Excerpt from Cato to Lord Byron on the Immorality of His Writings Ir will probably occasion you no surprise that a poet who disregards decency should subject himself to animadversion. In assuming the li berty of this address, I claim but a common and conceded privilege. An author's works (as you have yourself remarked*) are public pro perty. He who purchases may judge, and pub lish his opinion if he pleases. Generally speak ing, indeed, we content ourselves with a silent judgment; but when the moral sense of mankind is attempted to be perverted, and their religious opinions and feelings are held up to contempt, a mere silent judgment can no longer be rested in. Our duty then runs in a higher form, and, where offence is crying, reprehension becomes virtuous. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.