Topics
 Embed:
Princetonians for Free Speech Search Main navigation
“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.” Benjamin Franklin, 1722 Editor's Note: In the approach the 2020 presidential campaign, the Editorial Board of NorthJersey.com and The Record will publish an occasional series of writings from the United States' founding fathers. We continue with this letter, written by Benjamin Franklin under the pen-name Silence Dogood and first published in The New England Courant on July 9, 1722. Passages presented in bold have been emphasized by our editors. S I R, NO. VIII. I prefer the following Abstract from the London Journal to any Thing of my own, and therefore shall present it to your Readers this week without any further Preface. WITHOUT Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech; which is the Right of every Man, as far as by it, he does not hurt or control the Right of another. And this is the only Check it ought to suffer, and the only bounds it ought to know. This sacred Privilege is to essential to free Governments, that the Security of Property, and the Freedom of Speech always go together; and in those wretched Countries where a Man cannot call his Tongue his own, he can scarce call any Thing else his own. Whoever would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation, must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech; a Thing terrible to Publick Traytors. This Secret was so well known to the Court of King Charles the First, that his wicked Ministry procured a Proclamation, to forbid the People to talk of Parliaments, which those Traytors had laid aside. To assert thee undoubted Right of the Subject, and defend his Majesty’s legal Prerogative, was called Disaffecton, and punished as Sedition. Nay, People were forbid to talk of Religion in their Families. For the Priest had combined with the Ministers to cook up Tyranny, and suppress Truth and the Law, while the late King James, when Duke of York, went avowedly to Mass, Men were fined, imprisoned and undone, for saying he was a Papist: And that King Charles the Second might live more securely a Papist, there was an Act of Parliament made, declaring it Treason to say that he was one. That Men ought to speak well of their Governours is true, while their Governours, deserve to be well spoken of, but to do publick Mischief, without hearing of it, is only the Prerogative and Felicity of Tyranny: A free People will be showing that they are so, by their Freedom of Speech. The Administration of Government, is nothing else but the Attendsnce of the Trustees of the People upon the Interest and Affairs of the People: And as it is the Part and Business of the People, for whole Sake alone all publick Matters are, or ought to be transacted, to see whether they be well or ill transacted, so it is the Interest, and ought to be the Ambition, of all honest Magistrates, to have their Deeds openly examined, and Publickly scann’d: Only the wicked Governours of Men dread what is said of them; Audivit Tiberis probra queis lacerabitur, atque perculsus est. The publick Censure was true, else he had not felt it bitter. Freedom of Speech is ever the Symptom, as well as the Effect of a good Government. In old Rome, all was left to the Judgment and Pleasure of the People, who examined the publick Proceedings with such Discretion, & censured those who administered them with such Equity and Mildness, that in the space of Three Hundred Years, not five publick Ministers suffered unjustly. Indeed whenever the Commons proceeded to Violence, the great Ones had been the Agressors. ... ... The best Princes have ever encouraged and Promoted Freedom of Speech; they know that upright Measures would defend themselves, and that all upright Men would defend them. ... ... I doubt not but old Spencer and his Son, who were the Chief Ministers and Betrayers of Edward the Second, would have been very glad to have stopped the Mouths of all the honest Men in England. They dreaded to be called Traytors, because they were Traytors. I dare say, Queen Elizabeth’s Walsingham, who deserved no Reproaches, feared none. Misrepressentation of publick Measures is easily overthrown, by representing publick Measures truly; when they are honest, they ought to be publickly known, that they may be publickly commended, but if they are knavish or pernicious, they ought to be publickly exposed, in order to be pubickly detested. Yours, &c, SILENCE DOGOOD. Who said Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation?Quote by Benjamin Franklin: “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation...”
Did Ben Franklin say Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation?“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.” “Security without liberty is called prison.”
Are the Silence Dogood letters real?Though the Silence Dogood letters are, in fact, a legitimate piece of American history, they are not housed at The Franklin Institute. From everything I have read online, the original letters no longer exist, though you can read their content here.
Where are the Silence Dogood letters located?The Silence Dogood Letters were found by John Adams Gates in an antique desk and donated by Patrick Henry Gates to the Franklin Institute.
|
