Milton, nevertheless, had received his marching orders, and on November 24, 1644, appeared "Areopagitica; a Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing": itself unlicensed.
The "Areopagitica" is by far the best known of Milton's prose writings, being the only one whose topic is not obsolete.

It is also composed with more care and art than the others.

Elsewhere he seeks to overwhelm, but here to persuade.

He could without insincerity profess veneration for the Lords and Commons to whom his discourse is addressed, and he spares no pains to give them a favourable opinion both of his dutifulness and his reasonableness.

More than anywhere else he affects the character of a practical man, pressing home arguments addressed to the understanding rather than to the pure reason.