WIST Quotations

~Other -- British Board of Film Censors report (1929-11-13) on the film La Coquille et le Clergyman

Dave — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 21:00:38 +0000

This film is so cryptic as to be almost meaningless. If there is any meaning, it is doubtless objectionable.

(Other Authors and Sources)
British Board of Film Censors report (1929-11-13) on the film La Coquille et le Clergyman

As the 1928 Germaine Dulac film (English title The Seashell and the Clergyman is about the erotic hallucinations of a priest lusting after a general's wife, they were likely correct. Some analysis concludes that, rather than not understanding the film, the politically-embattled BBFC simply did not want to go into detail as to their objections to an French experimental film.

Voltaire -- Letter (1733-06-20) to a First Commissioner [Lettre á un premier commis] [tr. Tallentyre (1919)]

Dave — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:33:46 +0000

Had there been a literary censorship in Rome, we should have had to-day neither Horace, Juvenal, nor the philosophical works of Cicero. If Milton, Dryden, Pope, and Locke had not been free, England would have had neither poets nor philosophers; there is something positively Turkish in proscribing printing; and hampering it is proscription.

[S’il y avait eu une inquisition littéraire à Rome, nous n’aurions aujourd’hui ni Horace, ni Juvénal, ni les œuvres philosophiques de Cicéron. Si Milton, Dryden, Pope, et Locke, n’avaient pas été libres l’Angleterre n’aurait eu ni des poètes, ni des philosophes: il y a je ne sais quoi de turc à proscrire l’imprimerie, et c’est la proscrire que la trop gêner.]

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Social Order [Education and the Modern World], ch. 1 “The Individual versus the Citizen” (1932)

Dave — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:02:01 +0000

All the governments of the world adopt elaborate methods of concealing truths which they consider undesirable, and inflict various forms of penalty upon those who spread knowledge which is thought bad for the population This applies especially to knowledge of the kind which is considered seditious, and the kind which is considered obscene. I shall not give instances, since, if I did, I should myself fall under the ban of the law.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Social Order [Education and the Modern World], ch. 1 “The Individual versus the Citizen” (1932)
(Source)

Voltaire -- Letter (1733-06-20) to a First Commissioner [Lettre á un premier commis] [tr. Tallentyre (1919)]

Dave — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 22:00:15 +0000

As you have it in your power, sir, to do some service to letters, I implore you not to clip the wings of our writers so closely, nor to turn into barn-door fowls those who, allowed a start, might become eagles; reasonable liberty permits the mind to soar — slavery makes it creep.

[Puisque vous êtes, monsieur, à portée de rendre service aux belles-lettres, ne rognez pas de si près les ailes à nos écrivains, et ne faites pas des volailles de basse-cour de ceux qui, en prenant l’essor, pourraient devenir des aigles: une liberté honnête élève l’esprit, et l’esclavage le fait ramper.]

Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
Letter (1733-06-20) to a First Commissioner [Lettre á un premier commis] [tr. Tallentyre (1919)]
(Source)

(Source (French); alternate).

On censorship. The last clause is most often quoted, and has spawned a variety of French and English variants, e.g.:

[La servitude fait ramper l'esprit, et la liberté le fait voler.]
Slavery makes the mind creep, and liberty makes it fly.

Rushdie, Salman -- Speech (2012-05-06), Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, PEN World Voices Festival, New York City

Dave — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 18:25:47 +0000

At its most effective, the censor’s lie actually succeeds in replacing the artist’s truth. That which is censored is thought to have deserved censorship. Boat-rocking is deplored.

Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) Indian novelist
Speech (2012-05-06), Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, PEN World Voices Festival, New York City
(Source)

Printed as an essay (2012-05-11), "On Censorship," The New Yorker magazine.

Rushdie, Salman -- Speech (2012-05-06), Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, PEN World Voices Festival, New York City

Dave — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 22:12:39 +0000

When censorship intrudes on art, it becomes the subject; the art becomes “censored art,” and that is how the world sees and understands it. The censor labels the work immoral, or blasphemous, or pornographic, or controversial, and those words are forever hung like albatrosses around the necks of those cursed mariners, the censored works. The attack on the work does more than define the work; in a sense, for the general public, it becomes the work.

White, E. B. -- Essay (1939-01), “One Man’s Meat,” Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 178

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 05:48:44 +0000

When liberty’s position is challenged, artists and writers are the ones who first take up the sword. They do so without persuasion, for the battle is peculiarly their own. In the nature of things, a person engaged in the flimsy business of expressing himself on paper is dependent on the large general privilege of being heard. Any intimation that this privilege may be revoked throws a writer into a panic. His is a double allegiance to freedom — an intellectual one springing from the conviction that pure thought has a right to function unimpeded, and a selfish one springing from his need, as a breadwinner, to be allowed to speak his piece.

E. B. White (1899–1985) American author, critic, humorist [Elwyn Brooks White]
Essay (1939-01), “One Man’s Meat,” Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 178
(Source)

When collected in his book, One Man's Meat (1944), the essay was renamed "Salt Water Farm." Sometimes the excerpted third section of the essay is referred to as "The Duty of Writers."

Rushdie, Salman -- Speech (2012-05-06), Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, PEN World Voices Festival, New York City

Dave — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 20:16:09 +0000

The creative act requires not only freedom but also this assumption of freedom. If the creative artist worries if he will still be free tomorrow, then he will not be free today. If he is afraid of the consequences of his choice of subject or of his manner of treatment of it, then his choices will not be determined by his talent, but by fear. If we are not confident of our freedom, then we are not free.

Nin, Anais -- Diary (1945-06)

Dave — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:45:42 +0000

The important task of literature is to free man, not to censor him, and that is why Puritanism was the most destructive and evil force which ever oppressed people and their literature: it created hypocrisy, perversion, fears, sterility.

Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) Catalan-Cuban-French author, diarist
Diary (1945-06)
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 1, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

Dave — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:00:36 +0000

We are shocked when we see educators, timid before criticism and confused about first principles, betray their trust. And we wonder what can be that “philosophy of education” which believes that young people can be trained to the duties of citizenship by wrapping their minds in cotton wool.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 1, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168
(Source)

Regarding knee-jerk reactions from higher education when accused of disloyalty for having controversial speakers on campus. Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954).

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. -- Essay (2004-08-06), “I Love You, Madame Librarian,” In These Times Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 20 (2004-08-30)

Dave — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:38:35 +0000

And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.
So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922–2007) American novelist, journalist
Essay (2004-08-06), “I Love You, Madame Librarian,” In These Times Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 20 (2004-08-30)
(Source)

Collected in A Man without a Country, ch. 9 "Do Unto Others" (2005).

Snicket, Lemony -- A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 12, The Penultimate Peril, ch. 13 (2005)

Dave — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:00:40 +0000

The burning of a book is a sad, sad sight, for even though a book is nothing but ink and paper, it feels as if the ideas contained in the book are disappearing as the pages turn to ashes and the cover and binding — which is the term for the stitching and glue that holds the pages together — blacken and curl as the flames do their wicked work. When someone is burning a book, they are showing utter contempt for all of the thinking that produced its ideas, all of the labor that went into its words and sentences, and all of the trouble that befell the author ….

Lemony Snicket (b. 1970) American author, screenwriter, musician (pseud. for Daniel Handler)
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 12, The Penultimate Peril, ch. 13 (2005)
(Source)

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:57:36 +0000

How dreary to spend your time counting dirty words, but not reading the book. And how revealing of the person who is counting. We do find what we look for.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:50:53 +0000

Someone sent me a clipping from a daily newspaper containing a list of ten books to be removed from library shelves because of their pornographic content. On the list was one of C. S. Lewis’s Narnia books. Also on the list was my book A Wind in the Door. I am totally baffled and frankly fascinated. This is the first time C. S. Lewis and I have been listed together as writers of pornography. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 19:16:46 +0000

I am very wary of those individuals who are neither writers nor editors nor even, in some cases, readers, who feel that they have the right to apply their own moral criteria to the books in public and school libraries. I have enormous respect and admiration and love for the librarians who are rising up to protest this, because they are putting their very jobs on the line.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 20:36:44 +0000

We need to dare disturb the universe by not being manipulated or frightened by judgmental groups who assume the right to insist that if we do not agree with them, not only do we not understand but we are wrong. How dull the world would be if we all had to feel the same way about everything, if we all had to like the same books, dislike the same books.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 23:04:03 +0000

We all practice some form of censorship. I practiced it simply by the books I had in the house when my children were little. If I am given a budget of $500 I will be practicing a form of censorship by the books I choose to buy with that limited amount of money, and the books I choose not to buy. But nobody said we were not allowed to have points of view. The exercise of personal taste is not the same thing as imposing personal opinion.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review

Dave — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 23:47:22 +0000

We do not need to fear ideas, but the censorship of ideas. We do not need to fear criticism, but the silencing of criticism. We do not need to fear excitement or agitation in the academic community, but timidity and apathy. We do not need to fear resistance to political leaders, but unquestioning acquiescence in whatever policies those leaders adopt.

Sagan, Carl -- Cosmos, ep. 13 “Who Speaks for Earth?” PBS TV (1980)

Dave — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:18:18 +0000

History is full of people who out of fear, or ignorance, or lust for power have destroyed treasures of immeasurable value which truly belong to us all. We must not let that happen again.

Carl Sagan (1934–1996) American scientist and writer
Cosmos, ep. 13 “Who Speaks for Earth?” PBS TV (1980)
(Source)

(Source (Video); dialog verified). Referring to the destruction of the Library at Alexandria. This text is not in the Cosmos book (it would fit in roughly here).

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:09:52 +0000

We find what we are looking for. If we are looking for life and love and openness and growth, we are likely to find them. If we are looking for witchcraft and evil, we’ll likely find them, and we may get taken over by them.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

Thurber, James -- Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:08:39 +0000

The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth.

James Thurber (1894–1961) American humorist, cartoonist, writer
Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review

Dave — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:28:57 +0000

The point is that when a nation silences criticism and dissent, it deprives itself of the power to correct its errors. The process of silencing need not be as savage as in Nazi Germany or in South Africa today; it is enough that an atmosphere be created where men prefer silence to protest. As has been observed of book-burning, it is not necessary to burn books, it is enough to discourage men from writing them.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom and Order, Part 6 (1966).

Sections of the essay (including this portion) were read into the Congressional Record, Senate Proceedings (1969-06-26), as part of a speech by former Senator Wayne Morse (D-Oregon) at the commencement of Fairleigh Dickinson University (1969-06-07); Morse's speech was read in by Senator Gary Hart (D-Colo.).

