349:. Only at one point in this book does he change his stance from his previous work, and that is only "half unwillingly" he thinks that writers who "with their filthy imagination attempts to awaken impure desires in his readers", these individuals should be sentenced "a fitting punishment". His "half unwillingness" for this stems from the fact that he sees "what the result would be, of such a power administered by the judges of geniuses, and how easily such a power can be abused most savagely... And yet, all art and beauty be damned, if it misleads just a single person to stray from the path of virtue".
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third Sunday. He did express regret at not being within easy reach of the literary means of the capital, but he learned to pass his time thinking instead. It became his habit to first think a subject matter through in his mind before reading what others had written about it. He especially worked on the problem about the
203:(July 1790). His answer to the question in the title was affirmative, provided that the privileges of nobility is an injustice and that the burgher can become "that which at present only the nobility is, without upsetting society as a whole". The article was soon translated into German and a reviewer of the
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But
Birckner does not only demand freedom to write about the affairs of government, he also demands freedom of speech in matters of religion. He shows that the way to achieve insight into the "moral truths" can only happen by discussing it in the open. However Birckner does propose some limits on the
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The journey to his new position had incurred a coughing sickness which over time became very serious. His income was very low, and he often suffered from want so badly that he at one time considered giving up the chaplaincy in favour of a position as a teacher and letting his wife contribute to the
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His struggle for freedom of speech was not looked upon favorably in government circles. Nevertheless, he was appointed vicar of
Vemmelev and Hammershøj on the 28 November, 1798, an appointment that would have meant the end of his poverty. But this royal grace came too late, his illness had become
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Birckners stay at FĂśhr did not turn out to be as desolate as he and his friends had feared. He passed his time with studies, social visits and a pursuit to "form a young man into a productive citizen". The inhabitants of the island was pleased by his "philosophical" preachings which he held every
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Birckner had already begun working on a collected edition of his works prior to his death. This collection was to include all his writings except the two anonymous tracts against bishop Balle. He did manage to publish three volumes of this collection, and the fourth volume was published in 1800
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In this book he claims the importance of freedom of press as a powerful means of putting ideas into circulation and thereby enlighten the monarch of things that he would otherwise have been ignorant of. He also writes about it being a "revolution from above", when a "noble and patriotic" man,
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lethal and he died the 1st of
December the same year. His contribution to Danish literature was first acknowledged after his death. His friends praised his character and 2100 subscribers signed up for the first edition of his collected works. Furthermore, they collected 2500
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However his real struggle for freedom of the press was not carried out anonymously. He had already previously shown that the Danish laws regarding this subject did not allow for a complete freedom of the press. It was to achieve this goal that he published his major work
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because he had to preach twice every Sunday instead of once every third Sunday. But after making the move, little by little his sentiments changed. He regularly was present by the dinner table of the vicar
Frederik Plum, who later became bishop of
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These ideas met opposition from several contemporary writers. Some thought
Birckner went too far in his support of free speech, while others thought there should be no limits whatsoever. This prompted Birckner to publish his
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of
Birckner (a work which had 2.100 subscribers at the beginning of its publication, a very high figure in Danish literary history). Furthermore, he translated the book into German and it was printed in the German periodical
253:, and Birckner found company with which to share his spiritual and philosophical sentiments. It was at the Plums that he met Henriette Christine Hornemann, the daughter of vicar Jacob Hornemann, sister of the philosopher
293:, 1796) to the authorities for infringing the press laws, Birckner anonymously published a small tract which criticised the bishop for playing the part of head of police instead of minding his ecclesiastical pursuits.
305:"brimming with feelings for the general good of man", at once appear among the powerful and without restraint "sacrifices his own splendor and absolutism". These words were aimed at the reigning crown prince
172:. He wanted a position as a priest, but he disliked the parlors of the rich and powerful, so he did not achieve a call until 1790. The position was as a German minister on the isolated island of
317:, that is urging the people to overthrow the constitution of the state or in other ways oppose the actions of the government with physical force. Neither, Birckner says, should it be allowed to
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But neither his sickness nor his poverty prevented him from continuing his philosophical endeavours. When the bishop of
Zealand Nicolai Balle Edinger had reported the poet
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had incurred in Danish debate. In his solitude he expressed his thoughts on the matter in writing and the first of his many treaties on the subject was published in the
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The book became a bestseller in
Denmark-Norway. A second revised and improved edition appeared the same year, and a third printing was made for the first volume of the
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345:("Videre Undersøgelser om Trykkefriheden og dens Love") the following year (1798). His response is especially aimed at the criticism posed by professor
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Ueber die
Preszfreiheit und ihre Gesetze, von dem Verfasser selbst aus dem Dänischen ßbersetzt, durchgesehen und herausgegeben von C.J.R. Christiani
140:. At age three, he lost his mother Anna Marie (born Wiborg), and half a year later his father, brickmason Johan Michael Birckner, died. The city
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the private affairs of a man in his home, something which has no public interest and it violates the private sphere of the individual.
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The following year he was surprised to learn that his friends had petitioned on his behalf for the
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and prefaced by an account of the last days of
Birckner written by dean Frederik Carl Gutfeld (
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The collected works of Michael Gottlieb Birckner (in Danish) in PDF-format can be found on
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120:, 1973) shows that Birckners ideas was akin to ideas that Scottish-American philosopher
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and its limits, which among other things the recent conviction of the satiric poet
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took in the orphan, and in due time Birckner graduated from the city's
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The titlepage to the second and extended edition of Birckners
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An answer to the question: Should the nobility be suppressed?
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An answer to the question: Should the nobility be suppressed?
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Further Reflections on the Freedom of Press and its Laws
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that was donated to his grieving widow and children.
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152:degree in 1784. He had also spent his time at the
261:household by letting her serve as a chambermaid.
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126:Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Government
431:Scandinavia in the Revolutionary Era 1760-1815
96:Birckner especially explored the subject of
408:, Juristforbundets Forlag, 1973, p. 202.
301:("Om Trykkefriheden og dens Love", 1797).
89:(21 August 1756 â 1 December 1798) was a
66:Learn how and when to remove this message
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207:(1792, p. 1899) praised it highly.
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29:This article includes a list of general
433:, University of Minnesota Press, 1986.
299:On the Freedom of the Press and its Law
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136:Michael Gottlieb Birckner was born in
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168:like a native and he wrote verses in
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395:H. Arnold Barton, 1986, p. 242.
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