New Morality, cartoon
TitleNew Morality, cartoon
ReferenceFRAMED/060
Date
1 Aug 1798
Production date 1798-08-01 - 1798-08-01
Scope and ContentFull title: New Morality; - or - The promis'd Installment of the High-Priest of the Theophilanthropes, with the Homage of Leviathan and his Suite
James Gillray, Published August 1st 1798. by J. Wright No. 169 Piccadilly, for the Anti-Jacobin Magazine & Review, Engraving (coloured and uncoloured impressions).
Folding pl. (also issued separately) to the Anti-Jacobin Review and Magazine, i. 115, facing a quotation (32 11.) from Canning's 'New Morality' (Anti-Jacobin, 9 July 1798), which is also etched beneath the plate, prefixed with the additional lines :
-''behold!
"The Directorial Lama, Sovereign Priest-
"Lepaux-whom Atheists worship-at whose nod
"Bow their meek heads-the Men without a God!
The quotation ends: "In puffing and in spouting, praise Lepaux!-Vide Anti-Jacobin"
The design closely follows the poem; the Jacobin Clubs have installed Larevelliere-Lepeaux, protected by 'Buonaparte's victor fleet', 'The holy Hunch-back in thy Dome, St Paul': indicated by the bases of three great pillars. He stands in profile to the l. on a three-legged stool before the altar, and is approached by a fantastic procession of English Jacobins who 'wave their Red Caps'. He reads from a book, Religion de la N[ature], his r. forefinger raised admonishingly. He is surrounded by four hideous, subhuman creatures, two with short tails, who, as news-boys, cry their respective papers: one has the "Morning Post-Forgeri L'éclair", its columns headed "Puf, Puff, Puf". Facing him is the vendor of the Morning Chronicle, its three columns headed "Lies, Blasphemy, Sedition", and above each is written a lire. These two blow their horns. A sansculotte in enormous jack-boots holds up a paper torch inscribed Courier ; his papers are inscribed French Paper. His vis-a-vis holds a torch inscribed Star, whose flame is star-shaped. Two have Bloody News on the front of their caps. These are
"Couriers and Stars, Sedition's Evening Host,
"Thou Morning Chronicle, and Morning Post,
The group is on a circular stone dais supporting the altar, on which stand three figures on bases inscribed respectively (l. to r.) Justice, Philanthropy, Sensibility: (1) A frenzied hag ('The avenging angel of regenerate France'), with the snaky locks of Discord, holds a dagger in each hand; her breasts hang to her belt, which is inscribed Egalite; she tramples on the sword and scales of Justice. (2) A stout woman clasps a globe on which Europe, Asia, and Africa are indicated, squeezing it out of shape. (She 'glows with the general love of all mankind'.) She tramples upon papers: "Ties of Nature” and "Amor Patriae". (3) A weeping woman looks down at a dead bird in her r. hand ; in her l. is a book Rosseau [sic]; she tramples on the decollated head of Louis XVI. She illustrates the lines (not quoted) on 'Sweet Sensibility' (mourning for 'the widow'd dove'). A pillar beside the altar is encircled with the names of "Voltaire", "Robertspierre", "Mireabeau". Against the altar step (r.) lies a bundle of three books, two being Common Prayer and Holy Bible, tied up with a tricolour scarf inscribed "pour les Commodites". Next it is a sack bulging with church plate, including a chalice and mitre ; this is "Philanthropic Requisition". Poets head the procession, carrying and escorting a large "Cornucopia of Ignorance" from which pour papers and pamphlets; Southey, with an ass's head and hoofs, kneels beside it in obeisance to Lepeaux, holding out Southeys Saphics; his Joan of Arc protrudes from his pocket. Coleridge, also with an ass's head, holds out Coleridge Dactylic[s]. Two little ragged men (with a third who is partly hidden) support the cornucopia, convolutions of which are inscribed Critical Review, Monthly Review, Analytical Review. Their bonnets-rouges have the dangling bells of a fool's cap. Two frogs squat beside the cornucopia holding up a large paper: Blank Verse by Todd & Frog [Blank Verse by Charles Lloyd and Charles Lamb, 1798]. They are the 'five other wandering bards': "C----dge and S—th—y, L--d and L--b and Co". With these (and next Coleridge) Lord Moira (not mentioned in 'The New Morality', but a butt of the Anti-Jacobin) stands stiffly in profile, offering