The self-righteous can rejoice today, feeling confident in bowdlerizing what they find offensive in works of art. In the words of one of the world's most famous and unofficial censors, Thomas Bowdler, "Many words and expressions occur which are of so indecent a nature as to render it highly desirable that they should be erased."
Thomas Bowdler, born July 11, 1754, was a doctor before he turned to extracting disease from text. One of Bowdler's main targets was Shakespeare, which he "cleansed" by removing what he designated as indecent words. The result was 10 volumes of "The Family Shakespeare." Bowdler even changed one of the most recognized lines from "Macbeth" from "Out, damned spot! out, I say!" to "Out, crimson spot!" What words would you remove from our everyday language if you could?
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