Areopagitica, subtitled A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing, to the Parliament of England, is an extended essay written in 1644 by English poet John Milton opposing licensing and censorship. It was published as a pamphlet at the height of the English Civil War on November 23 of that year, thus defying the Ordinance for the Regulation of Printing passed in 1643 by Parliament, which required authors to obtain a license from the government before the publication of any work.  Written in five parts, it follows the form of a Classical oration and takes its name in part from Areopagitikos, a speech by Athenian orator Isocrates in the 4^th century BC delivered from the Areopagus, a hill in Athens where councils and tribunals met. Some believe it is also a reference to the defense given by St.Paul at the same Areopagus against charges of promoting foreign gods and false teachings, depicted in Acts 17:18-34. The issue was personal for Milton, as he had suffered censorship in his efforts to publish several tracts in defense of divorce, and his arguments are strengthened by his evident passion. Areopagitica is considered one of themost influential and important defenses of the principle of a right to freedom of speech and expression, as well as “the noblest and most extensive defense of freedom of the press in English”.

Play sample:

Download a PDF datasheet