Letter 55

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed woman or group
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore warns against vanity in dress and cosmetics.

The love of adornment — jewels and their sparkle, gold woven among them, curled hair twisted into elaborate designs, painted eyelids, and the artifice of counterfeit beauty — these are signs not of respectability or dignity, but of disordered affections. True beauty does not come from what is applied to the outside but from what shines through from within. Those who have entered into Christ have a different standard of beauty. Adorn the soul, and the body will need no decoration. A painted face is a confession that the real one was not enough.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.