Women the world over spend millions of liras on their faces and their hair. They set aside vast sums for healthful food, physical exercise, and the other requisites of a trim figure; while as for clothes, what they spend on dresses, coats, hats, shoes, and stockings very nearly equals the sums governments spend on their great construction projects!
The aim of women behind all this is to appear handsome and elegant. Yet they will not obtain what they long for unless they possess the ability to bring out the features of their beauty and whatever harmonizes with their personalities, so that they may win the charm they seek.
You cannot, Madam, become beautiful if you are not beautiful. But it is within your power to be charming and captivating — and that, upon my life, is more important than beauty.
Yes! It is within the power of every woman to be captivating. The requisites are knowledge of one's true self and confidence in
it, and perseverance. With these a lady can develop her best qualities of spirit and body, and so acquire charm and fascination.
And what is charm? It is that radiance which sets a woman aglow. If she possesses it, she has no further need of anything else; and if she lacks it, nothing else after it will avail. And this radiance must include the woman's understanding of herself, and then her tending of
herself with complete care.
1 — She cares for her face and her hair, and for what suits her in form and in age.
2 — She strives to gain an erect carriage and strong health.
3 — She is graceful and light of movement.
4 — She attends to her dress, in style and in color, with what becomes her.
5 — She speaks in a gentle tone, far from affectation.
6 — She avoids shrinking into herself and seeks to make the most of her talents; and thus her personality stands out.
Once a woman has gained all these qualities, she becomes poised and sure of herself — in other words, she becomes charming and captivating.
• If you wish to make a room wholesome, renew the air in it.
• And if you wish to make the earth wholesome, stir up the layers of soil that have settled in it.
• And if you wish to improve your understanding, do not keep your life to a single track, and do not fix yourself upon a single point.