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To protest against the licensing order of 1643, John Milton takes up the positive harms and damages which are to be done by this order. These harms can be discussed under four headings

(i) Learning will be discouraged. The most fatal harm will be found in the field of learning. It will discourage the searching writers to write things with the genuine endeavor. When a man writes something, he summons all his energy, talent, and, industry. But when he will see that all his sincere attempts have been baffled by the hasty glance of a licenser without leisure and perhaps without knowledge, he will no more be inspired to write again. Or if any new ideas come to his mind after the book has been licensed and is yet under the press, the printer will not agree to publish the book without licensing the new portion. This happens very much in the case of the best and most diligent writers. The revision and addition of anything to the book will cease to occur. As a result, the book will be nothing but a hackneyed commonplace matter. The extension of knowledge will stand still. People would be deprived of refinement. They will be ignorant and slothful to remain satisfied with worldly wisdom. The entire society will turn out to be a mass of unenlightened people.

(ii) The whole nation will be insulted. The genius of the nation will be subjected to the intelligence of some licensers. Truth and understanding are not such wares as to be monopolized by few men. So, it will be a great insult if the national genius, progress, and future are left to the judgment of a few licensers.

(iii) The ministry will be discredited: The position of the clergymen, under this order, will be none the better in comparison with the men of business and men of pleasure. Because they will fail to cope with the new situations of life and people will lose faith in them and go elsewhere for the answers to the new problems of life.

(iv) The order is hostile to the truth: Truth is like the waters of the fountain. Truth reveals itself spontaneously like the waters of a fountain which move of their own will. But they will stagnate into a muddy pool of conformity and tradition. This order will drive the clergy to sink into indolence secured by the licensers from any assault upon received opinions. The clergyman will repeat only certain common doctrinal heads--aided by help books and texts which contain ready-made sermons available in the market. This will jeopardize the search for truth but men of a good conscience with a real love of truth ought to wish for open discussion.

This order is, therefore, hostile to the truth as preventing any addition to knowledge. After the sad departure of Christ for heaven, truth has been cut into innumerable pieces and cast to the four winds. So, the friends of truth are now searching for the real pieces of truth. The light of truth which we have gained is given to us to discover things more remote from our knowledge. So, any kind of licensing or prescription will discourage the search for truth-resulting in the creation of jaundice in our eyes.

Milton has correctly pointed out the harms and damages to be done to the flow of knowledge essential for the progress of a nation, and of civilization at large.

Discuss the positive arguments against licensing order?

Green Land | March 04, 2023 | 0 comments

To protest against the licensing order of 1643, John Milton takes up the positive harms and damages which are to be done by this order. These harms can be discussed under four headings

Milton has correctly pointed out the harms and damages to be done to the flow of knowledge essential for the progress of a nation, and of civilization at large.

Areopagitica , John Milton

The imposition of the licensing system in printing caused immediate concern in Milton. As he was an advocate for freedom of thought and expression, he opposed the order and wrote this classical oration to show that restriction in printing is neither desirable nor practicable. Because the purpose for which this control was imposed could never be achieved however strictly it was applied.

Milton first pointed out that there was no good precedent for licensing. If it is said that it is a newly invented precaution, the answer is that it can have been easily neglected because it was found in the past to have utterly failed. Plato introduced licensing in reading in his ideal Commonwealth, but in practice, he did not keep his precepts. Many persons complain of divine Providence for allowing Adam to transgress. But Milton interprets it as the ways of God to men. God gave him reason to choose freely. Otherwise, he would have been an artificial Adam or merely a puppet. We do not like obedience love or gift which is forced upon us. He left Adam free to choose, so for his choice, he is liable. God has created a passion within us and pleasures around us. It is not wise to make us virtuous by removing the objects of sin from us. Though we take from a covetous person all his treasure, he has yet one jewel left, we cannot take from him his covetousness. We cannot expel sin without expelling virtue because both of them exist in everything. The book is a universal thing and so it cannot be purged of evil entirely. Suppose we restrict the publication of a book in one country but we cannot stop its circulation because the same material may enter into a book published in a different country.

Everything we hear or do is our book. But, supposing that the restriction of printed books is enough in itself to keep out evil, the order of Parliament cannot even do this. Writings that it aims at repressing are still circulated. Many books are partly useful and excellent, partly culpable and pernicious. The work of examining the existing books will require many more officials, the arrangement of which is practically impossible. Besides, the books in circulation are to be classified as readable and unreadable. Otherwise, if there is a single book containing undesirable elements is enough to defile the knowledge of the Commonwealth. So, making a list of the good books already in existence is an impossible task

To appoint the required number of qualified licensers for the purpose of scrutiny is humanly impossible. The licenser will have to equip himself with all knowledge, otherwise, how can he verify the books of really meritorious authors. For all these reasons the order for licensed printing is bound to be abortive.

Briefly describe the negative arguments Milton put forward against licensing?

Green Land | March 04, 2023 | 0 comments

Areopagitica , John Milton

To tell the truth, Areopagitica expresses the mind of Milton, the mind that was really noble, great, and elevated. Very little of what he has done in his life is found in Areopagitica. It is, therefore, the spiritual autobiography of Milton, the greatest poet of English literature after Shakespeare. It is rich in the elements of his mental characteristics rarely found in other writings. It is not a polemical work nor it is defensive against his enemies' attack but it gives a good peep into his mind and personality.

Milton was a great champion of liberty. He loved liberty and freedom above every other thing. From an early age, he fought for liberty. His first prose-writing but his divorce pamphlets. In those tracts, he defended domestic liberty and argued that incompatibility of temper was a very strong reason for divorce. But the subject of Areopagitica is also liberty. The very title indicates that the theme of this tract is an appeal for the liberty of unlicensed printing. He defended religious liberty against the Prelates, civil liberty against the crown, the liberty of the press against the executives the liberty of conscience against the Presbyterians, and domestic liberty against the tyranny of canon law.

