Thought

Mary Ann Evans

Sharing

It’s but little good you’ll do a‑watering the last year’s crop.
Mary Ann Evans (1819 – 1880), writing as George Eliot, Adam Bede (1859)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Constitutional Coup d’état?
SharingLast November, Marylanders went to the polls. In addition to …
Who Rules Colorado?
SharingColorado is a really nice place — and not just for the weather …
Badgering as Democracy in Action
SharingThe citizen initiative depends on a few habits and institutions. Free speech …
The People Are Restless
SharingScott Rasmussen’s polling company, Rasmussen Reports, asks questions the establishment …
Don’t Copy Chávez
SharingAmericans eager to weaken various limits on political power here …

Measures for Measures
November 23, 2024
This year was an interesting one for initiatives.Read More »
Denial Is a River in Argentina?
November 22, 2024
Paul Jacob on one country’s retreat from self-imposed poverty.Read More »
Watch Out!
November 21, 2024
Paul Jacob on strange edits in the Lone Star State.Read More »
The Hill as Hallucinogen
November 19, 2024
Paul Jacob on a false news story, gone but not …Read More »
Elon & Vivek to Cut Government?
November 18, 2024
Paul Jacob on who could help whom do what is …Read More »

The Smoking Russian Donut
Sharing“Politicians in prison garb,” headlined a recent Sun Sentinel editorial, “shake …
Too Sneaky by Half
SharingA funny thing happened on the way to reform. The freshly …
When Your Bond Is Your Bond
SharingRemember the Alliance for Bonded Term Limits? I talked about …
The Silver Bullet
SharingRemember the Lone Ranger? With the help of Tonto, he …
On Glissando Skids
As corrupting as political power may be, not everyone is …

The Ominous Linkages
SharingWhat does a 16-year-old Swedish girl have in common with a popular …
Opportunity for … All?
SharingSimple pleasures are the best. So are simple questions. Senate Bill …
Yesterday’s NOW
SharingOnce upon a time, the National Organization for Women winked to …
Slavery Is Not Free-Market Capitalism
SharingTarring free-market capitalism and limited government with the brush of …
E‑Panic
SharingOne of the better arguments for government relies upon sobriety: …

On November 23, 1644, British poet John Milton published Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship.

Revolutions of ages do not oft recover the loss of a rejected truth, for the want of which whole nations fare the worse.
John Milton, Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England (1644).

The name “Areopagitica” references a speech by Isocrates, the “Areopagitikós” that itself referenced a hill in Athens, Greece, the Areopagus, which had been the site of an important tribunal that the Greek orator had hoped to restore. It may also refer to the defense that St. Paul made before the Areopagus against charges of promulgating alien gods and outré teachings (see Acts 17:18 – 34).