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:10:08 +0000

We think because we have words, not the other way around, and the greater our vocabulary, the greater our ability to think conceptually. The first people a dictator puts in jail are the writers, the teachers, the librarians — because these people are dangerous. They have enough vocabulary to recognize injustice and to speak out loudly about it. Let us have the courage to go on being dangerous people.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review

Dave — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 23:08:29 +0000

But this we can say with certainty: a government and a society that silences those who dissent is one that has lost its way. This we can say: that what is essential in a free society is that there should be an atmosphere where those who wish to dissent and even to demonstrate can do so without fear of recrimination or vilification.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-04-06), “Citizens or Subjects?” Kansas City Star

Dave — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 17:21:59 +0000

In a self-governing country the people are called citizens. Under a despotism or autocracy the people are called subjects. This is because in a free country the people are themselves sovereign, while in a despotic country the people are under a sovereign. In the United States the people are all citizens, including its President. The rest of them are fellow citizens of the President. In Germany the people are all subjects of the Kaiser. They are not his fellow citizens, they are his subjects.
This is the essential difference between the United States and Germany, but the difference would vanish if we now submitted to the foolish or traitorous persons who endeavor to make it a crime to tell the truth about the Administration when the Administration is guilty of incompetence or other shortcomings. Such an endeavor is itself a crime against the nation. Those who take such an attitude are guilty of moral treason of a kind both abject and dangerous.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1918-04-06), “Citizens or Subjects?” Kansas City Star
(Source)

Regarding a bill which had just passed the Senate Judiciary Committee which would fine and imprison any one who used "contemptuous or slurring language about the President."

This passage was added to later editions of his essay, "Lincoln and Free Speech,", as printed in The Works of Theodore Roosevelt, vol. 21, The Great Adventure, ch. 7 (1925). It does not appear in the original version of the essay or book.

Marat, Jean-Paul -- The Chains of Slavery (Les Chaînes de L’Esclavage, ch. 40 “Of Ignorance” (1774) [Beckett ed. (1774)]

Dave — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 04:19:44 +0000

In order to subdue his subjects, the Prince labours to blind them. Conscious of the unlawfulness of his own designs, and sensible of what he has to fear from clear-sighted men, he endeavours to deprive the people of every means of acquiring knowledge.
How many crafty devices have not Princes employed to oppose the progress of learning? Some banish science out of their dominions; others prohibit their subjects from traveling into foreign countries; others again divert the people from reflecting, by continually entertaining them with feasts and shews, or keeping up among the the spirit of gaming; and all stand up against men of spirit, who dedicate either their voices or their pen to defend the cause of liberty.

[Persuadés d’ailleurs combien il est commode de régner sur un peuple abruti, ils [les princes] s’efforcent de le rendre tel. Que d’obstacles n’opposent-ils pas au progrès des lumières? Les uns bannissent les lettres de leurs Etats; les autres défendent à leurs sujets de voyager; d’autres empêchent le peuple de réfléchir, en l’amusant continuellement par des parades, des spectacles, des fêtes, ou en le livrant aux fureurs du jeu. Tous s’élèvent contre les sages qui consacrent leur voix et leur plume à défendre la cause de la liberté.]

Jean-Paul Marat (1743–1793) French physician, political theorist, scientist, journalist
The Chains of Slavery (Les Chaînes de L’Esclavage, ch. 40 “Of Ignorance” (1774) [Beckett ed. (1774)]
(Source)

Source (French)). Other translations:

As sovereigns are persuaded of the convenience of ruling an ignorant people, they try to make it so. What won’t they do to prevent the progress of knowledge? Some banish anyone scholarly from their nation; others ban their subjects from traveling; others don't give the people the time to think, constantly amusing them with parades, shows, festivals, or by delivering them over to the passion for games. All of them denounce the wise who give their voice and pen to defend the cause of freedom.

Convinced, moreover, how convenient it is to reign over a stupefied people, they [princes] strive to make them so. How many obstacles do they not place in the way of progress of enlightenment? Some banish letters from their states; others forbid their subjects from traveling; others prevent the people from thinking, by continually amusing them with parades, spectacles, festivals, or by delivering them to the furies of gambling. All rise up against the wise men who devote their voice and their pen to defending the cause of liberty.
[Google Translate]

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”

Dave — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 15:41:41 +0000

The film industry is a great industry, with infinite possibilities for good and bad. Its primary purpose is to entertain people. On the side, it can do many other things. It can popularize certain ideals, it can make education palatable. But in the long run, the judge who decides whether what it does is good or bad is the man or woman who attends the movies. In a democratic country I do not think the public will tolerate a removal of its right to decide what it thinks of the ideas and performances of those who make the movie industry work.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”
(Source)

On the House Un-American Activities Committee and Hollywood blacklisting.

Mackay, Charles -- Poem (1847), “Eternal Justice,” st. 4

Dave — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 15:50:04 +0000

Keep, Galileo, to thy thought,
And nerve thy soul to bear;
They may gloat o’er the senseless words they wring
From the pangs of thy despair:
They may veil their eyes, but they cannot hide
The sun’s meridian glow;
The heel of a priest may tread thee down,
And a tyrant work thee woe;
But never a truth has been destroyed:
They may curse it, and call it crime;
Pervert and betray, or slander and slay
Its teachers for a time.
But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,
As round and round we run;
And the truth shall ever come uppermost,
And justice shall be done.

Charles Mackay (1814–1889) Scottish poet, journalist, song writer
Poem (1847), “Eternal Justice,” st. 4
(Source)

Mackay's book Voices from the Mountain was published in 1847. The earliest rendition of the poem I can find in a publication is from The Harbinger, Vol. 5, No. 13 (1847-09-04).

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”

Dave — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 17:35:04 +0000

One thing is sure — none of the arts flourishes on censorship and repression. And by this time it should be evident that the American public is capable of doing its own censoring.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”
(Source)

Carlin, George -- Show (1972-05-27), Class Clown, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California

Dave — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 18:43:10 +0000

There are four hundred thousand words in the English language, and there are seven of them you can’t say on television. What a ratio that is: 399,993 to 7. They must really be bad; they’d have to be outrageous to be separated from a group that large! “All of you over here. You seven? BAD WORDS.” That’s what they told us they were, remember? “That’s a bad word!” No bad words; bad thoughts, bad intentions … and words.
You know the seven, don’t you, that you can’t say on television? Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits. Those are the heavy seven. Those are the ones that will infect your soul, curve your spine, and keep the country from winning the war.

George Carlin (1937–2008) American comedian
Show (1972-05-27), Class Clown, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California

(Source (Audio))

Carlin's famous "Seven Words" sketch -- which led to his arrest at some venues where he performed it.

Kastner, Erich -- Speech (1958-05-10), “Über das verbrennen von büchern [On the Burning of Books],” Hamburg PEN Conference

Dave — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:01:35 +0000

The events from 1933 to 1945 should have been fought in 1928 at the latest. Later it was too late. We must not wait until the struggle for freedom is called treason. We must not wait until the snowball has turned into an avalanche, we must crush the rolling snowball. Nobody can stop the avalanche! It only comes to rest when it has buried everything underneath it.
That is the lesson, that is the conclusion of what happened to us in 1933, that is the conclusion we must draw from our experiences, and it is the conclusion of my speech. Impending dictatorships can only be fought before they have taken power. It is a matter of an appointment calendar, not heroism.

[Die Ereignisse von 1933 bis 1945 hätten spätestens 1928 bekämpft werden müssen. Später war es zu spät. Man darf nicht warten, bis der Freiheitskampf Landesverrat genannt wird. Man darf nicht warten, bis aus dem Schneeball eine Lawine geworden ist. Man muß den rollenden Schneeball zertreten. Die Lawine hält keiner mehr auf. Sie ruht erst, wenn sie alles unter sich begraben hat.
Das ist die Lehre, das ist das Fazit dessen, was uns 1933 widerfuhr. Das ist der Schluß, den wir aus unseren Erfahrungen ziehen müssen, und es ist der Schluß meiner Rede. Drohende Diktaturen lassen sich nur bekämpfen, ehe sie die Macht übernommen haben. Es ist eine Angelegenheit des Terminkalenders, nicht des Heroismus.]

Erich Kästner (1899–1974) German writer, poet, screenwriter, satirist
Speech (1958-05-10), “Über das verbrennen von büchern [On the Burning of Books],” Hamburg PEN Conference
(Source)

Collected in Kastner, Gesammelte Schriften für Erwachsene [Collective Writings for Adults], Book 8 "Miscellaneous Articles III" (1969).

The speech was given on the 25th anniversary of the 1933 book burnings in Berlin. 1928 was the first federal election in Germany when the Nazi Party had federal candidates. It only received 3% of the vote.

This quote is forwarded through social media frequently, in a variety of translations and edits, usually without citation.

(Source (German)). Other translations:

The events 1933–1945 should have been combated by 1928. Later was too late. We must not wait until the fight for freedom is called treason. We must not wait until the snowball has turned into an avalanche. You have to crush the rolling snowball. No one can stop the avalanche. It only comes to rest when it has buried everything underneath it.
That is the lesson of what happened to us in 1933. Impending dictatorships can only be fought before they have taken power.
[Source]

They should have been combated by 1928 at the latest. Later it was too late. We must not wait until the struggle for freedom is called treason. We must not wait until the snowball has turned into an avalanche. You have to crush the rolling snowball. No one can stop the avalanche. It only comes to rest when it has buried everything underneath it.
That is the lesson, that is the conclusion of what happened to us in 1933. That is the conclusion we must draw from our experiences.
[Source]

The events from 1933 to 1945 should have been battled in 1928 at the latest. Later was already too late. One must not wait until liberty is called treason. One must not wait till the snowball has become an avalanche. One must squelch the rolling snowball. The avalanche can't be stopped anymore [...]
[Source]

The events from 1933 to 1945 should have been stopped in 1928 at the latest. After that it was too late. You can't wait until the struggle for freedom is labeled as treason. You need to squash the rolling snowball. No one can stop the ensuing avalanche after that. It ends only after everything is ruined.
[...] Threatening dictatorships can only be stopped before they have taken power.
[Source]

The events of 1933 to 1945 should have been fought against by 1928 at the latest. Later it was too late. We must not wait until the fight for freedom is called treason. We must not wait until the snowball has become an avalanche. We must crush the rolling snowball. No one can stop the avalanche. It will not rest until it has buried everything beneath it.
That is the lesson, that is the conclusion of what happened to us in 1933. That is the conclusion we must draw from our experiences, and it is the end of my speech. Threatening dictatorships can only be fought against before they have taken power.
[Source]

The events from 1933 until 1945 should've been eradicated as late as 1928. Later is too late. We cannot wait until the fight for freedom is called treason. We cannot wait until the snowball has turned into an avalanche. We must trample the rolling snowball. Nobody can stop the avalanche. It won't rest until it has buried everything.
[...] Threatening dictatorships can only be fought before they have gained power.
[Source]

Markstein, George -- The Prisoner, 01×01 “Arrival” (1967-09-29) [with David Tomblin]

Dave — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 16:37:48 +0000

Questions are a burden to others
Answers a prison for oneself

George Markstein (1926–1987) British journalist, author, screenwriter
The Prisoner, 01×01 “Arrival” (1967-09-29) [with David Tomblin]
(Source)

Sign in the Labour Exchange office of the Village.

