Areopagitica

1. A fugitive and cloistered virtue--one not tried--is not to be esteemed; goodness untested will fall.

2. With Reason God gave man freedom; thus man must be allowed to choose.

3. Sin cannot be banned by law.

4. Faith and Knowledge grow by exercise; one can be a heretic in the truth.

5. Truth and falsehood look much alike; thus we must be allowed to divide one from the other. For this we need prudence, forbearance, and tolerance.

6. Truth will win out over falsehood; she needs not the help of censors, who impose the “iron yoke of outward conformity.”