his sword to Lepeaux, and holding out a paper: "Relief for Irish Philanthropists". Behind the cornucopia is a man supporting a basket on his head containing plants, on each of which sprouts a bonnet-rouge. It is labelled Zoonomia or Jacobin Plants (an appropriate offering to the botanist Lepeaux). He is Darwin (not caricatured in 'The New Morality'), whose "Loves of the Plants" had been parodied in the Anti-Jacobin. The last of the literary group are Priestley and Wakefield, each holding a pen and paper; the former, from whose pocket projects a paper, "Inflam[mable] Air", holds out "Priestley's Political Sermons". The other partly conceals his face with "Wakefield's answer to Llanda[ff]". In his Reply . . . (1798) to Watson's Address . . . he welcomed the prospect of a French invasion. The papers pouring from the cornucopia are Envy / Lies / Wilful Perversi[on] / Abuse / Ignorance. It has disgorged a pile of pamphlets which lie in the foreground at the altar step. Behind Priestley advances Leviathan, with the head of the Duke of Bedford, a barbed hook through his nose: "Thou in whose nose by Burke's gigantic hand \ The hook was fix'd to drag thee to the land", an allusion to the "Letter to a Noble Lord". The monster has a gigantic ear, a scaly body whose convolutions support a paunch and thighs terminating in a forked tail; it is on the edge of waves in which its followers are swimming. On its neck sits Thelwall, spattered with dirt, holding out "Thelwalls Lectures". Across its broad back straddle Fox, Tierney, and Nicholls, all wearing their bonnets-rouges; from the pockets of the two last issue respectively Tierney's Address and Nicols Speec[hes]. In the water swims Erskine, pen in hand, holding "Causes of the War 132nd Edit" [his Causes and Consequences of the War with France, 1798, rapidly went through forty-five editions]. Behind him floats a barrel, "Whitbreads intire"; it contributes to 'the yeasty main'. Immediately behind it is Norfolk, holding up a frothing glass, with a paper in his r. hand: "Whig Toasts & Sentiments". Near him the much smaller head and shoulders of Sir George Shuckburgh emerge from the water. Behind Norfolk is Burdett, cap in hand, holding up a paper: "Glorious Acquittal O' Conner dedicated to Lady Ox—d" (an early allusion to the liaison between them). Erskine, Norfolk, and Bedford have tails like that of Leviathan; the other swimmers may be presumed to have them. Behind them is Lord Derby, waving his cap and revealing small horns on his head. Next is Byng, holding up "Coco’s Address to the Electors] of Middlesex". He is followed by Courtenay, holding up a pamphlet: "Stolen Jests upon Religion"; the point of his cap has a bell indicating Folly. All these are 'wallowing in the Yeasty main' which froths around them. Watching the procession is a crowd of humbler Jacobins, who wave caps and arms and shout in frenzied homage to Lepeaux. Among them is the inevitable chimney-sweeper waving brush and shovel. Above them (l.) fly five birds with human heads, the largest being Lansdowne with his inscrutable smile; his wings are feathered, those of the four smaller creatures are webbed. The foremost is (?) Stanhope, next a tiny Horne Tooke, then M. A. Taylor, and last, Lauderdale. In the foreground, in front of Leviathan, and on dry land, is a procession of small monstrosities. First, a crocodile wearing a pair of stays, to indicate Tom Paine; his jaws are wide, and he weeps; under his forelegs is a paper: "Paines Defence of the 18 Fructidor". Next stands a little creature, wearing only leg-irons and spectacles, and writing: "Letter from an Acquitted Felon". He is Holcroft, writing probably his Letter to the Right Hon. W. Windham on the intemperance and dangerous tendency of his public conduct, 1795. Next is an ass, Godwin, on his hind legs, reading his "Political Justice". Last is a serpent, spitting fire, advancing over a paper: "Williams's Atheistical Lectures". David Williams (1738-1816), founder of the Royal Literary Fund, published deistic lectures (1779) and anticipated Theophilanthropy by opening a deistic chapel in London. He incurred odium by visiting France, 1792-3, being made a French citizen. These four are :
"All creeping creatures, venomous and low,
"Paine, W—//—ms, G—dw—n, H—Ic—ft, praise Le Paux!
