Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, once received the German scientist Baron Alexander von Humboldt in the White House. The baron saw a newspaper in the president's study filled with scurrilous abuse of him.
"Why are these libels allowed?" exclaimed the baron, picking up the paper. "Why is not this libelous journal suppressed, or its editor, at least, fined and imprisoned?"
"Put that paper in your pocket, Baron," said Jefferson, smiling, "and should you hear the reality of our liberty, the freedom of the press questioned, show them this paper, and tell them where you found it."*
湯瑪斯．傑佛遜是美國第三任總統，曾在白宮接見德意志科學家亞歷山大．馮．洪堡伯爵。馮．洪堡見傑佛遜書房裏有一分報紙，印滿漫罵傑佛遜的文字。
他拿起報紙，愕然說：「這樣的誹謗文字，怎麼可以發表？為什麼不把這分誹謗報紙禁了，或至少判處其編輯罰款並監禁？」
傑佛遜微笑着說：「伯爵，請把這分報紙放進你口袋裏。以後假如你聽見人家質疑我國的自由，質疑我國的出版自由，就請拿出來，並告訴他們這分報紙是在那裏見到的。」*
*馮．洪堡生於十九世紀帝王時代的歐洲；假如生於二十一世紀的新中國，一定會問：「為什麼不把報紙禁了，並把編輯及其家屬判處罰款並監禁，酷刑拷打，慢慢置之死地？」