Life, 1915-05-06 · page 47 of 56
Life — May 6, 1915 — page 47: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a **book review in verse form** by Arthur Guiterman, satirizing the optimistic narrative of human progress through evolution. **The Satire's Point:** Guiterman traces mankind's supposed advancement from primitive lemurs through increasingly sophisticated ancestors (anthropoids, the "Missing Link," tool-makers, bronze-workers) to modern civilization. However, the final stanza delivers the punch: modern humans, despite claiming refinement and wisdom, use their evolutionary achievements not for noble purposes but to develop "blasting powder"—weapons of mass destruction. **The Joke:** The reviewer mocks both evolutionary optimists and the book itself by arguing that if we examine our origins honestly, we've only inherited our ancestors' brutish nature, merely perfecting instruments of violence. Our "progress" is illusory moral regression dressed in technological advancement. **Context:** This reflects pre-WWI (or interwar) anxieties about modern weaponry and questions whether civilization genuinely improves humanity or merely enables more efficient destruction. The page also contains period advertisements for tire and puncture-cure products—typical magazine filler.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Rhymed Reviews Prehistoric Man and His Story (By G. F. Scott Elliott, J. B. Lippin- cott Co.) Is days of old, as Science hints, A Lemur-monkey, shrewd and elfish, Evolved the art of using flints To smash the overcoats of shellfish. He left a son, an Anthropoid Who walked erect and didn’t stumble, And plucked a branch which he em- ployed To keep the other Monkeys humble. His child, the clever Missing Link With whom ethnologists connect us, Who mighty nearly learned to think, Was Pithecanthropus erectus. His progeny of either sex, Through ages ever climbing higher, Engendered Man the Artifex Who shaped a club and built a fire. Now Man, in yellows, browns and reds, Produced a mess of low-browed races Who passed and left their arrowheads And fossil bones in lots of places. Their brave descendants, full of zeal For Progress, made their contribu- tion Of swords and spears of bronze and steel To help the Course of Evolution. Overcomes Slow ra FR] Increases Tire Mileage, Tubes 3 be transerred to eee ves marek men capable of serare ramen and flaanelog or PNEUMATIC TIRE But we, their offspring, more refined As well as stronger, wiser, prouder, Elect to elevate our kind With sundry brands of blasting powder. This book will cheer the optimists, Because conclusively it shows from What horrid, shaggy egotists And primal reprobates we rose from. Arthur Guiterman, Motorists gladly pay the prices ‘S THE LONG MILEAGE IN LEE Pneumatic Tires that makes them worth the higher prices cheer- fully paid for them—the mileage and the guaranteed freedom from Puncture and Blow- out. Details of splendid materials and costly hand workmanship in new booklet “G.” Look up “Lee Tires” in your Telephone Directory. Distributors in all principal cities PUNCTURE-PROOF GUARANTEED LEE Tires PNEUMATIC NON-SKID PUNCTURE- PROOF ee LEE TIRE & RUBBER CO. Manufacturers of Rubber Goods Since 1883 CONSHOHOCKEN, PENNA.