The detailed illustration of Canning's poem is combined with allusions to Darwin and to Moira, both subjects of verses in the Anti-Jacobin. The allusion to the latter appears to indicate the French interest in his speech of 22 Nov. 1797. The Anti- Jacobin Review and Magazine is also illustrated: its professed object was to subject the 'monthly and annual publications' to a scrutiny similar to that which the Anti-Jacobin had imposed upon 'the daily and weekly prints'. In the 'Prefatory Address' to vol. i (Jan. 1799) it was claimed that the Analytical Review had received its death-blow, while the 'Monthly' and 'Critical' Reviews had been driven to an 'affected moderation'. Larevelliere-Lepeaux was the first of the five Directors to be elected ; he was the patron of Theophilanthropie and was caricatured in France as the high priest of a new religion. He took part in the coup d'etat of 18 Fructidor (4 Sept. 1797), becoming President of the Directory, but fell on the 30 Prairial (18 June 1799). He was a pompous nullity, dupe of his own illusions. The ritual of Theophilanthropie is burlesqued: at their services offerings of 'the wheaten ear and the bouquet of flowers' were made to the Supreme Being. Gillray's transcript [of the poem] is not completely accurate and two lines are omitted, as they are in the Anti-Jacobin Review :
and with join'd
And every other beast after his kind.
They are, however, fully illustrated, as they indicate the Foxites who follow Bedford (the only member of the Opposition specified) 'wallowing in the yeasty main'.
James Gillray, Published August 1st 1798. by J. Wright No. 169 Piccadilly, for the Anti-Jacobin Magazine & Review, Engraving (coloured and uncoloured impressions).
Folding pl. (also issued separately) to the Anti-Jacobin Review and Magazine, i. 115, facing a quotation (32 11.) from Canning's 'New Morality' (Anti-Jacobin, 9 July 1798), which is also etched beneath the plate, prefixed with the additional lines :
-''behold!
"The Directorial Lama, Sovereign Priest-
"Lepaux-whom Atheists worship-at whose nod
"Bow their meek heads-the Men without a God!
The quotation ends: "In puffing and in spouting, praise Lepaux!-Vide Anti-Jacobin"
The design closely follows the poem; the Jacobin Clubs have installed Larevelliere-Lepeaux, protected by 'Buonaparte's victor fleet', 'The holy Hunch-back in thy Dome, St Paul': indicated by the bases of three great pillars. He stands in profile to the l. on a three-legged stool before the altar, and is approached by a fantastic procession of English Jacobins who 'wave their Red Caps'. He reads from a book, Religion de la N[ature], his r. forefinger raised admonishingly. He is surrounded by four hideous, subhuman creatures, two with short tails, who, as news-boys, cry their respective papers: one has the "Morning Post-Forgeri L'éclair", its columns headed "Puf, Puff, Puf". Facing him is the vendor of the Morning Chronicle, its three columns headed "Lies, Blasphemy, Sedition", and above each is written a lire. These two blow their horns. A sansculotte in enormous jack-boots holds up a paper torch inscribed Courier ; his papers are inscribed French Paper. His vis-a-vis holds a torch inscribed Star, whose flame is star-shaped. Two have Bloody News on the front of their caps. These are
"Couriers and Stars, Sedition's Evening Host,
"Thou Morning Chronicle, and Morning Post,
