On Liberty
EditionOriginal English text, 1859 (from a Walter Scott Co. reprint)
Mill’s short, fierce case for freedom of thought and the limits of society’s power over the individual.
Also in the library: the complete Korean translation.
Anyone can read the first chapter. Join free to read to the end and download EPUB and PDF.
DRM-free files. Translation CC BY-NC 4.0; the original work is in the public domain.
About the book
On Liberty asks one question: how far may society, by law or by the pressure of opinion, rightly control the individual? Mill’s answer is a single principle, that power may be used against someone’s will only to prevent harm to others, and he defends it chapter by chapter: the liberty of thought and discussion, the value of individuality, the limits of social authority, and its application to cases from trade to drink.
This is the complete text of 1859, with Mill’s dedication to Harriet Taylor Mill, his Humboldt epigraph, and his own footnotes. It matches our complete Korean translation chapter for chapter. One error of the reprint used, a dropped “never,” is corrected.
Highlights
- Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
- the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.
Contents
Anyone can read up to the first chapter. Chapters with a lock are open to free members.
Colophon
Original English text, 1859 (from a Walter Scott Co. reprint). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.Full colophon
On Liberty
Author · John Stuart Mill (1806–1873)
First publication · 1859, John W. Parker and Son, West Strand, London.
Source text · A public-domain digital transcription of the London reprint published by the Walter Scott Publishing Co. (the Scott Library, about 1901), which reproduces the text of 1859.
Extent · Complete and unabridged · the dedication and epigraph, and five chapters · about 48,000 words
Copyright · The author died in 1873; the work is in the public domain worldwide.
This edition · The original English text, edited for Ether Library. The text itself is in the public domain. Ether Library’s editor’s note, this colophon, and the cover design are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Edition · English edition 1.0 · October 2026
Typography · Set in Lora (SIL Open Font License 1.1). Cover painting and design by Ether Library.
Text in the public domain · Front and back matter CC BY-NC 4.0
Ether Library · No. 0004