An turpe arbitraris formam suam spectaculo assiduo explorare? An non Socrates philosophus ultro etiam suasisse fertur discipulis suis, crebro ut semet in speculo contemplarentur, ut qui eorum foret pulchritudine sibi complacitus, impendio procuraret ne dignitatem corporis malis moribus dedecoraret, qui vero minus se commendabilem forma putaret, sedulo operam daret ut virtutis laude turpitudinem tegeret? Adeo vir omnium sapientissimus speculo etiam ad disciplinam morum utebatur.
Or do you perhaps think it disgraceful to check ones appearance by careful scrutiny? Do they not say that the philosopher Socrates went so far as to advise his pupils to observe themselves in a mirror often? In that way, if any of them was complacent about his beauty, he should be very careful not to sully the dignity of his body by evil habits: if on the other hand any of them thought himself to have less than attractive looks, he should make every effort to cloak his homeliness by earning praise for virtue. So much did even that wisest of all men use a mirror for moral instruction.
final_alignments\Apuleius_Apologia.json