Life, 1916-09-28 · page 35 of 41
Life — September 28, 1916 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon "Improving the Mind":** This is satirical social commentary, not political. A woman rejects a man's marriage proposal, then asks him to help her up—illustrating the essay's point: while physical improvement is measurable (the text uses the example of a weakling gaining strength to carry a safe upstairs), mental improvement is subjective and unreliable. The joke suggests that education and "self-improvement" don't guarantee better judgment or character. **"Lacking One":** An allegorical fable where three personified qualities—Intelligence, Knowledge, and Judgment—gift a baby with their combined abilities. Years later, they discover he hasn't achieved distinction despite their help. Judgment reveals he *withdrew* early because he disagreed with being outvoted by the other two. The moral: Intelligence and Knowledge without sound Judgment fail; Judgment must remain present to guide their application. **The Advertisements:** Standard period ads for Cascade Whisky and Vafiadis Cigarettes (imported from Cairo).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“WELL, IF YOU WON'T MARKY ME, WILL YOU PLEASE HELP ME TO MY FEET AGAIN? Improving the Mind O infallible method of improving the mind has yet been discovered. That is because we cannot agree on what constitutes an improvement in this intangible department of our human assets. We can do lots of things to the mind, and we can see it undergo changes, but we can never be sure that those changes make the mind better or worse. Not so with the body. If we take a worn-out consumptive and, by a diligent course of physical culture, build him up so that he can carry a safe up to the fourth floor we can be absolutely certain that his body has been improved. But who has not seen many a mind, fitted with all the modern improvements, which by fool- ish caprices still continues to lead its possessor into difficulties and embar- rassments? ie PURE WHISKY & to teres of that. to faolate thas GEO. A. DICKEL & CO, Disillers Nashville, Tenn. +B aa CLOGS Barveyed lo the Household ofp clive the Imperal Could etre ht il dines Bie Philip of Saxe: Koha, ba Minperal 2 ele ele. ep clubs and the general ‘messes of India, Burmah and Canada ( ics hase Americans who have smoked our “afiadis (Vah-fee-ah-dis) Cigarettes, abroad” may now obtain them in the Uuted Slates — because fo Liggett & Myers Tobacco Vip who. ipo theme have also ID) given thé sole righf to mmamusfactiire them from our Cairo formula ali odoro Vafiadis & Ca IMBAY-LONDON RANGOON'CARO) i i Ta ! i MI NTELLIGENCE, Knowledge and Judgment were strolling along one day when they came to a young baby sleeping by the roadside. “Here's a chance to do some good,” said Intelligence. “ That youngster appears to be a splendid specimen of humanity. Suppose we serve him during his lifetime.” “All of us?” asked Judgment. “Why not?” said Knowledge. “By combining we shall be able to produce a very superior person. I second the motion.” Some moments later, when the baby rubbed his eyes upon a new world, he found himself equipped with Intelligence, Knowledge and Judgment. Many years later the three were again out for a stroll. “By the way,” said Knowledge, as they came to a spot at the roadside, remember that long ago we three agreed to serve a certain youngster?" “Perfectly,” said Intelligence. “The curious thing about it all is that, although he is a perfectly good human being and respected by all, he has never amounted to much— has never acquired that supreme distinction which he should have received with us three backing him up.” Judgment was silent. They both turned to him. “How do you account for it?” they asked. “T account for it quite simply,” said Judgment. “I agreed temporarily to go in with you and serve him because there was a majority against me. But it didn’t seem to me fair that he should have so much, so I, after a little, quictly withdrew and left him to be served by only you two.” “do you comicbooks.com