Life, 1903-11-05 · page 17 of 38
Life — November 5, 1903 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"A Bad Break"** (left): A philosophical dialogue satirizing pedantic argumentation. A man searching for absolute "Truth" compliments a woman's beauty, then gets trapped in circular logic when she questions whether beauty standards are universal. The joke: his attempt to flatter backfires when she exposes the relativity of aesthetic judgment. He retreats by calling her "not beautiful," ending the conversation—the satire mocks how rigorous logical debate can destroy social pleasantries. **"In New York"** (right): A brief joke about wealthy New Yorkers' materialism. Mrs. Tickerly asks about buying a church pew; Mr. Tickerly responds by asking if pew prices will "go up"—treating religious participation as a financial investment rather than spiritual commitment. The satire critiques treating church membership as a commodity. **The Old Masters reproduction** references an apparent caricature of Theodore Roosevelt ("Prince of Oyster Bay"), mocking his vanity and tendency toward self-promotion through constant photography and his conviction that he excelled at everything.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Bad Break. Ae t said to her: “Thope you are as good ax beautiful.” What makes you think Tam beautiful?” said the woman AN who was searching for the t in the course of his tain woman, and he * Because,” replied the man who was searching for Truth, “ by the standard of beauty thatexists among the people with whom I have been broughtup, you would have enough points to pass the examina jon with ease.” “But,” said the woman, who very inquisitive, “all this may be true of the know, but how about those on the other side of the world? cir standard of beauty wholly different, and ac cording to them, 1 wouldn't pass. Where, then, lies the Truth? “What you say ‘Truth, * was people whom you remarked the man who was searching for is, of course, true.” jutis it true said the woman. have s: “The mere fact that I d it, and that it strikes you as being trne, doesn't make it so.’ The man who was searching for Truth was struck with the ious subtleness of her reply so true,” he replied. { the other things were not true must be F at st “Yet, manifestly, if that is And if they are not are false, then the truth of true, th even your wise w T have be an help me if any man. In just the one for in my great now, let us begin at the beginning.” All right,” said the woman, ‘Very well,” said the man who was searching for Truth. “1 will take back what I said about your being beautiful. You ure not beautiful. Then the woman F Enough!" sh liar as y inaw ad.” The conversation of such a are ceases to interest me Tom Masson, In New York. RS. TICKERLY : Don’t you think we ought to buy a i pew in church this year, dear? TICKERL Do you think they'll go up? LIFES REPRODUCTION OF AMERICAN OLD MASTERS. (ny vensusstox YROM THE CATAL LERY, Yon TH THY NATIONAL PORTRAIT Gate YEAR 2000 a. v1 1—Tortrait of the young Prince of Oyster Bay. This remarkable Personage was bora to the purple, but renounced It in order to purity bis country, Having Snished that, his great hobby was to be photographed on horseback—thousands of such records being tn existence. There 1s some question as to whether he did not paint this masterpiece himself—on the theory that there was nothing, in bis own opinion, that he could not do, comicbooks.com