Life, 1909-02-18 · page 10 of 32
Life — February 18, 1909 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical article uses a comic strip sequence to illustrate how lies escalate and spread. The text describes seven progressive stages: from an initial "fib" (transparent lie) through increasingly elaborate deceptions involving "subtler sort" fabrications, "untruth," and finally reaching complete "bold-faced, black, audacious, odious lie." The accompanying comic panels depict figures engaged in various deceptive scenarios. The article references specific examples—mentioning President Roosevelt's visit to the White House and police arresting murderers—to ground the satire in contemporary events. The bottom illustration labeled "Even in Those Days" suggests that dishonesty in authority was historically persistent. The piece critiques how liars continuously change methods while targeting different audiences, ultimately mocking institutional hypocrisy and the ease with which deceptions gain acceptance in society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Seven Stages of a Lie All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances And one man in his time plays many parts, The worst of which is that he acts the lie, The act having seven stages, First the fib; An artless thing, transparent as the air. Essays he next deceit of subtler sort, Involving something of malign intent, But nowise dangerous, Fabrication flext He tries, with just enough of truth therein To give it virtuous semblance. Craftier still, He next employs two untruths so disposed ‘That seemingly they make a truth. And then, Grown bolder. tries prevarication bald, Daringly trusting to a storm of words To breed forgetfulness. The sixth stage shifts The action into falsehood yet adorned By some last vestiges of decency And sense of honor. Last of all the lie; ‘The bold-faced, black, audacious, odious lie: The brazen, villainous, blank-blanked, slanderous lie ns shame, sans decency Willodore Shakesvelt ans base Methods O one is interested in fooling all of the people all of the time. That theory of government was exploded long ago. But the real difficulty lies between the two schools, viz as to whether it is better to fool all of the people some of the time, or some of the people all of the time. The objection Lies THROUGH THICK AND THIN to the first is that you have to keep changing your methods; to the second, that you have to keep changing people. Neither is to be highly commended. There is, however, an obvious advantage in fooling all of the people some of the time. The results are correspondingly large, and the probability is that you need not repeat the operation. Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Carnegie, for example, fooled all of the people some of the time. Now they can rest on their laurels. If they had started to fool some of the people all the time, they would have still been at the same old game. In our opinion, their method is the better. It makes a clean job of it at the start, and gives enough time afterward to devote to philanthropy and magazine articles. are visit- White HE Till ing at the ans House. There was nothing about President Roosevelt in yes terday’s World A man in a last New York: Thursday and off treet car morning got up fered his seat to 2 lady Concerning the murders committed in New York last week, the police will ar- he murderers and bring to a speedy trial. Chauncey Depew has re signed Out of considera the con of the men, ladies have de- cided hereafter ‘only small hats. Last Sunday Trinity Church Corporation sub- scribed five dollars to charity Congressional appropria- tions for the coming year will be only a small part of the nation’s income. on for = to wear fort and well being 5 Se - THE NATUKE STUDENT SEEMS TO HAVE AS TO THE TRUTHFULNESS OF EVEN IN THOSE DAYS MAD DIFFICULTY IN CONVINCING ONE IN AUTHORITY MIS STATEMENTS comicbooks.com