Life, 1886-04-22 · page 12 of 16
Life — April 22, 1886 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 236 — Satirical Content Explained This page contains several unrelated satirical pieces targeting social pretension and foolishness: **"Benefit of a Classical Education"**: A father asks his son to translate the Latin phrase "Sic transit gloria mundi" (thus passes the glory of the world). The boy misinterprets it as "See the glorious Transit Monday"—confusing a profound statement about mortality with a reference to a streetcar line. The satire mocks both the boy's ignorance and the father's pride in such poor understanding. **"A Prompt Answer"**: A Sunday School teacher asks what Jesus did with children who came to him; a boy shouts "He took them to the circus!" The joke ridicules children's prioritization of entertainment over religion. **The "Fables"**: Absurdist moral tales—a rabbit exploits kindness by stealing everything; a groundhog fakes death to hear flattering funeral praise, then becomes a vain "dude." These mock human vanity and dishonesty. **Bottom cartoon**: Shows a boy sleeping on fertilizer bags with comedic physical consequences—simple slapstick humor about truancy's unfortunate results. Overall, the page satirizes human foolishness across classes and ages.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: BENEFIT OF A CLASSICAL EDUCATION. Father: JOWN, MY BOY, YOU HAVE BEEN STUDYING LATIN SOME TIME ; TRANSLATE THIS FOR ME, S/C TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI. John (readily): SEE THE GLORIOUS TRANSIT MONDAY. Father (proudly): OF COURSE, AND QUITE LIKE ENGLISH, TOO. WE MUST N'T FAIL TO SEE IT, JOHN, EITHER. A PROMPT ANSWER. HILE there is a circus in town very few children get excited over religious matters. Last Sunday Deacon Bucrag, a good man, but rather a crude talker, addressed the Sunday School. “ Dear children,” he began, plunging at once into his sub- ject, “ Jesus said, ‘ Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.’ Now, dear children, the little ones came to him in large numbers, and in—in their mother’s arms, and he took them and—and, now can any of you tell me what Jesus did with all those dear little -chil- dren?” “He took them to the circus,” vociferated a small boy near the door. FABLES FOR THE TIMES. THE UNFORTUNATE RABBIT, HALF-STARVED Rabbit went to the house ofa fat Horse and asked for something to eat. “Just walk into the kitchen and help yourself to anything that you see,” said the good-natured Horse. The Rabbit then went into the kitchen and carried off the stove, the bread-tray, the table, a barrel of flour and a nice dinner. MorRAL: This Fable teaches that choosers are not apt to be beggars if you give them a chance to choose. THE CUNNING GROUNDHOG. N estimable old Groundhog, wishing to ascertain the opinions of the neighbors about himself, had a bogus congestive chill and, falling on the ground, pretended to be dead. He was buried on the following day, but scratched his way out of the grave, and went in disguise to hear his own funeral sermon preached. The discourse was so com- plimentary that the Groundhog was puffed up with vanity; and, having bought a cane and an eye-glass, he became a dude. MorAL: This Fable teaches the danger of flattery. ODE TO SPRING! AIL! Spring, thou weakener. Now is our back most limp. Our tottering and uncertain legs Do ill support the nerveless Trunk above them. Our swaying Neck succumbs beneath The empty head it carries. The brain hath gone a-fishing. Those muscles that have functioned In a seemly way thro’ winter's Cold become like wetted rags. And now the young man’s fancy lightly Turns to tonics ; Teutonics To their beer. “ THROUGH BY DAYLIGHT’—The house breaker. FARMER BEETROOT’S BOY, TOMMY, PLAYED *‘ HOOKEY” THE OTHER DAY, AND STOLE AWAY TO THE BARN WHERE HE FELL ASLEEP ON SOME BAGS OF PATENT FERTILIZER, WITH THE ABOVE ASTOUNDING RESULT. comicbooks.com