The group is on a circular stone dais supporting the altar, on which stand three figures on bases inscribed respectively (l. to r.) Justice, Philanthropy, Sensibility: (1) A frenzied hag ('The avenging angel of regenerate France'), with the snaky locks of Discord, holds a dagger in each hand; her breasts hang to her belt, which is inscribed Egalite; she tramples on the sword and scales of Justice. (2) A stout woman clasps a globe on which Europe, Asia, and Africa are indicated, squeezing it out of shape. (She 'glows with the general love of all mankind'.) She tramples upon papers: "Ties of Nature” and "Amor Patriae". (3) A weeping woman looks down at a dead bird in her r. hand ; in her l. is a book Rosseau [sic]; she tramples on the decollated head of Louis XVI. She illustrates the lines (not quoted) on 'Sweet Sensibility' (mourning for 'the widow'd dove'). A pillar beside the altar is encircled with the names of "Voltaire", "Robertspierre", "Mireabeau". Against the altar step (r.) lies a bundle of three books, two being Common Prayer and Holy Bible, tied up with a tricolour scarf inscribed "pour les Commodites". Next it is a sack bulging with church plate, including a chalice and mitre ; this is "Philanthropic Requisition". Poets head the procession, carrying and escorting a large "Cornucopia of Ignorance" from which pour papers and pamphlets; Southey, with an ass's head and hoofs, kneels beside it in obeisance to Lepeaux, holding out Southeys Saphics; his Joan of Arc protrudes from his pocket. Coleridge, also with an ass's head, holds out Coleridge Dactylic[s]. Two little ragged men (with a third who is partly hidden) support the cornucopia, convolutions of which are inscribed Critical Review, Monthly Review, Analytical Review. Their bonnets-rouges have the dangling bells of a fool's cap. Two frogs squat beside the cornucopia holding up a large paper: Blank Verse by Todd & Frog [Blank Verse by Charles Lloyd and Charles Lamb, 1798]. They are the 'five other wandering bards': "C----dge and S—th—y, L--d and L--b and Co". With these (and next Coleridge) Lord Moira (not mentioned in 'The New Morality', but a butt of the Anti-Jacobin) stands stiffly in profile, offering his sword to Lepeaux, and holding out a paper: "Relief for Irish Philanthropists". Behind the cornucopia is a man supporting a basket on his head containing plants, on each of which sprouts a bonnet-rouge. It is labelled Zoonomia or Jacobin Plants (an appropriate offering to the botanist Lepeaux). He is Darwin (not caricatured in 'The New Morality'), whose "Loves of the Plants" had been parodied in the Anti-Jacobin. The last of the literary group are Priestley and Wakefield, each holding a pen and paper; the former, from whose pocket projects a paper, "Inflam[mable] Air", holds out "Priestley's Political Sermons". The other partly conceals his face with "Wakefield's answer to Llanda[ff]". In his Reply . . . (1798) to Watson's Address . . . he welcomed the prospect of a French invasion. The papers pouring from the cornucopia are Envy / Lies / Wilful Perversi[on] / Abuse / Ignorance. It has disgorged a pile of pamphlets which lie in the foreground at the altar step. Behind Priestley advances Leviathan, with the head of the Duke of Bedford, a barbed hook through his nose: "Thou in whose nose by Burke's gigantic hand \ The hook was fix'd to drag thee to the land", an allusion to the "Letter to a Noble Lord". The monster has a gigantic ear, a scaly body whose convolutions support a paunch and thighs terminating in a forked tail; it is on the edge of waves in which its followers are swimming. On its neck sits Thelwall, spattered with dirt, holding out "Thelwalls Lectures". Across its broad back straddle Fox, Tierney, and Nicholls, all wearing their bonnets-rouges; from the pockets of the two last issue respectively Tierney's Address and Nicols Speec[hes]. In the water swims Erskine, pen in hand, holding "Causes of the War 132nd Edit" [his Causes and Consequences of the War with France, 1798, rapidly went through forty-five editions]. Behind him floats a barrel, "Whitbreads intire"; it contributes to 'the yeasty main'. Immediately behind it is Norfolk, holding up a frothing glass, with a paper in his r. hand: "Whig Toasts & Sentiments". Near him the much smaller head and shoulders of Sir George Shuckburgh emerge from the water. Behind Norfolk is Burdett, cap