people completely. And these features may cause the decadence in the society, not the liberty.

The government so undermines itself if it punishes the wits, because in forbidden works there is still the truth or something new which can the society move forward the progress. The main reason why people should choose the books and thoughts by themselves is that no matter how good will be the choice of the authority, people wont have their own reason why. They can deal with the right opinions, but they still only share the opinion, they dont have their own one. And so their thoughts have no value.
Milton compares this situation to the religion and the heresy: without knowing other reaon, though his belief be true, yet the very truth he holds, become his hereie. People would not know why they do it like this, they just will do it, but as soon as they will find something new, what do not order them, they will be interested and attract by it.

Author asks government to let the people be more coniderat builders, more wie in pirituall architecture, when great reformation is expected. And the liberty is the only way how to enlighten spirits and give them real, valuable knowledge of the world. In our days, the liberty of speech and printing is considered to be something ordinary or obvious. But I think that this level of liberty violates other laws and extremist thoughts can harm other people. But the liberty of printing is necessary, as Milton said, because the finding of the good books is necessary for formation of the person. And the person is able to distinguish bad and good books by himself, and he knows why he considers the particular book as the valuable one. And only after that he can appreciate the value of the book