A Mirror for Fools: An Illustrated Alphabet of Religious Satire

Our purpose is threefold: first, to visually introduce an historical character who contributed to the practice of humor and satire in cartoon form. Second, we offer a bit of doggerel to tease some aspect of the person. Third, we settle down and provide a bit of context for the illustration and the verse. Like Horace’s dulce et utile, we hope to teach and delight simultaneously. A mix of verse and illustration and commentary is meant to send readers back to the sources, to the rich, varied tradition of wit and humor being used for moral and spiritual reform. It then serves as that mirror that shows the reader his or her face, even as the authors recognize the marks of folly in their own. (Terry Lindvall & John Lawing)