in hand, holding up a paper: "Glorious Acquittal O' Conner dedicated to Lady Ox—d" (an early allusion to the liaison between them). Erskine, Norfolk, and Bedford have tails like that of Leviathan; the other swimmers may be presumed to have them. Behind them is Lord Derby, waving his cap and revealing small horns on his head. Next is Byng, holding up "Coco’s Address to the Electors] of Middlesex". He is followed by Courtenay, holding up a pamphlet: "Stolen Jests upon Religion"; the point of his cap has a bell indicating Folly. All these are 'wallowing in the Yeasty main' which froths around them. Watching the procession is a crowd of humbler Jacobins, who wave caps and arms and shout in frenzied homage to Lepeaux. Among them is the inevitable chimney-sweeper waving brush and shovel. Above them (l.) fly five birds with human heads, the largest being Lansdowne with his inscrutable smile; his wings are feathered, those of the four smaller creatures are webbed. The foremost is (?) Stanhope, next a tiny Horne Tooke, then M. A. Taylor, and last, Lauderdale. In the foreground, in front of Leviathan, and on dry land, is a procession of small monstrosities. First, a crocodile wearing a pair of stays, to indicate Tom Paine; his jaws are wide, and he weeps; under his forelegs is a paper: "Paines Defence of the 18 Fructidor". Next stands a little creature, wearing only leg-irons and spectacles, and writing: "Letter from an Acquitted Felon". He is Holcroft, writing probably his Letter to the Right Hon. W. Windham on the intemperance and dangerous tendency of his public conduct, 1795. Next is an ass, Godwin, on his hind legs, reading his "Political Justice". Last is a serpent, spitting fire, advancing over a paper: "Williams's Atheistical Lectures". David Williams (1738-1816), founder of the Royal Literary Fund, published deistic lectures (1779) and anticipated Theophilanthropy by opening a deistic chapel in London. He incurred odium by visiting France, 1792-3, being made a French citizen. These four are :
"All creeping creatures, venomous and low,
"Paine, W—//—ms, G—dw—n, H—Ic—ft, praise Le Paux!
The detailed illustration of Canning's poem is combined with allusions to Darwin and to Moira, both subjects of verses in the Anti-Jacobin. The allusion to the latter appears to indicate the French interest in his speech of 22 Nov. 1797. The Anti- Jacobin Review and Magazine is also illustrated: its professed object was to subject the 'monthly and annual publications' to a scrutiny similar to that which the Anti-Jacobin had imposed upon 'the daily and weekly prints'. In the 'Prefatory Address' to vol. i (Jan. 1799) it was claimed that the Analytical Review had received its death-blow, while the 'Monthly' and 'Critical' Reviews had been driven to an 'affected moderation'. Larevelliere-Lepeaux was the first of the five Directors to be elected ; he was the patron of Theophilanthropie and was caricatured in France as the high priest of a new religion. He took part in the coup d'etat of 18 Fructidor (4 Sept. 1797), becoming President of the Directory, but fell on the 30 Prairial (18 June 1799). He was a pompous nullity, dupe of his own illusions. The ritual of Theophilanthropie is burlesqued: at their services offerings of 'the wheaten ear and the bouquet of flowers' were made to the Supreme Being. Gillray's transcript [of the poem] is not completely accurate and two lines are omitted, as they are in the Anti-Jacobin Review :
and with join'd
And every other beast after his kind.
They are, however, fully illustrated, as they indicate the Foxites who follow Bedford (the only member of the Opposition specified) 'wallowing in the yeasty main'.
Extent1 framed item
Physical descriptionDimensions (H X W): 32cm X 67cm
Persons keywordGillray, James, Paine, Thomas
Conditions governing accessOpen
Levelfile
Normal locationD Plan Chest Drawer 6 (Room 12)