In The Tempest, Caliban urges Trinculo and Stefano not only to kill Prospero, but also to burn the library that the humanist brought with him into exile: "The burning of books is, ultimately, the burning of human beings." One would accordingly assume that the burning of books—meaning organized and prolonged terrorism against the life of the intellect—is an important subject of research in history and political science. Caliban's calendar has many entries. The first great book burning of the Western world was probably the destruction of the Jewish library during the revolt of the Macabeans in 168 AD. The first Roman emperors ordered the writings of republican spokesmen burned, together with all prophecies and oracle books. Diocletian and Constantine competed in the burning first of Christian and then of heathen literature. The chapter considers history; the contemporary extermination of carriers of illnesses and epidemics hostile to the prevailing political system; and the liquidation of the subject.