How frequently we are told in articles on beauty and in advertisements of cosmetics on radio or television programs that the use of perfume is a necessary part of good grooming. Perfume, according to sales propaganda, is a key to one's character, as well as a subtle purveyor of charm.
Few, if any, would deny the sweetness of a delicate perfume or its place in the grooming of the individual when its use is governed by good taste. But to the student of Christian Science, the spiritual significance of perfume is a revealing study, in which new concepts of beauty are perceived.
Under the marginal heading "The divine loveliness" in "Science and Health withKey to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy describes true beauty as follows (p. 247): "Beauty is a thing of life, which dwells forever in the eternal Mind and reflects the charms of His goodness in expression, form, outline, and color. It is Love which paints the petal with myriad hues, glances in the warm sunbeam, arches the cloud with the bow of beauty, blazons the night with starry gems, and covers earth with loveliness." Equally pertinent to our subject is the next paragraph, in which Mrs. Eddy states, "The embellishments of the person are poor substitutes for the charms of being, shining resplendent and eternal over age and decay."
