Scholars at a Lecture

William Hogarth
Scholars at a Lecture.
London, J. Boydell 1809
Copper engraving
220x185mm
£240
A scene in an Oxford University lecture hall. A crowd of ugly, foolish looking students listen to the lecturer, who reads from a large ledger headed Datur Vacuum, meaning ‘Leisure time is given for…’ and is a pun on the vacant expressions of the auditors. The lecturer is supposed to be William Fisher of Jesus College, Registrar of the University, who agreed to be drawn by Hogarth. Paulson 143 II/III.