ON THE TRUE ADORNMENT OF A WOMAN by Saint John Chrysostomos

ON THE TRUE ADORNMENT OF A WOMAN 

by Saint John Chrysostomos

Do you wish to adorn your face? A little make-up doesn't hurt but adorn yourself with the radiance of piety and modesty; thus adorned, a man and others will find your appearance more pleasing to behold. For the other kind of adornment in excess can arouse suspicions and give rise to jealousy, enmity, strife, and quarrels. 

But the adornment of almsgiving, compassion, innocence and modesty is radiant and drives out suspicion. For natural beauty does not make a face become beautiful as much as does the disposition of one who beholds it, and nothing is more likely to produce this disposition than modesty and piety. Hence, even if a woman be beautiful but her husband hates her, she will appear to him as repulsive; if a woman does not happen to be comely but she pleases her husband, he will find her the fairest of women. 

Adorn your face, therefore, with modesty, piety, almsgiving, benevolence, love, kindliness, reasonableness, mildness, and forbearance toward others. These are the pigments of virtue; by these you draw even angels; for in these you have God Himself to praise you. For if wisdom illumines the face of man, much more does virtue make the face of a woman shine forth.

Adorn your face, therefore, with modesty, piety, almsgiving, benevolence, love, kindliness towards your husband, reasonableness, mildness, and forbearance. These are the pigments of virtue; by these you draw not men but angels to you as your lovers; for these you have God Himself to praise you. When God shall approve of you, He will win over your husband to you in every way; for if wisdom illumines the face of man, much more does virtue make the face of a woman shine forth.