Excerpt from Sin and Society; An Analysis of Latter-Day Iniquity: With a Letter From President Roosevelt This book deals with sin, but it does not entreat the sinner to mend his ways. It seeks to influence no one in his conduct. It does seek to influence men in their attitude toward the con duct of others. Its exhortation is not Be good, but Be rational. To modify conduct one touches the heart. To modify the judgments on con duct one speaks to the intellect. The latter is the method of this book. Its aim is to enlighten rather than to move. In praising or blaming each of us exerts a power over his fellows. When the praises or blames of many men run together, they become a torrent no one can withstand. Why let this moral power run to waste? Why not use this public opinion to protect our dearest possessions? In its reactions against wrong-doing the public is childishly naive and sentimental. It is con tent with the surface look of things. It lays emphasis where emphasis was laid centuries ago. It beholds sin in a false perspective, seeing peccadillos as crimes, and crimes as peccadillos. 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.