In the present image, Thomas Rowlandson satirises the hypocritical morality of monks, depicting them feasting gluttonously despite their religious vows. One monk can even be seen stirring the soup with a crucifix. The Latin proverb was also commonly translated as ‘The hood does not make the monk’.
On the shelf behind the monks sits a skull; a Memento Mori that perhaps serves as a warning to the sinful monks.
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