Areopagitica, or the Uses of Literacy according to John Milton

John Milton’s plea For the Liberty of Unlicens’d Printing, Areopagitica, is now hailed as “a landmark argument against censorship” (S. B. Dobransky). Yet the book passed unnoticed when it was first published, and the range of opinions that Milton was prepared to tolerate remained strictly circumscri...

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Main Author: Pierre Lurbe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses universitaires de Rennes 2013-05-01
Series:Revue LISA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5195
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author Pierre Lurbe
author_facet Pierre Lurbe
author_sort Pierre Lurbe
collection DOAJ
description John Milton’s plea For the Liberty of Unlicens’d Printing, Areopagitica, is now hailed as “a landmark argument against censorship” (S. B. Dobransky). Yet the book passed unnoticed when it was first published, and the range of opinions that Milton was prepared to tolerate remained strictly circumscribed: Roman Catholics, as well as all those who professed impiety or disregarded common morality, had no right to be tolerated in print. Yet the inner logic of Milton’s own argument propels Areopagitica well beyond the confines of its self-proclaimed limitations. Milton launches into a celebration of the unlicensed freedom of the reader, and of the book as the most potent means of “resistance of meaning to mortality” (G. Steiner).
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spelling doaj-art-520e501afeb84eef9f064727a9890bce2025-01-06T09:03:12ZengPresses universitaires de RennesRevue LISA1762-61532013-05-0111110.4000/lisa.5195Areopagitica, or the Uses of Literacy according to John MiltonPierre LurbeJohn Milton’s plea For the Liberty of Unlicens’d Printing, Areopagitica, is now hailed as “a landmark argument against censorship” (S. B. Dobransky). Yet the book passed unnoticed when it was first published, and the range of opinions that Milton was prepared to tolerate remained strictly circumscribed: Roman Catholics, as well as all those who professed impiety or disregarded common morality, had no right to be tolerated in print. Yet the inner logic of Milton’s own argument propels Areopagitica well beyond the confines of its self-proclaimed limitations. Milton launches into a celebration of the unlicensed freedom of the reader, and of the book as the most potent means of “resistance of meaning to mortality” (G. Steiner).https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5195censorshipfreedomMilton JohnAreopagiticareader(s)
spellingShingle Pierre Lurbe
Areopagitica, or the Uses of Literacy according to John Milton
Revue LISA
censorship
freedom
Milton John
Areopagitica
reader(s)
title Areopagitica, or the Uses of Literacy according to John Milton
title_full Areopagitica, or the Uses of Literacy according to John Milton
title_fullStr Areopagitica, or the Uses of Literacy according to John Milton
title_full_unstemmed Areopagitica, or the Uses of Literacy according to John Milton
title_short Areopagitica, or the Uses of Literacy according to John Milton
title_sort areopagitica or the uses of literacy according to john milton
topic censorship
freedom
Milton John
Areopagitica
reader(s)
url https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5195
work_keys_str_mv AT pierrelurbe areopagiticaortheusesofliteracyaccordingtojohnmilton