Areopagitica
1
9.9
- proper noun
- /ˌɛəriəˈpædʒɪtɪkə/
- Literature
- In Areopagitica, John Milton put this issue to rest as comprehensively and decisively in his day as Johnson put the issue of the Unities to rest in his day: "They are not skillful considerers of human things," says Milton, "who imagine to remove sin by removing the matter of sin" (24).
- Milton's Areopagitica
Examples
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In 1644, John Milton published Areopagitica, a powerful pamphlet advocating for freedom of speech.
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No discussion of On Liberty is complete without a tribute to its noble precursor, Milton's Areopagitica.
Academic text (1993) -
It is as if a straight line can be drawn from Milton's Areopagitica, through Locke's A Letter Concerning Toleration and Mill's On Liberty, to Rawls's A Theory of Justice.
Academic text (1996) -
Many contemporary discussions about censorship often reference Areopagitica, highlighting its historical significance.
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The principles laid out in Areopagitica continue to inspire modern debates on free expression and its importance.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Areopagitica is the title Milton chose from the Greek Areopagus, the 'hill of Ares' where Athenians held courts and debates, and he used that name in 1644 to link his essay to old public debates; that's why Areopagitica is known as a defence of freedom of speech.