Life, 1915-08-26 · page 31 of 48
Life — August 26, 1915 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Main Article ("Impartial? Never!"):** This essay critiques historian William Roscoe Thayer's claim that historians should be "impartial as a photographic plate." The author argues that truly impartial histories are dull and unread, citing how even intensely studied battles like Waterloo and Gettysburg have conflicting accounts from eyewitnesses. The piece suggests great English historians (Froude, Macaulay, Grote) were all partisan, and that interesting history requires passion like poetry—true impartiality is impossible and undesirable. **Top Cartoon:** Shows a man standing on furniture while a woman enters. His dialogue about "this thing slips" appears to reference his precarious balance or behavior; her response about being "used to your language" suggests marital discord or his crude speech. **Bottom Cartoon:** Labeled "The Nature-Lover Adds One More to His Collection of Wild Things," depicts a man at a door, seemingly collecting specimens—a satirical jab at amateur naturalists. **"Resolutions Against Nose-bags":** Mock-formal document from a "Work Horses' Union" protesting feed bags as unsanitary and calling for humane alternatives—satirizing both labor activism and sentimental animal welfare rhetoric.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: Impartial? Never! The historian must make himself as impartial as a photographic plate. —William Roscoe Thayer, in The Nation. D°s history, as written by historians, bear this out? Are not impartial historians the least read and the most uniformly dull? Perhaps our friend (who in his article acknowledges the power in histories of the story and the human elements) is inclined to make truth too important. The main facts about the Battle of Waterloo—a field visited and re- visited by able historians, and probably subjected to a closer scrutiny than any other battlefield in the world except Gettysburg—are still disputed. Gettysburg has been fully and minutely described by a considerable num- ber of soldiers on both sides who took actual part in the battle; yet any one who cares to read consecutively their various accounts must be astonished at their di- vergence. The chief benefit we derive from reading good history is about the same as we get from any good fiction, except that we have an additional pleasure in frequently dis- covering the truth to be the opposite of what the historian makes it out to be. Are there any greater names in the roll of English his- torians than Froude, Macaulay and Grote? Yet each of these is a rank partisan, The man who writes an inter- esting history must have much the same feeling about his work that a poet does when he writes poetry. Imagine any poet trying to write an impartial poem! Hiab wtly wing tytn “BETTER NOT STAND SO CLOSE, MARY; YOU MIGHT BE Hal lt | i SHOCKED IF THIS THING SLIPS” 1 1 | “WHY, OF COURSE I WON'T, GEORGE! YOU KNOW, I AM QUITE USED TO YOUR LANGUAGE” Resolutions Against Nose-bags A’ the regular meeting of the Work Horses’ Union, held last night, the following set of resolutions was passed by unanimous vote: Wuereas, the use of nose-bags for feeding work horses during lunch is becoming more and more common; and Whereas, the said nose-bags are unsanitary, uncom- fortable, inefficient and in many ways perilous to the health and well being of the said work horses; and Wuereas, it would be a simple matter to devise a substitute which would possess all the advantages of the nose-bag with none of its disadvantages; and Wuereas, human beings are wont to boast of a certain Virtuous sentiment which they call humane; therefore Be it resolved by the Work Horses’ Union, at a duly called meeting, that the said humane feeling of the said human beings be appealed to with a view to securing the immediate and total abolition of the said nose-bags. THE NATURE-LOVER ADDS ONE MORE TO HIS COLLECTION OF (Signed) A. Farturen Tuccer, President. WILD THINGS B. Stronc Hippos, Secretary. comicbooks.com