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1938-06-30), National Education Association, World’s Fair, New York City

Dave — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 23:55:49 +0000

When the clock of civilization can be turned back by burning libraries, by exiling scientists, artists, musicians, writers and teachers, by dispersing universities, and by censoring news and literature and art, an added burden is placed upon those countries where the torch of free thought and free learning still burns bright.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1938-06-30), National Education Association, World’s Fair, New York City
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 19 [Lord Harry] (1891)

Dave — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:38 +0000

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 19 [Lord Harry] (1891)
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1946-01), “The Prevention of Literature,” Polemic

Dave — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 00:06:48 +0000

At some time in the future, if the human mind becomes something totally different from what it is now, we may learn to separate literary creation from intellectual honesty. At present we know only that the imagination, like certain wild animals, will not breed in captivity.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-01), “The Prevention of Literature,” Polemic
(Source)

On the suppression of independent writers and writing in totalitarian statues, such as Germany and the Soviet Union, and the apathy of Western intelligentsia about it.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 21:01:08 +0000

However that may be, it is always disastrous when governments set to work to uphold opinions for their utility rather than for their truth. As soon as this is done it becomes necessary to have a censorship to suppress adverse arguments, and it is thought wise to discourage thinking among the young for fear of encouraging “dangerous thoughts.” When such mal-practices are employed against religion as they are in Soviet Russia, the theologians can see that they are bad, but they are still bad when employed in defence of what the theologians think good. Freedom of thought and the habit of giving weight to evidence are matters of far greater moral import than the belief in this or that theological dogma. On all these grounds it cannot be maintained that theological beliefs should be upheld for their usefulness without regard to their truth.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Is There a God?” (1952)
(Source)

Essay commissioned by Illustrated magazine in 1952, but never published there. First publication in Russell, Last Philosophical Testament, 1943-68 (1997) [ed. Slater/Köllner].

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 (1859)

Dave — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:21:23 +0000

But, indeed, the dictum that truth always triumphs over persecution, is one of those pleasant falsehoods which men repeat after one another till they pass into commonplaces, but which all experience refutes. History teems with instances of truth put down by persecution. If not suppressed forever, it may be thrown back for centuries.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 (1859)
(Source)

Young, Nedrick -- Inherit the Wind, film (1960) [with Harold Jacob Smith]

Dave — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 23:59:49 +0000

Can’t you understand that if you take a law like evolution and make it a crime to teach it in public schools, tomorrow you could make it a crime to teach it in private schools, and tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it? And soon you may ban books and newspapers. And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant, and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man. If you can do one you can do the other, because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy and needs feeding.

Nedrick Young (1914–1968) American screenwriter and actor [pseud. Nathan E. Douglas]
Inherit the Wind, film (1960) [with Harold Jacob Smith]
(Source)

The original 1951 play was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, but does not include this line, delivered in the film by Spencer Tracy. Young and Smith share the screenwriting credits.

White, E. B. -- Letter to Stanley Hart White (1944-06)

Dave — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 14:27:19 +0000

I am beginning to feel a little more like an author now that I have had a book banned. The literary life, in this country, begins in jail.

E. B. White (1899–1985) American author, critic, humorist [Elwyn Brooks White]
Letter to Stanley Hart White (1944-06)
(Source)

On reading that the US Army and Navy had refused to publish an "Armed Services Edition" of his Harper's magazine essay collection, One Man's Meat (1942), for "political implications." The decision was later rescinded.

Twain, Mark -- Letter to Mrs. F. G. Whitmore (1907-02-07)

Dave — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 16:18:38 +0000

But the truth is, that when a Library expels a book of mine and leaves an unexpurgated Bible lying around where unprotected youth and age can get hold of it, the deep unconscious irony of it delights me and doesn’t anger me.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Letter to Mrs. F. G. Whitmore (1907-02-07)
(Source)

Truman, Harry S -- Speech, National Archives (1952-12-15)

Dave — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 14:23:16 +0000

Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.

Harry S Truman (1884–1972) US President (1945–1953)
Speech, National Archives (1952-12-15)
(Source)

Sinclair, Upton -- Money Writes!, ch. 22 “The Bookleggers” (1927)

Dave — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 14:53:25 +0000

Every time you get a censor, you get a fool, and worse yet a knave, pretending to be a guardian of morality, while acting as a guardian of class greed.

Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) American writer, journalist, activist, politician
Money Writes!, ch. 22 “The Bookleggers” (1927)
(Source)

Self-quoted in "Poor Me and Pure Boston," The Nation (1927-06-29)

Shaw, George Bernard -- The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet, “The Rejected Statement, Part 1,” “The Limits to Toleration” (1909)

Dave — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 14:41:10 +0000

Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright and critic
The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet, “The Rejected Statement, Part 1,” “The Limits to Toleration” (1909)
(Source)

Phillips, Wendell -- Speech, Daniel O’Connell celebration, Boston (1870-08-06)

Dave — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 15:43:13 +0000

He who stifles free discussion, secretly doubts whether what he professes to believe is really true.

Wendell Phillips (1811–1884) American abolitionist, orator, social activist
Speech, Daniel O’Connell celebration, Boston (1870-08-06)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Value of Free Thought” (1944)

Dave — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 14:18:43 +0000

Heretical views arise when the truth is uncertain, and it is only when the truth is uncertain that censorship is invoked.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Value of Free Thought” (1944)
(Source)

Melville, Herman -- The Encantadas, Sketch 8 (1854)

Dave — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 13:50:18 +0000

One knows not whether nature doth not impose some secrecy upon him who has been privy to certain things. At least, it is to be doubted whether it be good to blazon such. If some books are deemed most baneful and their sale forbid, how, then, with deadlier facts, not dreams of doting men? Those whom books will hurt will not be proof against events. Events, not books, should be forbid.

Herman Melville (1819–1891) American writer
The Encantadas, Sketch 8 (1854)
(Source)

Rushdie, Salman -- “Public Event, Private Lives,” speech, University of Colorado, Boulder (2013-04-17)

Dave — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 15:14:04 +0000

An attack upon our ability to tell stories is not just censorship — it is a crime against our nature as human beings.

Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) Indian novelist
“Public Event, Private Lives,” speech, University of Colorado, Boulder (2013-04-17)
(Source)

Hitchens, Christopher -- “Be It Resolved: Freedom of Speech Includes the Freedom to Hate,” debate, University of Toronto (2006-11-15)

Dave — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 14:28:50 +0000

To whom do you award the right to decide which speech is harmful, or who is the harmful speaker? Or to determine in advance what are the harmful consequences going to be that we know enough about in advance to prevent? To whom would you give this job? To whom are you going to award the task of being the censor? Isn’t a famous old story that the man who has to read all the pornography, in order to decide what’s fit to be passed and what is fit not to be, is the man most likely to become debauched? Did you hear any speaker in the opposition to this motion, eloquent as one of them was, to whom you would delegate the task of deciding for you what you could read? To whom you would give the job of deciding for you — relieve you of the responsibility of hearing what you might have to hear? Do you know anyone? Hands up. Do you know anyone to whom you’d give this job? Does anyone have a nominee?

Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) English intellectual, polemicist, socio-political critic
“Be It Resolved: Freedom of Speech Includes the Freedom to Hate,” debate, University of Toronto (2006-11-15)
(Source)

Video (at 9:23).

Jackson, Holbrook -- The Fear of Books, Part 2, ch. 1 (1932)

Dave — Wed, 31 May 2023 13:56:00 +0000

History proves there is no better advertisement for a book than to condemn it for obscenity. Forbidden fruits have unique flavors, and the bounds of suppression create new limits of desire.

Holbrook Jackson (1874–1948) English journalist, editor, author
The Fear of Books, Part 2, ch. 1 (1932)
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- “Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)

Dave — Wed, 24 May 2023 19:55:09 +0000

If all the People of different Opinions in this Province would engage to give me as much for not printing things they don’t like, as I can get by printing them, I should probably live a very easy Life; and if all Printers were every where so dealt by, there would be very little printed.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
“Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)
(Source)

Griswold, Whitney -- “Freedom, Security, and the University Tradition,” speech, Columbia University Bicentennial (1954-06-02)

Dave — Tue, 23 May 2023 00:03:54 +0000

A mind unfree, a mind possessed, dragooned, or indoctrinated, does not learn. It copies. Learning implies discovery. The unfree mind looks at maps but does not travel. It dares not. For at the edge of maps is the jumping-off place, full of dragons and sea serpents. The unfree mind stays home, locks the door, bars the shutters. It is a hero in a crowd, a coward in solitude; it is a slave and a sloth.

Whitney Griswold (1906–1963) American historian, educator [Alfred Whitney Griswold]
“Freedom, Security, and the University Tradition,” speech, Columbia University Bicentennial (1954-06-02)
(Source)

Reprinted in Griswold, In the University Tradition (1957).

Franklin, Benjamin -- “Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)

Dave — Thu, 18 May 2023 02:12:19 +0000

It is unreasonable to imagine Printers approve of every thing they print, and to censure them on any particular thing accordingly; since in the way of their Business they print such great variety of things opposite and contradictory. It is likewise as unreasonable what some assert, That Printers ought not to print any Thing but what they approve; since if all of that Business should make such a Resolution, and abide by it, an End would thereby be put to Free Writing, and the World would afterwards have nothing to read but what happen’d to be the Opinions of Printers.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
“Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)
(Source)

Fry, Stephen -- “Trefusis on Any Questions,” Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4 (c. 1987)

Dave — Wed, 10 May 2023 19:51:08 +0000

These poor afflicted creatures spend their time with an ear against the speaker counting occurrences of the word bugger. If I had a large amount of money I should certainly found a hospital for those whose grip upon the world is so tenuous that they can be severely offended by words and phrases and yet remain all unoffended by the injustice, violence and oppression that howls daily about our ears.

Stephen Fry (b. 1957) British actor, writer, comedian
“Trefusis on Any Questions,” Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4 (c. 1987)
(Source)

Reprinted in Paperweight (1992).

Pratchett, Terry -- Foreword to David Pringle, ed., The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1999)

Dave — Fri, 05 May 2023 20:34:02 +0000

The suggestion that the world could be completely other than it is always annoys those who are content with the way things are. Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one. Rulers are suspicious of new worlds where their writ does not run. Jailers don’t like escapism.

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Foreword to David Pringle, ed., The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1999)
(Source)

Often just given as "Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one."

Franklin, Benjamin -- “Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)

Dave — Wed, 03 May 2023 14:20:08 +0000

That hence arises the peculiar Unhappiness of that Business, which other Callings are no way liable to; they who follow Printing being scarce able to do any thing in their way of getting a Living, which shall not probably give Offence to some, and perhaps to many; whereas the Smith, the Shoemaker, the Carpenter, or the Man of any other Trade, may work indifferently for People of all Persuasions, without offending any of them: and the Merchant may buy and sell with Jews, Turks, Hereticks, and Infidels of all sorts, and get Money by every one of them, without giving Offence to the most orthodox, of any sort; or suffering the least Censure or Ill-will on the Account from any Man whatever.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
“Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)
(Source)

Black, Hugo -- Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463, 482 (1966) [dissent]

Dave — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 21:38:06 +0000

I find it difficult to see how talk about sex can be placed under the kind of censorship the Court here approves without subjecting our society to more dangers than we can anticipate at the moment. It was to avoid exactly such dangers that the First Amendment was written and adopted. For myself I would follow the course which I believe is required by the First Amendment, that is, recognize that sex at least as much as any other aspect of life is so much a part of our society that its discussion should not be made a crime.

