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absurd alledged American Anarchist Anthony Comstock argument Atheism authority believe better cause censor censorship Christian Church civil Comstock laws Comstockery condemned Congress conscience conviction Cooper Union corrupt courts crime criminal dangerous decency declared deny Department discussion doctrine error evil exclude express fact fear free speech freedom of speech freethinker hear heresy heretics human ignorance imagination immoral indecent intellectual John Turner judge judgment judicial jury knowledge less leud liberty licensing literature Lucifer magistrate mails Malchow mankind marriage matter means ment mind modesty moral Moses Harman nature never object obscene offensive opinion persecution persons Petronius political postal postal censorship Postmaster present principles protest published punish purity question reason religion religious sexual society spirit statute Suetonius suppression THEODORE SCHROEDER things thought tion true truth Turner virtue virtuous whole women words write York
Popular passages
Page 15 - Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks. Methinks I see her as an eagle mewing her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam; purging and unsealing her long-abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly radiance; while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds, with those also that love the twilight, flutter about, amazed at what she means, and in their envious gabble would...
Page 1 - And yet, on the other hand, unless wariness be used, as good almost kill a man as kill a good book. Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were, in the eye.
Page 14 - Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making.
Page 16 - And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple ; who ever knew truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter ? Her confuting is the best and surest suppressing.
Page 93 - They are slaves who fear to speak For the fallen and the weak ; They are slaves who will not choose Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, Rather than in silence shrink From the truth they needs must think ; They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three.
Page 95 - ... to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles, on supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty...
Page 2 - We should be wary therefore what persecution we raise against the living labors of public men, how we spill that seasoned life of man preserved and stored up in books...
Page 103 - Pharisees a council and said, "What do we? For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
Page 15 - ... and enlightened our spirits, like the influence of heaven : this is that which hath enfranchised, enlarged, and lifted up our apprehensions degrees above themselves.
Page 221 - I think the test of obscenity is this, whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscenity is to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences, and into whose hands a publication of this sort may fall.