Life, 1915-02-04 · page 18 of 44
Life — February 4, 1915 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains satirical commentary on early-20th-century social customs using cartoons and essays. **"Old Adages Disproved"** critiques the saying "two's company, three's a crowd." The essay argues this maxim no longer applies to modern life. For romance, the author sarcastically notes that three people are now standard—and frequently more when judges, juries, or referees become involved (a reference to divorce proceedings and breach-of-promise lawsuits, which were common scandal fodder). The cartoon showing a man with children illustrates the chaos of actual relationships versus the adage's romantic ideal. **"His Master's Vice"** appears to reference dead languages (Greek, Latin, Esperanto). The bottom illustration, captioned "Say, Mamma, maybe we feed him too much condensed milk," shows a child and mother with a barrel, likely satirizing modern parenting practices or commercial products marketed to families. The overall theme mocks outdated social conventions and naive assumptions about love and domesticity in a more complex modern age.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A | soreness XS: “ SAY, TOP, WHY DON'T YOU GO OUT IN THE KOAD WITH THE OTHER HORSES?" Old Adages Disproved HIS MASTER'S VICE Two’s Company; Three’s a Crowd. HIS statement is undoubtedly a slap at that person known as a gooseberry and it arose before the days of week-ends. It is high time, therefore, that its fal- lacies are exploded. In the first place, it is no longer true that two is company. -We no longer select just one other person for any purpose; certainly not for purposes of amusement or entertainment. If we want company we hire a comic opera, or induce a lot of people for whom we have no other respect except that they have a reputa- tion for being socially all right to come among us and tip our servants and absorb our nourishment. So far as love is concerned, two is certainly no longer company. At least three are necessary for every love affair dd usually this is likely to be increased at any moment by the addition of a judge, a jury, or a referee, in accordance with the social standing of the parties whose names are scheduled. THE dead languages—Greck, Latin and Esperanto. syns ‘ SAY, MAMMA, MAYRE WE “ILL BLOWS THE WIND WHICH PROFITS NOBODY” CONDENSED MILK”