They are hot

In a dark setting in which we can make out an arch in the background, we can see four figures dressed in tunics that indicate that they belong to a religious sphere. Three of them are seated at a table, two facing the front and the third in profile. In the background we can make out the fourth, who is holding a tray. The faces of all of them are caricatured, almost deformed, their mouths enormous and, in some cases, open. The light illuminates the figure seated in profile on the left, his face cadaverous and disturbing, the hand holding a spoon in his mouth and the plate on the table.

Ayala's manuscript explains this engraving by saying "the stupid friars binge, there at their hours, in the refectories, laughing, and they laugh at the world; what should they do but be horny! The manuscript in the Prado Museum notes that "they are in such a hurry to gulp that they swallow them boiling hot. Even in the use of pleasures, temperance and moderation are necessary". Finally, the manuscript in the National Library comments on this engraving that "the foolish friars binge well in their refectories, and laugh at the world; what are they to do afterwards if they are not horny".

There is no doubt that Goya makes a merciless criticism of the clergy who, at times, beyond their vows and their promise to lead an austere and simple life, give in to earthly pleasures. One could even extend the hunger of these friars to their sexual appetite, so that the title of the engraving acquires a double meaning. This hypothesis becomes more plausible if we look closely at the drawing in the Madrid Album or Album B, Joyful Charitature, in which one of the friars has an inordinately large, phallic-shaped nose; its size is such that he must hold it with a small crutch.