Hugo Black (1886–1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937–71)
Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463, 482 (1966) [dissent]
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- “Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)

Dave — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 15:19:38 +0000

If all Printers were determin’d not to print any thing till they were sure it would offend no body, there would be very little printed.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
“Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)
(Source)

Black, Hugo -- Barenblatt v. United States, 360 U.S. 109, 146 (1959) [dissent]

Dave — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 14:33:42 +0000

Our Constitution assumes that the common sense of the people and their attachment to our country will enable them, after free discussion, to withstand ideas that are wrong. To say that our patriotism must be protected against false ideas by means other than these is, I think, to make a baseless charge. Unless we can rely on these qualities—if, in short, we begin to punish speech — we cannot honestly proclaim ourselves to be a free Nation and we have lost what the Founders of this land risked their lives and their sacred honor to defend.

Hugo Black (1886–1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937–71)
Barenblatt v. United States, 360 U.S. 109, 146 (1959) [dissent]
(Source)

Serling, Rod -- Patterns, Introduction (1957)

Dave — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 14:48:14 +0000

The problem of censorship in television is not only a writer’s problem. What narrows his frame of reference must of necessity narrow the area of television entertainment available to the audience. When the television drama is forced to go around Robin Hood’s barn tying itself into verbal knots to evolve as stainlessly nonpartisan, whatever nonsense comes out as the replacement is the nonsense that an audience must live with on its television sets. Perhaps if some thoughtful people would write to sponsors, pleading for an adult airing of issues on a dramatic program, to counteract those cranks who hoist up the Stars and Bars whenever a play suggests a racial controversy, the sponsor or agency would realize that not to attack a controversial theme might be just as destructive as attacking it.

Rod Serling (1924–1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
Patterns, Introduction (1957)
(Source)

Serling, Rod -- “The Challenge of the Mass Media to the 20th Century Writer,” Speech, Library of Congress (15 Jan 1968)

Dave — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 17:55:10 +0000

Despite everything, despite our controversies and despite what is apparently and tragically a sense of divisiveness that permeates our land, and despite riots and rebellions that go hand-in-hand, mind you, with repression and brutality, one major and fundamental guarantee of protracted freedom is the unfettered right of the man to write as he sees fit, as his conscience indicates, as his mood dictates, as his cause cries out for. The moment you begin to censor the writer — and history bears this out in the ugliest of fashions — so begins a process of decay in the body politic that ultimately leads to disaster. What begins with a blue pencil — for whatever reason — very often ends in a concentration camp.

It has forever been thus: So long as men write what they think, then all of the other freedoms — all of them — may remain intact. And it is then that writing becomes a weapon of truth, an article of faith, an act of courage.

Rod Serling (1924–1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
“The Challenge of the Mass Media to the 20th Century Writer,” Speech, Library of Congress (15 Jan 1968)
(Source)

Quoted in Anne Serling, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling (2013).

Martin, George R. R. -- A Clash of Kings [Tyrion] (1998)

Dave — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 15:50:09 +0000

When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.

George R. R. Martin (b. 1948) American author and screenwriter [George Raymond Richard Martin]
A Clash of Kings [Tyrion] (1998)
(Source)

Asimov, Isaac -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 21:26:55 +0000

Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
(Attributed)

Serling, Rod -- Quoted in Anne Serling, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling (2013)

Dave — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 16:08:00 +0000

A Martian can say things that a Republican or a Democrat can’t.

Rod Serling (1924–1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
Quoted in Anne Serling, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling (2013)
(Source)

On being able to slip more controversial television script ideas past networks and sponsors if done in a science fiction or fantasy setting.

Hand, Learned -- United States v Associated Press, 52 F. Supp. 362, 372 (1943)

Dave — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 23:37:03 +0000

Right conclusions are more likely to be gathered out of a multitude of tongues, than through any kind of authoritative selection. To many this is, and will always be, folly; but we have staked upon it our all.

Learned Hand (1872–1961) American jurist
United States v Associated Press, 52 F. Supp. 362, 372 (1943)
(Source)

Forman, Milos -- National Security Archive interview (18 Jan 1997)

Dave — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 20:21:22 +0000

All the Sixties were complicated, you know. On the one hand it was funny too, you know; on the other hand it was cruel, you know. The Communists are so cruel, because they impose one taste on everybody, on everything, and who doesn’t comply with their teachings and with their ideology, is very soon labeled pervert, you know, or whatever they want you call it, or counterrevolutionary or whatever. And then the censorship itself, that’s not the worst evil. The worst evil is — and that’s the product of censorship — is the self-censorship, because that twists spines, that destroys my character because I have to think something else and say something else, I have to always control myself. I am stopping to being honest, I am becoming hypocrite — and that’s what they wanted, they wanted everybody to feel guilty, they were, you know… And also they were absolutely brilliant in one way, you know: they knew how effective is not to punish somebody who is guilty; what Communist Party members could afford to do was mind-boggling: they could do practically anything they wanted — steal, you know, lie, whatever. What was important — that they punished if you’re innocent, because that puts everybody, you know, puts fear in everybody.

Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (1932–2018) Czech-American film director, screenwriter, actor, academic
National Security Archive interview (18 Jan 1997)
(Source)

Gilmore, John -- Quoted in Phillip Elmer-Dewitt, “First Nation in Cyberspace,” Time (6 Dec 1993)

Dave — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 18:30:11 +0000

The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.

John Gilmore (b. 1955) Computer scientist, developer, civil liberties activist
Quoted in Phillip Elmer-Dewitt, “First Nation in Cyberspace,” Time (6 Dec 1993)
(Source)

Sometimes misquoted with "a defect" instead of "damage". Gilmore was speaking of Usenet specifically, though he acknowledges that the principle can be observed on the (now broader) Internet.

More discussion about this quotation: The Net Interprets Censorship As Damage and Routes Around It – Quote Investigator.

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 1 (2018)

Dave — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 15:19:00 +0000

The strategic aim of these hierarchical constructions of history is to displace truth, and the invention of a glorious past includes the erasure of inconvenient realities.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 1 (2018)
(Source)

Frye, Northrop -- Anatomy of Criticism, “Polemical Introduction” (1957)

Dave — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 17:38:31 +0000

The only way to forestall the work of criticism is through censorship, which has the same relation to criticism that lynching has to justice.

Northrop Frye (1912–1991) Canadian literary critic and literary theorist
Anatomy of Criticism, “Polemical Introduction” (1957)
(Source)

Heinlein, Robert A. -- “The Man Who Sold the Moon” (1950)

Dave — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 19:44:04 +0000

Don’t use that word [censorship]! How anybody expects a man to stay in business with every two-bit wowser in the country claiming a veto over what we can say and can’t say and what we can show and what we can’t show — it’s enough to make you throw up. The whole principle is wrong; it’s like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby can’t eat steak.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) American writer
“The Man Who Sold the Moon” (1950)
(Source)

This may be the origin of the spurious Mark Twain quotation, "Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it."

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Speech (1887-05) to the Jury, Trial of C. B. Reynolds for Blasphemy, Morristown, New Jersey

Dave — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 20:40:46 +0000

What is blasphemy? I will give you a definition; I will give you my thought upon this subject. What is real blasphemy?
To live on the unpaid labor of other men — that is blasphemy.
To enslave your fellow-man, to put chains upon his body — that is blasphemy.
To enslave the minds of men, to put manacles upon the brain, padlocks upon the lips — that is blasphemy.
To deny what you believe to be true, to admit to be true what you believe to be a lie — that is blasphemy.
To strike the weak and unprotected, in order that you may gain the applause of the ignorant and superstitious mob — that is blasphemy.
To persecute the intelligent few, at the command of the ignorant many — that is blasphemy.
To forge chains, to build dungeons, for your honest fellow-men — that is blasphemy.
To pollute the souls of children with the dogma of eternal pain — that is blasphemy.
To violate your conscience — that is blasphemy.
The jury that gives an unjust verdict, and the judge who pronounces an unjust sentence, are blasphemers.
The man who bows to public opinion against his better judgment and against his honest conviction, is a blasphemer.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Speech (1887-05) to the Jury, Trial of C. B. Reynolds for Blasphemy, Morristown, New Jersey
(Source)

Frye, Northrop -- “Introduction to Canadian Literature,” #14 (1988)

Dave — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 15:28:24 +0000

However rationalized it may be, censorship is always an attack on human intelligence and imagination and is always a sign of weakness, not strength, in those who enforce it.

Northrop Frye (1912–1991) Canadian literary critic and literary theorist
“Introduction to Canadian Literature,” #14 (1988)
(Source)

Douglas, William O. -- Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 512, dissenting opinion (1957)

Dave — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 14:32:19 +0000

Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community’s standards is too loose, too capricious, too destructive of freedom of expression to be squared with the First Amendment. Under that test, juries can censor, suppress, and punish what they don’t like, provided the matter relates to “sexual impurity” or has a tendency “to excite lustful thoughts”. This is community censorship in one of its worst forms. It creates a regime where in the battle between the literati and the Philistines, the Philistines are certain to win.

William O. Douglas (1898–1980) American jurist, US Supreme Court justice (1939–75)
Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 512, dissenting opinion (1957)
(Source)

Fry, Stephen -- “Trefusis Blasphemes,” Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4 (1986)

Dave — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 17:40:05 +0000

‘But people, the ordinary faithful, are offended by crude comic blasphemies,’ voices are raised to tell me. Yes indeed. But what of my religion? I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance. That is my religion, and every day I am sorely, grossly, heinously and deeply offended, wounded, mortified and injured by a thousand different blasphemies against it. When the fundamental canons of truth, honesty, compassion and decency are hourly assaulted by fatuous bishops, pompous, illiberal and ignorant priests, politicians and prelates, sanctimonious censors, self-appointed moralists and busy-bodies, what recourse of ancient laws have I? None whatever. Nor would I ask for any. For unlike these blistering imbeciles my belief in my religion is strong and I know that lies will always fail and indecency and intolerance will always perish.

Stephen Fry (b. 1957) British actor, writer, comedian
“Trefusis Blasphemes,” Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4 (1986)
(Source)

Reprinted in Paperweight (1992).

Blume, Judy -- “Judy Blume Talks About Censorship”

Dave — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 20:01:06 +0000

But it’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.

Judy Blume (b. 1938) American writer
“Judy Blume Talks About Censorship”
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1953-02-21), “Is Freedom Really Necessary?” Saturday Review

Dave — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 22:06:44 +0000

Censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion, incapable, that is, of doing an honest or intelligent job, and thus guarantees a steady intellectual decline.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1953-02-21), “Is Freedom Really Necessary?” Saturday Review
(Source)

Based on a discussion by the American Round Table, New York City (1951). Collected as "Free Enterprise in Ideas," Freedom, Loyalty and Dissent (1954).

Dershowitz, Alan -- Finding, Framing, and Hanging Jefferson, ch. 15 (2008)

Dave — Thu, 27 May 2021 15:15:24 +0000

Censorship laws are blunt instruments, not sharp scalpels. Once enacted, they are easily misapplied to merely unpopular or only marginally dangerous speech.

