When people talk of the freedom of writing, speaking or thinking I cannot choose but laugh. No such thing ever existed. No such thing now exists but I hope it will exist. But it must be hundreds of years after you and I shall write and speak no more.

Summary

This quote expresses a cynical view on the idea of freedom of expression. The speaker finds it amusing when people discuss the existence of this freedom because, in their opinion, it has never truly existed. However, the speaker retains a glimmer of hope that such freedom will eventually come to exist, but not within their lifetime or the listener's. It suggests a pessimistic outlook on the current state of freedom and implies that true freedom of expression may be a distant goal to be achieved in the far future.