Life — March 19, 1908 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "The New Plato" Page This page presents "The Bridge Player," a Platonic dialogue where Socrates questions Protagoras and Hippocrates about Bridge—a card game that was apparently becoming culturally significant enough to merit philosophical treatment. The satire mocks the pretension of treating a parlor game with serious philosophical weight. The dialogue humorously debates whether Bridge teaching requires payment, whether it leads to Virtue, and the distinction between Bridge skill and actual Virtue itself. The bottom cartoon, "Flesh and the Devil," appears unrelated—a separate satirical illustration about temptation. The overall joke: elevating a mere card game to the status of ancient Greek philosophical inquiry, poking fun at both Bridge's cultural importance and contemporary intellectual pretension.