Life, 1913-04-10 · page 18 of 48
Life — April 10, 1913 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Main Content:** The page features a poem by Clinton Scollard about a Roman poet commemorated on his sarcophagus. It's a meditation on mortality and legacy—the speaker admires the carved relief of the ancient poet but notes that while his image endures, posterity will likely forget modern poets after two thousand years. **The Cartoons:** 1. **Top right**: A reproduction of an old print depicting Aaron and Moses performing miracles before Pharaoh (biblical reference). 2. **Middle left**: A domestic scene where a mother threatens her naughty son Johnny with no supper, but he responds by asking about medicine he must take after meals—a cheeky deflection of the punishment. 3. **Bottom right**: Titled "Down in Front," showing a large goose confronting smaller ducks—likely a joke about theater etiquette, where someone blocking others' view is told to sit down. **Tone:** This is typical *Life* magazine fare—literary content mixed with gentle domestic humor and visual gags, appealing to educated, middle-class readers of the early 20th century.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
730 A Roman Poet (On a Slab of His Sarcophagus) GEMPRONIOUS, once a poet you— Thus on your tomb the carven writing; Your praisers knew (or thought they knew) The truth of what they were in- diting. Above, you sit in fine relief, (Indeed you could not be much clearer!) Reciting lines or long or brief To some appreciative hearer. I like your pose; I like your nose; (You might have been a trifle fat- ter!) I might have liked your verse (or prose!) But that is quite another matter. You're dead and gone two thousand years; Your dust—it would be hard to place it; No doubt with many sighs and tears Was ordered this deep-cut Hic Jacet. Two thousand years! Ah, fate is kind To you,—these lines applausive show it;— Bard of to-day, what eye will find Above you thus—He was a poet! Clinton Scollard. “YYHAT would we do with Mexico FROM LIPE'S COLLECTION OF OLD PRINTS __if we got it? AARON AND MOSES PERFORM MIRACLES BEFORE PHARAOH “Why, send it to the laundry, ot course.” “JOHNNY, YOU'RE A NAUGHTY BOY. YOU CAN JUST CO TO BED WITHOUT ANY SUPPER.” “WELL, MOTHER, WHAT ABOUT THAT MEDICINE I'VE COT TO TAKE AFTER MEALS?” “DOWN IN FRONT” comicbooks.com