Areopagitica

Areopagitica is a prose work by John Milton, published November 23, 1644, at the height of the English Civil War. The title comes from the Greek language, "Areopagus" being the place where the tribunal of the city of Athens used to meet.

Although Milton was religious and a Parliamentarian, he used the book to argue against censorship. Parliament had begun to restrict freedom of speech, and Milton believed that this would be damaging to the learning process. Areopagitica is subtitled, "a speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicenced printing to the Parliament of England".