Being frequently censur'd and condemn'd by different Persons for printing Things which they say ought not to be printed, I have sometimes thought it necessary to make a standing Apology for myself and publish it once a Year to be read upon all Occasions of that nature. . .
I request all who are angry with me on Account of printing things they don't like calmly to consider these following Particulars
1. That the Opinions of Man are almost always as various as their Faces . . .
2. That the Business of Printing has chiefly to do with Men's Opinions; most things that are printed tending to promote some, or opposite others . . .
4. That it is unreasonable to any one Man or Set of Men to expect to be please'd with everything that is printed. . .
5. Printers are educated in the Belief that when Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have advantage of being heard by the Publik; and that when Truth and Error have fair play, the former is always overmatch for the latter. . .
8. That if all printers were determine'd not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed. . .
Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Editor
The Pennsylvania Gazatte, 1729-1748
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