According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a
censor was a magistrate in ancient Rome who organized a
census of the citizens and supervised public morality. This sense
of an authority overseeing the behavior of others is carried through
to our contemporary understanding of censors and censorship. Usually,
we think of the authority as an external force - an official representing
a government, a church, a school, or some other institution with
power. Less often, we think of the authority as an internal force,
acting as a silent censor. For instance, a writer, teacher, or
librarian might skirt certain topics to avoid overt challenges
from censors.
One form of censorship is book banning. Book banning
might be silent, as when books on certain topics are not published
or possibly not even written. The more obvious forms of book banning
involve efforts to prevent the transportation and circulation
of books. These books continue to exist, but access to them is
denied to certain populations. Books gain the attention of censors
because they are seen as threats that might undermine the power
and influence of a government, a religion, or sexual convention.
The act of censorship is often interpreted as an act of protecting
the innocent from danger.
What were some ancient examples of censorship
through book banning?
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