If nothing may be published but what civil authority shall have previously approved, power must always be the standard of truth.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic

Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, “Milton” (1781)
    (Source)

Also known as Lives of English Poets and Lives of the Poets.

In the full passage, Johnson notes the dangers of both a censored and uncensored press.