Alan M. Dershowitz (b. 1938) American lawyer, jurist, political commentator
Finding, Framing, and Hanging Jefferson, ch. 15 (2008)
(Source)

Darrow, Clarence -- Scopes Trial, Dayton, Tennessee (13 Jul 1925)

Dave — Thu, 20 May 2021 18:53:43 +0000

If today you can take a thing like evolution and make it a crime to teach it in the public school, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools, and the next year you can make it a crime to teach it to the hustings or in the church. At the next session you may ban books and the newspapers. Soon you may set Catholic against Protestant and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the minds of men. If you can do one you can do the other. Ignorance and fanaticism is ever busy and needs feeding. Always it is feeding and gloating for more. Today it is the public school teachers, tomorrow the private. The next day the preachers and the lectures, the magazines, the books, the newspapers. After a while, your honor, it is the setting of man against man and creed against creed until with flying banners and beating drums we are marching backward to the glorious ages of the sixteenth century when bigots lighted fagots to burn the men who dared to bring any intelligence and enlightenment and culture to the human mind.

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American lawyer
Scopes Trial, Dayton, Tennessee (13 Jul 1925)
(Source)

Blume, Judy -- “Censorship: A Personal View,” Introduction, Places I Never Meant to Be: Original Stories by Censored Writers (1999) [ed. Blume]

Dave — Thu, 13 May 2021 16:44:42 +0000

In this age of censorship I mourn the loss of books that will never be written, I mourn the voices that will be silenced — writers’ voices, teachers’ voices, students’ voices — and all because of fear.

Judy Blume (b. 1938) American writer
“Censorship: A Personal View,” Introduction, Places I Never Meant to Be: Original Stories by Censored Writers (1999) [ed. Blume]
(Source)

Brodsky, Joseph -- Press conference, Library of Congress, Washington (17 May 1991)

Dave — Tue, 11 May 2021 15:08:57 +0000

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

Joseph Brodsky (1940–1996) Russian-American poet, essayist, Nobel laureate, US Poet Laureate [Iosif Aleksandrovič Brodskij]
Press conference, Library of Congress, Washington (17 May 1991)

On accepting the US Poet Laureateship.

Broun, Heywood -- “Nonsenseorship” (1922)

Dave — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 23:03:20 +0000

A censor is a man who has read about Joshua and forgotten about Canute. The censor believes that he can hold back the mighty traffic of life with a tin whistle and a raised right hand. For, after all, it is life with which he quarrels.

Heywood Broun (1888–1939) American journalist, author
“Nonsenseorship” (1922)
(Source)

Bradbury, Ray -- Fahrenheit 451, “Coda” Afterword (1979 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 20:56:51 +0000

There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches. Every minority, be it Baptist/Unitarian, Irish/Italian/Octogenarian/Zen Buddhist, Zionist/Seventh-day Adventist, Women’s Lib/Republican, Mattachine/Four Square Gospel feels it has the will, the right, the duty to douse the kerosene, light the fuse. Every dimwit editor who sees himself as the source of all dreary blanc-mange plain-porridge unleavened literature licks his guillotine and eyes the neck of any author who dares to speak above a whisper or write above a nursery rhyme.

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer, futurist, fabulist
Fahrenheit 451, “Coda” Afterword (1979 ed.)
(Source)

Bradbury wrote the coda to his dystopian 1953 novel about censorship when he found out that "offensive" phrases had been deleted from high school editions of the book.

Blume, Judy -- “Judy Blume Talks about Censorship,” judyblume.com

Dave — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 21:05:09 +0000

Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the school library would be close to empty.

Judy Blume (b. 1938) American writer
“Judy Blume Talks about Censorship,” judyblume.com
(Source)

Carlin, George -- Show (1988-08-15), What Am I Doing in New Jersey?, Park Performing Arts Center, Union City, New Jersey (HBO)

Dave — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 17:31:42 +0000

A Reverend Donald Wildmon in Mississippi heard something on the radio that he didn’t like. Well, Reverend, did anyone ever tell you there are two knobs on the radio? Two. Knobs. On the radio.
Of course, I’m sure the reverend isn’t that comfortable with anything that has two knobs on it.
But hey, Reverend, there are two knobs on the radio! One of them turns the radio off, and the other one changes the station! Imagine that, Reverend, you can actually change the station! It’s called freedom of choice, and it’s one of the principles this country was founded upon.
Look it up in the library, Reverend, if you have any of them left when you’ve finished burning all the books.

George Carlin (1937–2008) American comedian
Show (1988-08-15), What Am I Doing in New Jersey?, Park Performing Arts Center, Union City, New Jersey (HBO)

(Source (Video))

Blume, Judy -- “Judy Blume Talks about Censorship”

Dave — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 04:25:23 +0000

I believe that censorship grows out of fear, and because fear is contagious, some parents are easily swayed. Book banning satisfies their need to feel in control of their children’s lives. This fear is often disguised as moral outrage. They want to believe that if their children don’t read about it, their children won’t know about it. And if they don’t know about it, it won’t happen.

Judy Blume (b. 1938) American writer
“Judy Blume Talks about Censorship”
(Source)

Bentham, Jeremy -- “Principles of the Penal Code,” ch. 3, Theory of Legislation (1802)

Dave — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 20:32:51 +0000

As to the evil which results from a censorship, it is impossible to measure it, because it is impossible to tell where it ends.

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) English jurist and philosopher
“Principles of the Penal Code,” ch. 3, Theory of Legislation (1802)
(Source)

Blume, Judy -- “Blume Speaks Out on Speaking Out,” Interview with Barbara Karlin, Los Angeles Times (18 Oct 1981)

Dave — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 22:02:21 +0000

Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won’t have as much censorship because we won’t have as much fear. The fear that children’s values will change because they are exposed to other values isn’t valid if there is communication between parent and child.

Judy Blume (b. 1938) American writer
“Blume Speaks Out on Speaking Out,” Interview with Barbara Karlin, Los Angeles Times (18 Oct 1981)
(Source)

Aeschylus -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 18:06:32 +0000

Truth is the first casualty in war.

Aeschylus (525–456 BC) Greek dramatist (Æschylus)
(Misattributed)

Variant: "Truth is the first casualty of war."

Not found, as such, in Aeschylus' works. The closest (Fragm. Incert, xi.) is his phrase "God is not averse to deceit in a just cause." Attribution to of the subject phrase to Aeschylus dates only back to 1965. The first recorded use of the phrase as such is from 1915, but even there it is offered as a quotation from an unnamed source.

More discussion of the history of this phrase can be found here and here.

Bacon, Francis -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:01:48 +0000

The punishing of wits enhances their authority, and a forbidden writing is thought to be a certain spark of truth that flies up in the face of them who seek to tread it out.

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
(Attributed)
(Source)

Sometimes misquoted as "The punishment of wits ...."

Attributed to Bacon by John Milton, in Areopagitica (1644). It is actually Milton's translation from and paraphrase of a passage in Bacon, Advertisement touching the Controversies of the Church of England (1589):

Wherein I might advise that side out of a wise writer, who hath set it down that punitis ingeniis gliscit auctoritas. And indeed we see it ever falleth out, that the forbidden writing is always thought to be certain sparks of a truth that fly up into the faces of those who seek to choke it, and tread it out.

The Latin, in turn, is from the "wise writer" Tacitus, in his Annals, Book 4, sec. 36.

In short, the quotation is partially Milton's translation of Tacitus (as quoted by Bacon), partially Milton's paraphrase of Bacon.

Artaud, Antonin -- Van Gogh, the Man Suicided by Society [Le Suicidé de la Société] (1947) [tr. Watson]

Dave — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 14:11:39 +0000

And what is an authentic lunatic? He is a man who has preferred to become what is socially understood as mad rather than forfeit a certain superior idea of human honor. In its asylums, society has managed to strangle all those it has wished to rid itself of or defend itself from, because they refused to make themselves accomplices to various flagrant dishonesties. For a lunatic is also a man whom society has not wished to listen to, and whom it is determined to prevent from uttering unbearable truths.

Antonin Artaud (1896–1948) French playwright, actor, director
Van Gogh, the Man Suicided by Society [Le Suicidé de la Société] (1947) [tr. Watson]
(Source)

Other translation:

And what is an authentic madman? It is a man who preferred to become mad, in the socially accepted sense of the word, rather than forfeit a certain superior idea of human honor. So society has strangled in its asylums all those it wanted to get rid of or protect itself from, because they refused to become its accomplices in certain great nastinesses. For a madman is also a man whom society did not want to hear and whom it wanted to prevent from uttering certain intolerable truths.

Lippmann, Walter -- Men of Destiny, ch. 8 “The Nature of the Battle Over Censorship,” sec. 2 (1927)

Dave — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 18:04:19 +0000

No one has ever been known to decline to serve on a committee to investigate radicals on the ground that so much exposure to their doctrines would weaken his patriotism, nor on a vice commission on the ground that it would impair his morals. Anything may happen inside the censor, but what counts is that in his outward appearances after his ordeal by temptation he is more than ever a paragon of the conforming virtues. Perhaps his appetites are satisfied by an inverted indulgence, but to a clear-sighted conservative that does not really matter. The conservative is not interested in innocent thoughts. He is interested in loyal behavior.

Walter Lippmann (1889–1974) American journalist and author
Men of Destiny, ch. 8 “The Nature of the Battle Over Censorship,” sec. 2 (1927)
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1946-01), “The Prevention of Literature,” Polemic Magazine

Dave — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 17:19:21 +0000

From the totalitarian point of view history is something to be created rather than learned. A totalitarian state is in effect a theocracy, and its ruling caste, in order to keep its position, has to be thought of as infallible. But since, in practice, no one is infallible, it is frequently necessary to rearrange past events in order to show that this or that mistake was not made, or that this or that imaginary triumph actually happened. Then again, every major change in policy demands a corresponding change of doctrine and a revelation of prominent historical figures.
This kind of thing happens everywhere, but is clearly likelier to lead to outright falsification in societies where only one opinion is permissible at any given moment. Totalitarianism demands, in fact, the continuous alteration of the past, and in the long run probably demands a disbelief in the very existence of objective truth.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-01), “The Prevention of Literature,” Polemic Magazine
(Source)

Nash, Ogden -- “Invocation,” New Yorker (Jan 1930)

Dave — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 18:28:28 +0000

Senator Smoot is an institute
Not to be bribed with pelf;
He guards our homes from erotic tomes
By reading them all himself.

Ogden Nash (1902–1971) American poet
“Invocation,” New Yorker (Jan 1930)
(Source)

Nash's poem was about US Senator Reed Smoot (R-Utah) (1862-1941), who had announced an effort in his tariff bill to ban the importation of pornography, leading to headlines of "Smoot Smites Smut." The bill went on to become the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, passed in June 1930.

Orwell, George -- Essay (1944-10-13), “As I Please” column, Tribune Newspaper

Dave — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 16:42:47 +0000

Artists don’t so much object to aesthetic discipline. Architects will design theatres or churches equally readily, writers will switch from the three-volume novel to the one-volume, or from the play to the film, according to the demand. But the point is that this is a political age. A writer inevitably writes — and less directly this applies to all the arts — about contemporary events, and his impulse is to tell what he believes to be the truth. But no government, no big organization, will pay for the truth. To take a crude example: can you imagine the British Government commissioning E. M. Forster to write A Passage to India? He could only write it because he was not dependent on State aid.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1944-10-13), “As I Please” column, Tribune Newspaper
(Source)

On the limits of public support for the arts.

