John Milton, Areopagitica

The opening paragraph of John Milton.

The traditional liberal argument for free speech is now under fire from several directions.
Critics from the left, the center, and the right find simplistic the claim that unregulated
expression promotes the search for truth, the project of self-government, the autonomy of
individuals, or the control of concentrated power. Even if free speech does serve these
values to a considerable degree, there are costs associated with liberty, costs the critics
say are not sufficiently recognized or valorized in the standard liberal accounts.