John Milton publishes Areopagitica, his famous argument for free speech, in 1644. According to Milton, the only way to reach the truth is by letting conflicting ideas meet.
The immidiate occassion of the text is the Licensing Act of 1643. Areopagitica has a limited impact on the parliament, but a big impact on the political thinkers of the Enlightenment.
“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.”
– John Milton, Areopagitica(1644)