A Quote from Milton on his birthday

Today is John Milton's birthday and I heard a quote from him in The Writer's Almanac that I found very interesting.

In reaction to Parliament passing a law that required government approval of all published books, Milton wrote, "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."

The next time I hear some conservative christian get their panties in a knot about some kids book with same-sex parents being a public school, or anything comment that stinks of censorship, I want to them to think of Milton's quote.