Life, 1923-08-16 · page 36 of 36
Life — August 16, 1923 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Life magazine advertisement** for Prudential Insurance, not a political cartoon. It uses the classical story of Roman general Regulus—who kept his word and returned to Carthage to face execution despite being freed—as a moral parable for buying life insurance. The ad equates personal honor and faith-keeping with financial responsibility. The implicit argument: just as Regulus lived up to his word, modern men should honor their obligations to their families by purchasing life insurance. The closing tagline ("If Every Wife Knew What Every Widow Knows") appeals to wives' anxiety about financial security after their husbands' deaths. The illustration depicts Regulus advising Roman leaders, establishing his character as trustworthy and honorable—qualities the advertiser wants associated with Prudential's product. This is straightforward corporate advertising using classical virtue to sell insurance, not satire or political commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Regulus Lived Up To His Faith HE self-sacrifice of b ee is one of the great glories of his- tory. As the story goes, he was captured by the Carthaginians and held a slave for many years. Later he was sent back to Rome with instruc- tions to advise his country to sue for peace. If peace resulted, Regulus was to go free—if not he was to return to Carth- age and forfeit his life. The supposition was that the old Roman would advertise the power and strength of the African town and scare his own country into submission. But the supposition went wrong. Regulus urged Rome to fight on. Naturally his friends begged him to stay and not return to Carthage. “TI have given my word,” he replied, and went back to die. And yet, as Thackeray said: “Tis not the dying for a faith that is so hard, ’tis the living up to it.” In every home some modern Regulus is living up to the faith. In every home someone has given his word. Life insurance justifies faith and loyalty. Noman has any right to weaken or destroy any faith which he can not, or will not, replace with a loftier. THE PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA EDWARD D, DUFFIELD President HOME OFFICE: NEWARK New Jersey If Every Wife Knew What Every Widow Knows—Every Husband Would Be Insured comicbooks.com