In Areopagitica, the subject is the liberty of the press. Milton was pained at the decision of the Parliament for reimposing censorship over overprinting. Milton could not expect the Parliament to follow in the footstep of tyrannical rule. During the rule of the monarch, the Star Chamber was empowered to censor every book, and this organization symbolizing the dictatorial power was abolished by the Long Parliament. Milton welcomed the step heartily because the Star Chamber acted arbitrarily. But the reintroduction of the same licensing system shocked him and to protect the liberty of the writers he had to take up his pen against it. He makes a passionate appeal to Parliament to reconsider the law and withdrew the order. He had an instinctive belief in the freedom of thought and expression. For, without this freedom, no country can progress.

Milton was a great patriot. So he was proud of his country and its heritage. He wanted England to be a cradle for pure democracy. He had pinned a great hope upon England and believed that his dear motherland would progress rapidly through the acceptance of the spirit of the Renaissance. But he was frustrated at the decision of Parliament.

Milton was a puritan and so he hated Roman Catholicism and the Spanish Inquisition. In Areopagitica, he shows very clearly that the system of licensing was the practice of the Catholics but the England which emerged out of the mess of Catholicism could not embrace the hated and discarded the policy of licensing again. Thus, to inspire England to follow the road of progress he wrote this Areopagitica.To conclude, we must say that Areopagitica embodies the spirit and belief of Milton.

Write a short note on the autobiographical interest of Areopagitica?

Green Land | March 02, 2023 | 0 comments

Areopagitica , John Milton

The Areopagitica is a written speech by John Milton for the liberty of Unlicenced printing to the members of Parliament in 1644. He derived the title from the written oration of the Greek writer, Isocrates (436-338 B.C). Because of the weakness in his nerves Isocrates could not speak in public but he ventilated his opinion on national issues in written speeches to be read by the people. His seventh oration entitled ''The Areopagitica Discourse or Areopagiticus ' was addressed to the Senate of Athens for the change of the form of democracy. When Milton felt the need to request parliament to withdraw the law of censorship, he chose the title from Isocrates and called his speech Areopagitica.

Is there any similarity between Areopagitica and Areopagiticus ?

Between these two written speeches, there is a little similarity. Both of these two scholars - Isocrates and Milton, addressed the legislature of their countries with a request. When the policies of Philip of Macedon threatened the existence of Athens, Isocrates warned the Athenian Parliament to change the form of democracy which prevailed in Athens at that time. He wanted that the power of the court Areopagus should be restored and the liberties of the people should be curtailed. So that Athens could be stronger to face the threat to its existence. But Milton wrote the address to reconsider one of the laws passed by Parliament itself. He made a fervent appeal to parliament to withdraw the rule by which restriction was imposed upon the freedom of writing.

There are just a few things between the Areopagiticus of Isocrates and the Areopagitica of Milton. They are both addresses written by private persons to the highest legislatives bodies of their respective countries. Both of then appealed to the assemblies to change their policies. But the subject of their appeal was quite different. While Isocrates wanted the control of democracy, Milton's urge was to allow freedom of thinking and writing to each individual.

What is Areopagitica?

Green Land | February 28, 2023 | 0 comments

Is there any similarity between Areopagitica and Areopagiticus ?

Areopagitica , Important Short Notes , John Milton

In Areopagitica, a classical oration for the liberty of writing we find the basic principles of Milton's attitude to religion, politics and society more than in any other prose-writings. It is written with all seriousness as the subject needs. Within the limit of a pamphlet, Milton writes about the very foundation upon which the noblest and greatest human life rests.

Milton was a man of solid morality. Though he was a puritan, he raises himself above the narrow outlook of Puritanism. The puritans claim to be moral in the pursuit of life but Milton does not find it adequate to be an ideal man. Their shortcomings and weaknesses are brought home with genuine zeal. He writes what he believes and he acts what he believes. No sort of partisan interest could deter him from speaking what is true. Without fear or favour, he goes on to say what the Parliament failed to take into consideration. Here lies the strength of his morality. The man Milton does not differ from the writer Milton. With Socratic courage, he points out the defects of Parliamentary resolution and seeks redress of it while he does not forget to praise it for the good part of the order.

The basis of true morality is tolerance and self-criticism. Milton lays great importance on this aspect of morality. Milton wants to ensure the freedom of thought without which knowledge becomes taboo to arrest the progress of civilisation. Unlike the so-called moralists, he accepts evil and holds that knowledge is the fusion of good and evil. To find out good one has to labour hard. Nothing can be rejected as useless or unnecessary without testing it. Knowing of evil does not mean acceptance of it. After proper enquiry, we can hold a thing immoral. The so-called moralists do not undertake the trouble of examining a thing before discarding and thus the morality they follow is nothing but a system that has stagnant and offers hindrance to the betterment of humanity. So, to be led by the knowledge of the past alone creates problems of hatred, pride, cruelty, injustice and immorality. Those people who do not allow others to think freely or bind others to their opinions without any room for self-understanding are the wicked race of deceivers. The exercise of conscience is an essential part of our acquisition of knowledge. Knowledge is neither moral nor amoral, it is neutral. To search into knowledge is the way to reach the correct use of knowledge. "We boast our light, but if we look not wisely on the sun itself, it smites us into darkness. Milton wants to "prove all things, and hold fast that which is good."

Morality cannot exist without freedom of thought and expression. In this regard, he saw all impositions upon the freedom of thought are illegal, undesirable and obstructions to the establishment of a right, honest moral society. For this reason, Milton demands liberty in thought and says, "Give me the liberty to know and to argue freely according to my conscience, above all liberties."