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From John Milton’s “Areopagitica” (1644) [Appleton- Century Crofts; New York:1951]

p. 14 ” … the example of Moses, Daniel, and Paul, who were skilful in the learning of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Greeks, which could not possibly be without reading their books of all sorts, in Paul especially, who thought it no defilement to insert into Holy Scripture the sentences of three Greek poets, and one of them a tragedian …” (Acts 17:28 from Aratus; 1 Corinthians 15:33 from Euripides; Titus 1:12 from Epimenides)

p. 37 “Any man may be a heretic in the truth; and if he believes things only because his pastor says so, or the Assembly so determines, without knowing other reason, though his belief be true, yet the very truth he holds becomes his heresy. There is not any burden that some would gladlier post off to another, than the charge and care of their religion.”

p.51 “And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth to be the worse in a free and open encounter? Her confuting is the best and surest suppressing.”

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