Life — August 7, 1913 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 222 This page contains a satirical dialogue titled "Sanctum Talks" between Professor Henri Bergson (a famous French philosopher who visited America) and an unnamed interlocutor. The joke hinges on Bergson's gratitude: he's thanked for inspiring "a new race of philosophers" in America—but the twist is that the American husbands he's allegedly influenced now neglect their wives because they're "playing golf, poker, or damning the stock market" instead of engaging in philosophy. The accompanying cartoon illustrates this contrast: one figure "ought to be happy" (presumably doing intellectual work) while the other "really is" (relaxing by water). The satire mocks how American materialism and leisure corrupted European intellectual ideals, and how men used philosophy as an excuse for idleness.