Clement of Alexandria : If the Lord places more importance on beauty of soul than on that of the body, what must he think of artificial beautification when he abhors so thoroughly every sort of lie? "We walk by faith, not by sight." As a matter of fact, it is the Lord who plainly teaches by the example of Abraham that one who obeys God will make small account of even father and relations and possessions and of his entire fortune. He made Abraham an exile, and then, because of that, gave him the name "friend," because he was so little attached to the things of his own home. Yet, Abraham was of a noble family and had possessed a large fortune. A proof of this is that he overcame the four kings who had captured Lot, with 318 servants belonging to him. As for women, the only one we know of who used ornaments without blame is Esther. Her action in making herself beautiful had a mystical significance, however, for, as the wife of her king, she obtained deliverance for her people by her beauty when they were being slaughtered. — The Instructor Book 3 Rabanus Maurus : What can it mean that on the third day Esther dressed in royal garments, if not that in the third age of the world—i.e. after the incarnation, passion and resurrection of Christ—the Church of the nations dressed herself in faith, hope and charity, and in the beauty of all the virtues, to receive the sacraments of baptism through the confession of the holy Trinity so that she would then be worthy of the king's company, since she was burning incessantly with a special love for him? She stands in the courtyard of the king's house which was inside, opposite the king's basilica, i.e. in the righteous works of this life which looks toward future compensation in Heaven, where the king himself sits on his celestial throne and assents to the prayers of those who piously cry out to him. — Commentary on Esther Rabanus Maurus : The fact that Esther put on all her royal robes on the third day undoubtedly signifies that the church of the nations, in the third time of the world, that is, after the incarnation, passion and resurrection of Christ, clothed herself through the sacrament of baptism and the confession of the Holy Trinity with faith, hope and charity, and the ornament of every virtue so that she might become worthy of the royal marriage while the love of (the Lord) remained constantly fervent. She stood in the inner court of the royal palace, that is, in the pious actions of this life which look at the future reward in heaven where the king himself sits on the supreme throne and fulfills the prayers of those who implore him piously. — EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF Esther 8