What E'er Thou Art…

An inscription over a Scottish doorway had this to say: “What e’er thou art, act well thy part.” This ties somewhat to the sentence that says: “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” If negative appearance is evil, positive appearance must be good. An actor feels and sometimes lives the part he plays⎯and so, to a degree, do all of us, and there is cause to be concerned about the part people choose to play, the appearance they choose to present, the company they choose to keep. We expect professional people to look like what they are. We expect a doctor to have dignity, confidence, composure; teachers to appear and be at their best, with decorum and good taste; students to be clean and respectfully attired, avoiding extremes; parents to appear in good taste and dignity before the family, and children likewise in self-respect and respect for others, in cleanliness with family and friends. Looking the part is more than a front. It is part of being the part. A careless and unclean person is likely to feel careless and unclean; and so with immodesty and other aspects also. There are behavioral studies that suggest that when people of eccentric habits and unclean person are cleaned and groomed and respectably dressed, many become responsible and well performing people. Appearance is both a symptom and a source, and the side effects are exceedingly significant. Appearance also plays a vital part in the reaction of others to us. And so we should appear as we ought to be, and be what we ought to be, improve our part, our personality, our performance, upgrade ourselves and our surroundings, and not let ourselves slip in appearance, or thought, or attitude or action. As we appear, our influence and example will affect others⎯and us. “What e’er thou are, act well thy part.”