“A desire to be beautiful is not unwomanly.
A woman who is not beautiful cannot properly fill her place.
But, mark you, true beauty is not of the face,
but of the soul.
There is a beauty so deep and lasting that it will shine out of the homeliest face and make it comely.
This is the beauty to be first sought and admired.
It is a quality of the mind and heart and is manifested in word and deed.
No character is built good and true if the builder has not in her mind a picture of the woman she wants to be.
And the pattern for a good character must be chosen carefully.
The carpenter will not undertake a pretty cottage from the print of a barn, nor can a girl build a good,
true character if she patterns after those whose lives are not good and true.
She who has an ideal character is first of all pure and true, then earnest and sincere, patient and gentle,
and more ready to serve than to be served. It is easier to build a bad than a good character.
One can always go downhill with less difficulty than up, and glide with the current than row against it,
and it is easier to drift with the crowd than to stand for the right.”
– Beautiful Girlhood, Mabel Hale
by Gigi
2 comments