Life — March 9, 1916 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Explanation for Modern Readers This page from *Life* magazine contains three distinct pieces of satire: 1. **"The Fable of the Pacific Porcupines"** (top): A poem by Arthur Guiterman mocking pacifists who proposed abolishing quills and spines as defense. The porcupines represent peace advocates; the satire suggests their disarmament proposals are naïve—animals need their defensive tools. 2. **George Eliot Memorial** (middle-left): Commentary on a planned museum dedicated to the deceased female author. The piece critiques how dead authors' popularity fades while magazines and publishers struggle to adapt to modern taste. 3. **"Justice"** (right): A philosophical essay arguing that "justice" is indefinable—like many abstract concepts, it resists exact lexicographical definition, though we intuitively understand it. The humor relies on wordplay and social observation rather than visual caricature.