Life, 1887-03-31 · page 1 of 16
Life — March 31, 1887 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Advantages of Religious Training" This 1887 *Life* cartoon satirizes religious hypocrisy. A well-dressed gentleman (Mr. S.) confronts a poorly-dressed boy swinging on Mr. Brown's gate. The caption presents the boy's justification: he dismisses Mr. Brown's property rights and his servants' concerns, claiming religious training gives him moral authority to disregard others' possessions and authority. The satire targets wealthy individuals who claim religious virtue while behaving selfishly—ignoring their social obligations to respect others' property and station. The elegantly-dressed man represents the educated class invoking religious training as cover for arrogant entitlement. The cartoon mocks the disconnect between professed Christian values (respecting others' property) and actual privileged behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
¢ “VOLUME Ix. NEW YORK, MARCH 3], 1887. Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1887, by Mircustt & Minur. | | THE ADVANTAGES OF RELIGIOUS TRAINING. Mr. S.: SEE HERE, MY BOY, MR. BROWN DOESN'T LIKE YOU TO SWING ON HIS GATE. Precocious Boy, who has lately been to Sunday School; Wett, 1 DON'T CARE FOR MR. BROWN, NOR HIS ee: i MAN-SERVANT, NOR HIS MAID-SERVANT, NOR HIS OX, NOR HIS ASS, NOR ANYTHING THAT IS HIS. i} } | H J comicbooks.com