Lippmann, Walter -- Men of Destiny, ch. 8 “The Nature of the Battle Over Censorship,” sec. 2 (1927)

Dave — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 23:16:51 +0000

It is not the idea as such which the censor attacks, whether it be heresy or radicalism or obscenity. He attacks the circulation of the idea among the classes which in his judgment are not to be trusted with the idea.

Walter Lippmann (1889–1974) American journalist and author
Men of Destiny, ch. 8 “The Nature of the Battle Over Censorship,” sec. 2 (1927)
(Source)

Forster, E. M. -- “The Tercentenary of the Areopagitica,” Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)

Dave — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 21:48:06 +0000

We are willing enough to praise freedom when she is safely tucked away in the past and cannot be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her, and admit censorship.

E. M. Forster (1879–1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“The Tercentenary of the Areopagitica,” Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)
(Source)

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, Preface (1891)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 04:44:18 +0000

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Preface (1891)

King, Martin Luther -- Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)

Dave — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 18:42:10 +0000

Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten. A society is always eager to cover misdeeds with a cloak of forgetfulness, but no society can fully repress an ugly past when the ravages persist into the present. America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination, history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable element of greatness — justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
(Source)

Godwin, William -- Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Vol. 2, bk. 6, ch. 1 (1793)

Dave — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 23:21:24 +0000

Whenever government assumes to deliver us from the trouble of thinking for ourselves, the only consequences it produces are those of torpor and imbecility.

William Godwin (1756–1836) English journalist, political philosopher, novelist
Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Vol. 2, bk. 6, ch. 1 (1793)
(Source)

Martial -- Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 1, epigram 4 (1.4.7-8) (AD 85-86) [tr. Duff (1929)]

Dave — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 18:31:42 +0000

Strict censure may this harmless sport endure:
My page is wanton, but my life is pure.

[Innocuos censura potest permittere lusus:
Lasciva est nobis pagina, vita proba.]

Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 1, epigram 4 (1.4.7-8) (AD 85-86) [tr. Duff (1929)]
(Source)

An appeal to Emperor Domitian, who became censor-for-life in AD 85.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Wantons we are; and though our words be such,
Our Lives do differ from our Lines by much.
[tr. Herrick (1648)]

The Censor does with harmless Pastime bear;
My Leaves are wanton, but my Life’s severe.
[tr. Killigrew (1695)]

The censorship may tolerate innocent jokes:
my page indulges in freedoms, but my life is pure.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]

Licentious though my page, my life is pure.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]

A censor can permit harmless trifling:
wanton is my page; my life is good.
[tr. Ker (1919)]

From censure may my harmless mirth be free,
My page is wanton but my life is clean.
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]

Your censure well such license may endure;
My page is wanton, but my life is pure.
[tr. Francis & Tatum (1924)]

The censor passes the risqué parts in a play
and my pages can be very gay
without my being that way.
[tr. Bovie (1970)]

Harmless wit
You may, as Censor, reasonably permit:
My life is strict, however lax my page.
[tr. Michie (1972)]

A censor can permit harmless jollity. My page is wanton, but my life is virtuous.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]

A censor can relax, wink just one eye:
My poetry is filthy -- but not I.
[tr. Wills (2007)]

As Censor, you can exercise discretion: my jokes hurt no one; let them be. My page may be dirty, but my life is clean.
[tr. Nisbet (2015)]

Let not these harmless sports your censure taste:
My lines are wanton, but my life is chaste.
[tr. 17th C Manuscript]

These games are harmless, censor: let them pass.
My poems play around; but not my life.
[tr. Elliot]

Black, Hugo -- New York Times Co. v. United States 403 U.S. 713, 717 (1971) [concurring]

Dave — Sat, 25 Feb 2017 00:25:00 +0000

In the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell.

Hugo Black (1886–1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937–71)
New York Times Co. v. United States 403 U.S. 713, 717 (1971) [concurring]
(Source)

Adams, John -- Letter (1813-07-09) to Thomas Jefferson

Dave — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 01:53:08 +0000

While all other Sciences have advanced, that of Government is at a Stand; little better understood; little better practiced now than 3 or 4 thousand years ago. What is the Reason? I say Parties and Factions will not Suffer, or permit Improvements to be made. As Soon as one Man hints at an improvement his Rival opposes it. No sooner has one Party discovered or invented an Amelioration of the condition of Man or the order of Society, than the opposite Party, belies it, misconstrues it, misrepresents it, ridicules it, insults it, and persecutes it.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1813-07-09) to Thomas Jefferson
(Source)

Khomeini, Ruhollah -- Ramadan Speech (23 Jul 1979)

Dave — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 16:29:39 +0000

Music is no different from opium. Music affects the human mind in a way that makes people think of nothing but music and sensual matters. […] Music is a treason to the country, a treason to our youth, and we should cut out all this music and replace it with something instructive.

Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989) Iranian Shia Muslim religious leader, revolutionary, politician
Ramadan Speech (23 Jul 1979)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-04-06), “Citizens or Subjects?” Kansas City Star

Dave — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:49:16 +0000

Our loyalty is due entirely to the United States. It is due to the President only and exactly to the degree in which he efficiently serves the United States. It is our duty to support him when he serves the United States well. It is our duty to oppose him when he serves it badly.

Asimov, Isaac -- The Gods Themselves, Sec. 3, ch. 12 (1972)

Dave — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 04:15:20 +0000

You know that prudery is only the other side of prurience. The words are even on the same page in the dictionary.

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
The Gods Themselves, Sec. 3, ch. 12 (1972)

Moynihan, Daniel Patrick -- “Moynihan’s Maxim”

Dave — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 18:57:41 +0000

If the newspapers of a country are filled with good news, the jails will be filled with good people.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927–2003) American politician, diplomat, sociologist
“Moynihan’s Maxim”

Also referred to as "Moynihan's Law." Quoted in The Illustrated Weekly of India (16-22 Oct 1988).

Douglas, William O. -- Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 513, dissenting opinion (1957)

Dave — Tue, 24 May 2016 13:28:22 +0000

Thus, if the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech and press is to mean anything in this field, it must allow protests even against the moral code that the standard of the day sets for the community. In other words, literature should not be suppressed merely because it offends the moral code of the censor.

William O. Douglas (1898–1980) American jurist, US Supreme Court justice (1939–75)
Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 513, dissenting opinion (1957)
(Source)

Broun, Heywood -- New York World (23 Oct 1926)

Dave — Tue, 17 May 2016 20:47:38 +0000

Everybody favors free speech in the slack moments when no axes are being ground.

Heywood Broun (1888–1939) American journalist, author
New York World (23 Oct 1926)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Letter (1942-04-23), “Message to American Booksellers Association,” Annual Banquet (1942-05-06), Astor Hotel, New York City

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 15:03:09 +0000

We all know that books burn — yet we have the greater knowledge that books cannot be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory. No man and no force can put thought in a concentration camp forever. No man and no force can take from the world the ideas that embody man’s eternal fight against tyranny of every kind. In this war, we know, books are weapons.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Letter (1942-04-23), “Message to American Booksellers Association,” Annual Banquet (1942-05-06), Astor Hotel, New York City
(Source)

The letter was delivered with a speech by Archibald MacLeish (appointed by Roosevelt as Librarian of Congress, 1939-1944) titled "A Free Man's Books." This was shortly after FDR named April 17 as "Victory Book Day".

This quotation was turned into a poster by S. Broder, published by the US Office of War Information in 1942.

~Other -- John W. Bradbury, National Baptist Watchman-Examiner (13 Sep 1934)

Dave — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 14:51:41 +0000

It was a great relief to be in a country where salacious sex literature cannot be sold; where putrid motion pictures and gangster films cannot be shown. The new Germany has burned great masses of corrupting books and magazines along with its bonfires of Jewish and communistic libraries.

(Other Authors and Sources)
John W. Bradbury, National Baptist Watchman-Examiner (13 Sep 1934)

On being a delegate to the Baptist World Alliance Congress in Berlin.

Adams, John -- Letter (1814-12-14) to John Taylor

Dave — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 16:59:24 +0000

What havoc has been made of Books through every Century of the Christian Æra? Where are fifty Gospells condemned as spurious by the Bull of Pope Gelasius. Where are the forty Waggon Loads of Hebrew Manuscripts burned in France by order of another Pope, because suspected of Heresy? Remember the Index expurgatorius, the Inquisitions, the Stake, the Axe the halter and the Guillotine; and Oh! horrible the Rack. This is as bad if not worse than a slow fire.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1814-12-14) to John Taylor
(Source)

Bradbury, Ray -- “Bradbury Still Believes in Heat of ‘Fahrenheit 451,'” interview by Misha Berson, The Seattle Times (12 Mar 1993)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 21:43:46 +0000

You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer, futurist, fabulist
“Bradbury Still Believes in Heat of ‘Fahrenheit 451,'” interview by Misha Berson, The Seattle Times (12 Mar 1993)
(Source)

Bradbury is often quoted as saying, "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." I can't find an actual citation for that, though this is a very similar sentiment. That actual quotation is also attributed to Joseph Brodsky.

Meiklejohn, Alexander -- Testimony before the Senate Sub-Committee on Constitutional Rights (1955)

Dave — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 13:23:17 +0000

Whatever may be the immediate gains and losses, the dangers to our safety arising from political suppression are always greater than the dangers to that safety arising from political freedom. Suppression is always foolish. Freedom is always wise. That is the faith, the experimental faith, by which we Americans have undertaken to live. If we, the citizens of today, cannot shake ourselves free from the hysteria which blinds us to that faith, there is little hope for peace and security, either at home or abroad.

Alexander Meiklejohn (1872–1964) Philosopher, university administrator, civil libertarian
Testimony before the Senate Sub-Committee on Constitutional Rights (1955)

Lewis, Sinclair -- Nobel Lecture (12 Dec 1930)

Dave — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 12:44:18 +0000

Fortune has dealt with me rather too well. I have known little struggle, not much poverty, many generosities. Now and then I have, for my books or myself, been somewhat warmly denounced — there was one good pastor in California who upon reading my Elmer Gantry desired to lead a mob and lynch me, while another holy man in the state of Maine wondered if there was no respectable and righteous way of putting me in jail. And, much harder to endure than any raging condemnation, a certain number of old acquaintances among journalists, what in the galloping American slang we call the “I Knew Him When Club,” have scribbled that since they know me personally, therefore I must be a rather low sort of fellow and certainly no writer. But if I have now and then received such cheering brickbats, still I, who have heaved a good many bricks myself, would be fatuous not to expect a fair number in return.

Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) American novelist, playwright
Nobel Lecture (12 Dec 1930)

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 1 (1859)

Dave — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 14:13:12 +0000

The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinions of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil in case he do otherwise. To justify that, the conduct from which it is desired to deter him must be calculated to produce evil to some one else. The only part of the conduct of any one, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 1 (1859)
(Source)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Speech, Associated Press luncheon, New York (24 Apr 1950)

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:21:29 +0000

Censorship, in my opinion, is a stupid and shallow way of approaching the solution to any problem. Though sometimes necessary, as witness a professional and technical secret that may have a bearing upon the welfare and very safety of this country, we should be very careful in the way we apply it, because in censorship always lurks the very great danger of working to the disadvantage of the American nation.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890–1969) American general, US President (1953–61)
Speech, Associated Press luncheon, New York (24 Apr 1950)

Lerner, Max -- “The Vigilantes and the Chain of Fear,” New York Post (24 Jun 1953)

Dave — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 11:58:35 +0000

The crime of book purging is that it involves a rejection of the word. For the word is never absolute truth, but only man’s frail and human effort to approach the truth. To reject the word is to reject the human search.

Maxwell "Max" Lerner (1902–1992) American journalist, columnist, educator
“The Vigilantes and the Chain of Fear,” New York Post (24 Jun 1953)

Regarding the McCarthy era book burnings. Reprinted in The Unfinished Country, pt. 4 (1959).

Gaiman, Neil -- Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 13:19:25 +0000

I loved coming to the US in 1992, mostly because I loved the idea that freedom of speech was paramount. I still do. With all its faults, the US has Freedom of Speech. The First Amendment states that you can’t be arrested for saying things the government doesn’t like. You can say what you like, write what you like, and know that the remedy to someone saying or writing or showing something that offends you is not to read it, or to speak out against it. I loved that I could read and make my own mind up about something.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”
(Source)

Gaiman, Neil -- Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”

Dave — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 14:21:33 +0000

The Law is a blunt instrument. It’s not a scalpel. It’s a club. If there is something you consider indefensible, and there is something you consider defensible, and the same laws can take them both out, you are going to find yourself defending the indefensible.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”
(Source)

See Dershowitz.

Gaiman, Neil -- Twitter (7 Jan 2014)

Dave — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 14:52:44 +0000

How important are free speech and satire? Important enough that people will murder others to silence the kind of speech they don’t like.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Twitter (7 Jan 2014)
(Source)

Regarding the mass murder at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.

Keillor, Garrison -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:40:33 +0000

I think the most un-American thing you can say is, “You can’t say that.”

Garrison Keillor (b. 1942) American entertainer, author
(Attributed)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, American Newspaper Publishers Association (27 Apr 1961)

Dave — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 12:09:06 +0000

The very word “secrecy” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, American Newspaper Publishers Association (27 Apr 1961)
(Source)

Woolf, Virginia -- A Room of One’s Own, ch. 4 (1929)

Dave — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 12:50:06 +0000

Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English modernist writer [b. Adeline Virginia Stephen]
A Room of One’s Own, ch. 4 (1929)
(Source)

Goldman, Emma -- “Address to the Jury,” Mother Earth (Jul 1917)

Dave — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 13:22:07 +0000

I may be arrested, I may be tried and thrown into jail, but I never will be silent.

Emma Goldman (1869–1940) Lithuanian-American anarchist, activist
“Address to the Jury,” Mother Earth (Jul 1917)

Douglass, Frederick -- “A Plea for Freedom of Speech in Boston,” speech (9 Dec 1860)

Dave — Mon, 12 May 2014 16:11:43 +0000

Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down. They know its power. Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, founded in injustice and wrong, are sure to tremble, if men are allowed to reason of righteousness, temperance, and of a judgment to come in their presence.

Frederick Douglass (1817–1895) American abolitionist, orator, writer
“A Plea for Freedom of Speech in Boston,” speech (9 Dec 1860)
(Source)

Washington, George -- Speech to the Officers at Newburgh (15 Mar 1783)

Dave — Thu, 01 May 2014 12:59:37 +0000

If Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of Speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter.

George Washington (1732–1799) American military leader, Founding Father, US President (1789–1797)
Speech to the Officers at Newburgh (15 Mar 1783)
(Source)

Bradbury, Ray -- Fahrenheit 451, “Coda” Afterword (1979 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 12:29:32 +0000

For it is a mad world and it will get madder if we allow the minorities, be they dwarf or giant, orangutan or dolphin, nuclear-head or water-conversationalist, pro-computerologist or Neo-Luddite, simpleton or sage, to interfere with aesthetics. The real world is the playing ground for each and every group, to make or unmake laws. But the tip of the nose of my book or stories or poems is where their rights end and my territorial imperatives begin, run and rule. If Mormons do not like my plays, let them write their own. If the Irish hate my Dublin stories, let them rent typewriters. If teachers and grammar school editors find my jawbreaker sentences shatter their mushmilk teeth, let them eat stale cake dunked in weak tea of their own ungodly manufacture.

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer, futurist, fabulist
Fahrenheit 451, “Coda” Afterword (1979 ed.)
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review

Dave — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 12:49:35 +0000

If government, or those in positions of power and authority, can silence criticism by the argument that such criticism might be misunderstood somewhere, there is an end to all criticism, and perhaps an end to our kind of political system. For men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom and Order, Part 6 (1966). Sections of the essay (including this portion) were read into the Congressional Record, Senate Proceedings (1969-06-26), as part of a speech by former Senator Wayne Morse (D-Oregon) at the commencement of Fairleigh Dickinson University (1969-06-07); Morse's speech was read in by Senator Gary Hart (D-Colo.).

Black, Hugo -- Smith v. California, 361 U.S. 147, 157 (1959) [concurring]

Dave — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:02:43 +0000

Certainly the First Amendment’s language leaves no room for inference that abridgments of speech and press can be made just because they are slight. That Amendment provides, in simple words, that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” I read “no law … abridging” to mean no law abridging.

Hugo Black (1886–1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937–71)
Smith v. California, 361 U.S. 147, 157 (1959) [concurring]
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Trial of C.B. Reynolds for blasphemy (May 1887)

Dave — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:44:57 +0000

Gentlemen, you can never make me believe — no statute can ever convince me, that there is any infinite Being in this universe who hates an honest man. It is impossible to satisfy me that there is any God, or can be any God, who holds in abhorrence a soul that has the courage to express his thought. Neither can the whole world convince me that any man should be punished, either in this world or in the next, for being candid with his fellow-men. If you send men to the penitentiary for speaking their thoughts, for endeavoring to enlighten their fellows, then the penitentiary will become a place of honor, and the victim will step from it — not stained, not disgraced, but clad in robes of glory.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Trial of C.B. Reynolds for blasphemy (May 1887)
(Source)

~Other -- The British Board Of Film Censors, Report on Life of Brian (1979)

Dave — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:01:46 +0000

Monty Python’s usual schoolboy humour is here let loose on a period of history appropriately familiar to every schoolboy in the West, and a faith which could be shaken by such good-humoured ribaldry would be a very precarious faith indeed.

(Other Authors and Sources)
The British Board Of Film Censors, Report on Life of Brian (1979)

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, Vol. 1, ch. 15 (1835)

Dave — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:24:56 +0000

In America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion; within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 1, ch. 15 (1835)

Twain, Mark -- (Spurious)

Dave — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:42:55 +0000

Censorship is telling a man he can’t eat steak because a baby can’t chew it.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
(Spurious)

Unsourced in Twain's writings. Likely derived from this Heinlein quotation.

Brandeis, Louis -- Whitney v California, 274 US 357, 377 (1927) (concurring)

Dave — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:46:49 +0000

Those who won our independence by revolution were not cowards. They did not fear political change. They did not exalt order at the cost of liberty. To courageous, self-reliant men, with confidence in the power of free and fearless reasoning applied through the processes of popular government, no danger flowing from speech can be deemed clear and present, unless the incidence of the evil apprehended is so imminent that it may befall before there is opportunity for full discussion. If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.

Louis Brandeis (1856–1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916–39)
Whitney v California, 274 US 357, 377 (1927) (concurring)
(Source)

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)

Dave — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:02:44 +0000

To refuse a hearing to an opinion because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)
(Source)

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)

Dave — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:08:20 +0000

First, if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility.

Secondly, though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of truth; and since the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied.

Thirdly, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth; unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested, it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds.

And not only this, but, fourthly, the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost, or enfeebled, and deprived of its vital effect on the character and conduct: the dogma becoming a mere formal profession, inefficacious for good, but cumbering the ground, and preventing the growth of any real and heartfelt conviction, from reason or personal experience.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 17 (1782)

Dave — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:21:14 +0000

Subject opinion to coercion: whom will you make your inquisitors? Fallible men; men governed by bad passions, by private as well as public reasons.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 17 (1782)
(Source)

Johnson, Samuel -- Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, “Milton” (1781)

Dave — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:16:06 +0000

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.

Solzhenitsen, Alexander -- “A World Split Apart,” Commencement Address, Harvard (8 Jun 1978)

Dave — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:00:12 +0000

Without any censorship, in the West fashionable trends of thought and ideas are carefully separated from those which are not fashionable; nothing is forbidden, but what is not fashionable will hardly ever find its way into periodicals or books or be heard in colleges. Legally your researchers are free, but they are conditioned by the fashion of the day. There is no open violence such as in the East; however, a selection dictated by fashion and the need to match mass standards frequently prevent independent-minded people from giving their contribution to public life. There is a dangerous tendency to form a herd, shutting off successful development.

Alexander Solzhenitsen (1918–2008) Russian novelist, emigre [Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn]
“A World Split Apart,” Commencement Address, Harvard (8 Jun 1978)
(Source)

Wilson, Woodrow -- Letter to Arthur Brisbane (25 Apr 1917)

Dave — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:50:48 +0000

I can imagine no greater disservice to the country than to establish a system of censorship that would deny to the people of a free republic like our own their indisputable right to criticize their own public officials. While exercising the great powers of the office I hold, I would regret in a crisis like the one through which we are now passing to lose the benefit of patriotic and intelligent criticism.

Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) US President (1913–20), educator, political scientist
Letter to Arthur Brisbane (25 Apr 1917)

Three weeks after the US entered WW I.

Gaiman, Neil -- Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”

Dave — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:26:38 +0000

You ask, What makes it worth defending? and the only answer I can give is this: Freedom to write, freedom to read, freedom to own material that you believe is worth defending means you’re going to have to stand up for stuff you don’t believe is worth defending, even stuff you find actively distasteful, because laws are big blunt instruments that do not differentiate between what you like and what you don’t, because prosecutors are humans and bear grudges and fight for re-election, because one person’s obscenity is another person’s art. Because if you don’t stand up for the stuff you don’t like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you’ve already lost.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”
(Source)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Essay (1940-02-10), “Fear is the Enemy,” The Nation, Vol. 150, No. 6

Dave — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:01:59 +0000

We do not move forward by curtailing people’s liberty because we are afraid of what they may do or say. We move forward by assuring to all people protection in the basic liberties under a democratic form of government, and then making sure that our government serves the real needs of the people.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Essay (1940-02-10), “Fear is the Enemy,” The Nation, Vol. 150, No. 6
(Source)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”

Dave — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:57:02 +0000

I have been one of those who have carried the fight for complete freedom of information in the United Nations. And while accepting the fact that some of our press, our radio commentators, our prominent citizens and our movies may at times be blamed legitimately for things they have said and done, still I feel that the fundamental right of freedom of thought and expression is essential. If you curtail what the other fellow says and does, you curtail what you yourself may say and do.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”
(Source)

On the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Russell, Bertrand -- Look, “What They Are Saying” (1954-02-23)

Dave — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:37:26 +0000

Obscenity is whatever happens to shock some elderly and ignorant magistrate.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Look, “What They Are Saying” (1954-02-23)
(Source)

This column was a regular feature quoting notable comments by notable people. The actual source of the quotation, presumably made around this time, is unknown.

