If we examine how frequently books were destroyed - especially by burning - in the centuries before the American Republic, we can understand why protecting freedom of expression was a first precept in creating the legal foundations of American society. (The linked painting, "St. Dominic and the Albigenses," was created by Pedro Berruguete in 1480 and is now owned by the Prado Museum in Madrid.)

Written thoughts on clay tablets, animal skins (scrolls) and papyrus were early forms of "books." For thousands of years before the printing press, scholars wrote and scribes copied "books" by hand. Sometimes it took a year or more to write, or copy, one manuscript. Often these works were beautifully illuminated with stunning pictures and brightly colored letters. Using our world of cyber evidence, we can actually examine some of those ancient writings which scribes sought to protect from certain destruction by conquering enemies or dictating governments.