Late 18th-Century Satirical Print Contrasts a Libertine with a Skeleton

A satirical engraving of the late 18th century: a bon vivant with all the marks of dissipation (dice and cards, horse races, fashions and diverting novelettes) and, in opposition to him, a pensive corpse leaning on a stele bearing an edifying text. In theory, the picture is meant to remind us that life must be filled with real meaning. But in principle it will serve just as well as a call to make merry while we are alive, since there will be time enough to brood and despair once we are skeletons after death