Macaulay, Thomas Babington -- Southey’s Colloquies on Society (1830)

Dave — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:07:25 +0000

Nothing is so galling to a people, not broken in from the birth, as a paternal or, in other words, a meddling government, a government which tells them what to read and say and eat and drink and wear.

Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859) English writer and politician
Southey’s Colloquies on Society (1830)

Rockefeller, Nelson -- Speech to the Anti-Defamation League, Syracuse, NY (29 Nov 1972)

Dave — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:22:10 +0000

Government has an obligation not to inhibit the collection and dissemination of news…. I’m convinced that if reporters should ever lose the right to protect the confidentiality of their sources then serious investigative reporting will simply dry up. The kind of resourceful, probing journalism that first exposed most of the serious scandals, corruption and injustice in our nation’s history would simply disappear …. And let me tell you, reading about one’s failings in the daily papers is one of the privileges of high office in this free country of ours.

Nelson Rockefeller (1908–1979) American politician
Speech to the Anti-Defamation League, Syracuse, NY (29 Nov 1972)
(Source)

Griswold, Whitney -- “A Little Learning,” speech, Phillips Academy, Andover (1952, Spring)

Dave — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:09:31 +0000

Books won’t stay banned. They won’t burn. Ideas won’t go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.

Whitney Griswold (1906–1963) American historian, educator [Alfred Whitney Griswold]
“A Little Learning,” speech, Phillips Academy, Andover (1952, Spring)
(Source)

Reprinted in The Atlantic Monthly (1952-11) and Griswold's Essays in Education (1954).

Russell, Bertrand -- “Free Thought and Official Propaganda,” lecture, South Place Institute, London (1922-03-24)

Dave — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:35:17 +0000

It is clear that the most elementary condition, if thought is to be free, is the absence of legal penalties for the expression of opinions. No great country has yet reached to this level, although most of them think they have. The opinions which are still persecuted strike the majority as so monstrous and immoral that the general principle of toleration can not be held to apply to them. But this is exactly the same view as that which made possible the tortures of the Inquisition. There was a time when Protestantism seemed as wicked as Bolshevism seems now.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Free Thought and Official Propaganda,” lecture, South Place Institute, London (1922-03-24)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1938-06-30), National Education Association, World’s Fair, New York City

Dave — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:37:58 +0000

If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands, they must be made brighter in our own.
If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free.
If in other lands the eternal truths of the past are threatened by intolerance we must provide a safe place for their perpetuation.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. -- Schenck v. United States (3 Mar 1919)

Dave — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:50:56 +0000

The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American jurist, Supreme Court Justice
Schenck v. United States (3 Mar 1919)
(Source)

Luce, Clare Boothe -- “Problem of Pornography,” McCall’s (Oct 1966)

Dave — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:44:55 +0000

Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but, unlike charity, it should end there.

Clare Boothe Luce (1903–1987) American dramatist, diplomat, politician
“Problem of Pornography,” McCall’s (Oct 1966)

Douglas, William O. -- Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 514, dissenting opinion (1957)

Dave — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 19:23:59 +0000

I would give the broad sweep of the First Amendment full support. I have the same confidence in the ability of our people to reject noxious literature as I have in their capacity to sort out the true from the false in theology, economics, or any other field.

William O. Douglas (1898–1980) American jurist, US Supreme Court justice (1939–75)
Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 514, dissenting opinion (1957)
(Source)

Marshall, Thurgood -- Stanley v. Georgia 394 U.S. 557 (1969) [Unanimous Opinion]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a State has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house, what books he may read or what films he may watch.

Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993) American lawyer, US Supreme Court Justice (1967–1991)
Stanley v. Georgia 394 U.S. 557 (1969) [Unanimous Opinion]

Freud, Sigmund -- Letter to Ernest Jones (Jan 1933)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now they are content with burning my books.

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Austrian psychoanalyst and neurologist
Letter to Ernest Jones (Jan 1933)
(Source)

Regarding Nazi book burnings in Germany. Reprinted in Jones, Sigmund Freud: Life and Work, Vol. 3, Part 1, ch. 4 (1957).

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1814-04-19) to Nicolas G. Dufief

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

I am really mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, a fact like this can become a subject of enquiry, and of criminal enquiry too, as an offence against religion: that a question about the sale of a book can be carried before the civil magistrate. Is this then our freedom of religion? And are we to have a Censor whose imprimatur shall say what books may be sold, and what we may buy? And who is thus to dogmatise religious opinions for our citizens? Whose foot is to be the measure to which ours are all to be cut or stretched? Is a Priest to be our Inquisitor, or shall a layman, simple as ourselves, set up his reason as the rule for what we are to read, & what we must believe? It is an insult to our citizens to question whether they are rational beings or not; and blasphemy against religion to suppose it cannot stand the test of truth and reason. If M. de Becourt’s book be false in it’s facts, disprove them; if false in it’s reasoning, refute it. but, for god’s sake, let us freely hear both sides, if we chuse.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1814-04-19) to Nicolas G. Dufief
(Source)

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Oratore [On the Orator, On Oratory], Book 2, ch. 15 (2.15) / sec. 62 (55 BC) [tr. May/Wisse (2001)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Everybody knows that the first law of history is not daring to say anything false; that the second is daring to say everything that is true; that there should be no suggestion of partiality, none of animosity when you write.

[Nam quis nescit primam esse historiae legem, ne quid falsi dicere audeat? Deinde ne quid veri non audeat? Ne quae suspicio gratiae sit in scribendo? Ne quae simultatis?]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Oratore [On the Orator, On Oratory], Book 2, ch. 15 (2.15) / sec. 62 (55 BC) [tr. May/Wisse (2001)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

For, is there a Man ignorant, that the first Rule of History is, that an Historian shall not dare to advance a Falsity; the next, that there is no Truth but what he shall dare to tell? That in Writing, he shall be free of all Prepossession; of all Pique?
[tr. Guthrie (1755)]

For, is there a man ignorant that the first rule of history is that an historian shall not dare to advance a falsehood; the next, that there no truth but what he shall dare to tell? That the writer should be actuated neither by favour, or by prejudice?
[Source (1808)]

For who is ignorant that it is the first law in writing history, that the historian must not dare to tell any falsehood, and the next, that he must be bold enough to tell the whole truth? Also, that there must be no suspicion of partiality in his writings, or of personal animosity?
[tr. Watson (1860)]

Who need be informed that the first law of history is, to have the honesty to state no falsehood, the next, the courage to suppress no truth, and to avoid all suspicion of undue bias or personal animosity?
[tr. Calvert (1870)]

Who does not recognise that the first law of history is that we shall never dare to say what is false; the second that we shall never fear to say what is true; that everything we write shall be free from any suspicion of favoritism or flattery?
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]

For who does not know history's first law to be that an author must not dare to tell anything but the truth ? And its second that he must make bold to tell the whole truth? That there must be no suggestion of partiality anywhere in his writings? Nor of malice?
[tr. Sutton/Rackham (1940)]

The first law for the historian is that he shall never dare utter an untruth. The second is that he shall suppress nothing that is true. Moreover, there shall be no suspicion of partiality in his writing, or of malice.
[Bartlett's]

Stewart, Potter -- Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463, 498 (1966) [dissenting]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime. Long ago, those who wrote our First Amendment charted a different course. They believed a society can be truly strong only when it is truly free. In the realm of expression, they put their faith, for better or for worse, in the enlightened choice of the people, free from the interference of a policeman’s intrusive thumb or a judge’s heavy hand. So it is that the Constitution protects coarse expression as well as refined, and vulgarity no less than elegance. A book worthless to me may convey something of value to my neighbor. In the free society to which our Constitution has committed us, it is for each to choose for himself.

Potter Stewart (1915–1985) US Supreme Court Justice (1959–81)
Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463, 498 (1966) [dissenting]
(Source)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Commencement Speech, Dartmouth College (14 Jun 1953)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book, as long as that document does not offend your own ideas of decency. That should be the only censorship.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890–1969) American general, US President (1953–61)
Commencement Speech, Dartmouth College (14 Jun 1953)

Orwell, George -- Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened — that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death? The Party said that Oceania had never been in alliance with Eurasia. He, Winston Smith, knew that Oceania had been in alliance with Eurasia as short a time as four years ago. But where did that knowledge exist? Only in his own consciousness, which in any case must soon be annihilated. And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed — if all records told the same tale — then the lie passed into history and became truth. “Who controls the past,” ran the Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
(Source)

Sometimes paraphrased, "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past."

Whitman, Walt -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Damn all expurgated books; the dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.

Walt Whitman (1819–1892) American poet
(Attributed)

Paraphrase of a comment by Whitman to Horace Traubel, in Traubel's memoir With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906), entry dated 9 May 1999: "Damn the expurgated books! I say damn 'em! The dirtiest book in all the world is the expurgated book." This was in discussion about William Rossetti, who had published an bowdlerized version of Whitman's Leaves of Grass. See here for more discussion.

Jackson, Robert H. -- American Communications Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 442-443 (1950) [concurrence and dissent]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The priceless heritage of our society is the unrestricted constitutional right of each member to think as he will. Thought control is a copyright of totalitarianism, and we have no claim to it. It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error. We could justify any censorship only when the censors are better shielded against error than the censored.

Robert H. Jackson (1892–1954) US Supreme Court Justice (1941–54), lawyer, jurist, politician
American Communications Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 442-443 (1950) [concurrence and dissent]
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Preface (1893)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

All censorships exist to prevent any one from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorships.

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright and critic
Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Preface (1893)
(Source)

Kennedy, John F. -- “Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America” (speech), Washington, DC (26 Feb 1962)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
“Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America” (speech), Washington, DC (26 Feb 1962)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-05-07), “Sedition, A Free Press, and Personal Rule,” Kansas City Star

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly as necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1918-05-07), “Sedition, A Free Press, and Personal Rule,” Kansas City Star
(Source)

This passage was added to later editions of his essay, "Lincoln and Free Speech,", as printed in The Works of Theodore Roosevelt, vol. 21, The Great Adventure, ch. 7 (1925). It does not appear in the original version of the essay or book.

See also Roosevelt and Roosevelt.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1838-11-08)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1838-11-08)
(Source)

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If all mankind, minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)
(Source)

Helvetius, Claude Adrien -- A Treatise on Man: His Intellectual Faculties and His Education [De l’homme] (1772)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

To limit the press is to insult the nation; to prohibit the reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves.

Claude Adrien Helvétius (1715–1771) French philosopher
A Treatise on Man: His Intellectual Faculties and His Education [De l’homme] (1772)

Legman, Gershon -- Love & Death: A Study in Censorship (1949)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Murder is a crime. Describing murder is not.
Sex is not a crime. Describing sex is.

Gershon Legman (1917–1999) American writer
Love & Death: A Study in Censorship (1949)