當忠於你自己！－莎士比亞
我最喜歡一段關於提名林肯組閣的故事，那時智囊團中有人向林肯推薦某人為閣員候選人，可是林肯不肯接受。推薦人就問他理由何在。林肯直截了當地說：「我不喜歡這個人的相貌。」
推薦人不服氣地說：「人的長相如何，由不得自己來作主吧！」
「凡是四十歲以上的人，都應該為自己的相貌負責！」林肯說了這話，就轉變話題，討論其他的事了。
最近，在我的出版商鼓勵下，我照了幾張相片，他曾一直提醒我，原來的那張照片已經太舊了，直到我把新照的相片寄去才罷。我一向不喜歡照相的過程，迫不得已照了這一張，我仍很不喜歡。同二十五年前的相片一比，不勝今昔之感。想起這張照片要公之於讀者，我那女性虛榮心大受打擊。最初我想請照相館修飾一下，雖則我從沒有在面部或頭髮上做過「修飾」，可是終於打消了這個意思。因為我常認為女人的這種觀念，只能騙旁人，騙不了自己；我細察這些照片，倒找到了一點更重要的哲理。
四分之一世紀的生活，在一個女人的容貌上，除了增添幾條皺紋以及不受歡迎的摺痕以外，以飽嘗人生中苦與樂、憂與喜、生與死等種種況味。她曾經掙扎、失敗和成功，終於活下去了；也曾失去信心，而重新尋獲。經過了這種種，她一定會比年輕時更為睿智、更為溫柔、更為堅忍、更為忍耐，更富於幽默感和同情心，見解也比以前更深遠廣闊，這些應在她面貌表露出來。如果她因為想除去歲月的烙印而修改相片，那麼，她可能同時把這些經驗和性格的表徵毀去了。
我知道我的經驗要比半個世紀前豐富多多，而且我也希望自己更具有個性。結果我把這張保留我本來面目的相片原封不動的寄了出去。
柏金遜
Face and Fortune
“To thine own self be true.”-SHAKESPEARE
There is a story about a proposed appointmentin Lincoln’scabinet that I have always liked very much. Once of his advisers urgentlyrecommended a candidate and Lincolndeclined to follow the suggestion. So he was asked to give his reasons. “I don’tlike the man’s face,” Lincolnexplained briefly. “But the poor man is not responsible for his face,” hisadvocate insisted.
“Every man over forty is responsible forhis face,” Lincolnreplied, and turned to the discussion of other matters.
Recently, at the instigation of mypublisher, I had some photographs taken. It was a long time, he reminded me,since I had supplied him with a new one; I could not go on using the same poseindefinitely. I do not enjoy the progress of being photographed, and when I sawthe results of his latest ordeal, I enjoyed these still less. I compared thenew photograph with one that had been taken twenty-five years ago, and myfeminine vanity suffered an acute pang at the thought of being presented to thepublic as I am today. My first instinct was to have the prints “touched up,”though I have never “touched up” my own face or my own hair because I havealways maintained that women who did this deceived no one expect themselves. AsI thoughtfully considered the photographs, I knew that a still more importantprinciple was involved.
A quarter century of living should put agreat deal into a woman’s face bedsides a few wrinkles and some unwelcome foldsaround the chin. In that length of time she has become intimately acquaintedwith pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, life and death. She has struggled andsurvived, failed and succeeded. She has lost and regained faith. And, as aresult, she should be wiser, gentler, more patient and more tolerant than shewas when she was young. Her sense of humor should have mellowed, her outlookshould have widened, her sympathies should have deepened. And all this shouldshow. If she tries to erase the imprint of age, she runs the risk ofdestroying, at the same time, the imprint of experience and character.
I know I am more experienced than I was aquarter century ago and I hope I have more character. I released the picturesas they were.
BY FRANCES PARKINSON KEYES
AUTHOR OF “CAME A CAVALIER” AND “DINNER ATANTOINE’S”
