Mirror Mirror

The first mirror — likely a pool of still water — allowed humans to see themselves as others did.  Later came polished surfaces — copper, bronze, silver, pyrite, even stone — though the quality of the image was so very low that Paul, in Corinthians 13:12, used it as a symbol for obfuscation…seeing, as in a mirror, darkly.

As craft improved, mirrors became aestheticized — luxurious, decorative objects — costly works that denoted wealth and conferred status.  Artifacts valued as much to look at as to look in.

Then came science and a myriad of uses:  periscopes, telescopes and the single-lens reflex camera.  Convex, fun house, side and rear view, safety, dental, architectural and one-way.  Mirror image, mirror writing, mirrored sunglasses and the vanity table.  The looking glass is the forerunner of the selfie.  We are all Narcissus, to one degree or another.