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Foreword

There is a poignant story by the British writer Max Beerbohm, called The Happy Hypocrite. A lord, who is as wealthy as he is wily, vicious and vain, once attends a Ballet and falls in love with a ballerina. After the performance, he rushes backstage, finds her, and on his knees begs her to marry him.

She gazes at him intently for a while, then with sincerity in her voice, says, "Your face, my lord, mirrors, it may be, true love for me, but it is even as a mirror long tarnished by the reflection of this world's vanity."

Not one to give up easily, the lord decides to win her over by deceitful means. From a mask-maker he obtains the mask of a saintly face that fits him perfectly. Then, under a false name, he arranges for her to meet him by a lake one evening. While he waits for her, with his mask on, of course, he sees his reflection in the river. He is so impressed by his ‘new’ face that he decides to reform his life and manners to match his changed appearance.

The ballerina is attracted to him, falls in love, and eventually marries him. One day she tells him that though she finds his face very appealing, she has been wondering why it has such a frozen look.

The lord decides to call off the bluff. He peels off his mask and stands before her, feeling terribly ashamed, and expecting her to be appalled by the sight and flee. Instead, she embraces him lovingly.

Without his realizing it, from the moment he reformed his ways, his face began to change, and it now had the appearance of a saint!

This piece of fiction is not far from fact. In life, too, we know that a person's face mirrors his or her character; a person’s actions and reactions are revealed in facial expressions. Except for "happy hypocrites", however, who conceal their real personalities behind cleverly designed masks.

This book presents Images In Mirrors – a large variety of people with and without masks. There are hundreds of anecdotes and stories, each like tiny mirrors that reflecting the ‘human’ aspects of life.

We find as many ‘characters’ in life as faces – an infinite variety. We generally group them under conventional categories for convenience, but there are nuances in each that defeat description. The ‘images’ portrayed in this book are thus broadly classified. Hopefully, though, to a greater or lesser degree, they will reflect some aspects of one's own personality and the people and situations one encounters.

In other words, most of them are meant to be projections of our self-images, in varying shades, to enable us to ‘see’ our reflections and to evoke a personal response. A brief exposure, like a flash of sunlight from a ‘mirror’, will light up our senses, increase our awareness, and motivate us to action. There are contorted mirrors, too, to amuse - and instruct. Obviously, this will entail a lot of ‘reflection’ on the ‘images’ in the mirror.

The stories and anecdotes in this book have been reproduced, adapted, or abridged from multiple sources of varied descriptions – life-experiences, books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, calendars, posters, films....

Images In Mirrors provides interesting material for writers and speakers, teachers and preachers. The stories can be used for meditation and prayer-services, as well as for general instruction, entertainment and in conversation....

You, dear reader, now have these ‘mirrors’ in your hand. Create your own images -- your ‘saintly’ personalities, if you please. Let your appearance and your behaviour match!

P.S. Images in Mirrors is not a Novel to be read in one sitting. 
It is primarily a book of ‘reflections’. Each of the little mirrors 
represents a unique person and behaviour and deserves careful scrutiny

RANDOM SAMPLES

C. CHARACTER TRAITS

Integrity