Life, 1895-09-12 · page 1 of 16
Life — September 12, 1895 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Modified Convictions" - Life Magazine, September 12, 1895 This cartoon satirizes the clergy's changing stance on bicycles. The caption shows a clergyman explaining to a woman that he'll now preach a "special bicycle sermon next Sunday," reversing his recent denunciation of wheels. The joke: Just weeks earlier, this same minister preached against bicycles (likely viewing them as morally corrupting or inappropriately liberating, especially for women). Now that "nearly every one in the parish has bought one," he's conveniently modified his religious convictions to match his congregation's purchasing habits. The satire mocks clerical hypocrisy—how religious leaders adapt moral teachings to social trends rather than maintaining consistent principles. It also reflects 1890s bicycle mania, when the vehicle was revolutionary and culturally controversial.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXVI. NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 12, 1895. ; NUMBER 663. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1895, by Mircuert & Mitter, SRICANY ¢ we SVM. gail f Ten ents “Copy MODIFIED CONVICTIONS. “TL THINK I WILL HAVE A SPECIAL BICYCLE SERMON NEXT SUNDAY.” “WHY, ONLY A FEW SUNDAYS AGO YOU PREACHED.A SERMON DENOUNCING THE WHEEL.” “YES, BUT SINCE THEN NEARLY EVERY ONE IN THE PARISH HAS BOUGHT ONE.” comicbooks.com