Part III, Chapter XXV
Of Decency in Attire
St. Paul desires that devout women, and the same may be said of men, should be attired in decent apparel, adorning themselves with modesty and sobriety. (1 Timothy 2:9) The decency and other ornaments of apparel depend on the matter, the form, and the cleanliness of them. As to the cleanliness, it should be almost always entire in our apparel, on which we should not permit any kind of filth to remain. Exterior neatness represents in some degree the cleanliness of the interior: and God himself requires corporal cleanliness in those that approach the altar, and have the principal charge of devotion.
As to the matter, form, and decency of our dress, it should be considered according to the several circumstances of the time, the age, the quality, the company, and the occasions. People are ordinarily better dressed on holidays, and this in proportion to the solemnity of the feast which is celebrated. In times of penance, as in Lent, their ornaments are laid aside. At marriages they put on wedding-garments; at funerals they use mourning; when near the prince they dress themselves in their best attire; which they put off when they are only amongst their own domestics.
The married woman may and ought to adorn herself when she is with her husband, and he desires it; but if she should do so when she is at a distance from him, it will be asked, whose eyes she desires to favor? A greater liberty in point of ornaments is allowed to maidens, because they may lawfully desire to appear agreeable to many, although with no other intention than to gain one by holy marriage. Neither is it blamable in widows, who propose to marry, to adorn themselves, provided they betray no levity; for, having already been mistresses of families, and passed through the griefs of widowhood, they should be considered as being of a more mature and settled mind. But as for those that are widows indeed, not only in body, but in heart also, no other ornament becomes them but humility, modesty, and devotion; for, if they have an inclination to gain the love of men, they are not widows indeed; and, if they have no such desire, why do they carry about them the instruments of love? Old people are always ridiculous when they wish to be gay; this folly is only supportable in youth.
Be neat, Philothea; let nothing be negligent about you. It is a kind of contempt of those with whom we converse, to frequent their company in uncomely apparel; but, at the same time, avoid all affectation, vanity, curiosity, or levity in your dress. Keep yourself always, as much as possible, on the side of plainness and modesty, which, without doubt, is the greatest ornament of beauty, and the best excuse for the want of it.
St. Peter (1 Peter 3:3) admonishes women in particular not to wear their hair much curled in ringlets and wreaths; but men who are so weak as to amuse themselves about such toys are justly ridiculed for their effeminacy; and even women who are thus vain, are esteemed to be very weak in their chastity; at least, if they are chaste, it is not to be discovered amidst so many toys and fopperies. They say they mean no evil by these things; but I again repeat that the devil thinks very differently. I would have devout people, whether men or women, the best dressed of the company, but the least pompous and affected; I would have them adorned with gracefulness, decency, and dignity. St. Lewis says, in one word, that each one should dress according to his condition; so that the wise and the good may have no reason to complain that you do too much, nor young people to say that you do too little. But, in case young people will not content themselves with what is decent, we must conform to the judgment of the wise.
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