Says an old writer, "God gave to man a face directed upwards, and bade him look at the heavens, and raise his uplifted countenance toward the stars." The Greek word for "man" meant the upward looking.

The bending of the form and face downward, toward the earth, has always been the symbol of a soul turned unworthily toward lower things, forgetful of its true home.
Milton has this thought in describing Mammon:-- "Mammon, the least erected spirit that fell From heaven; for even in heaven his looks and thoughts Were always downward bent." The look of a man's eyes tells where his heart is, whither his desires are reaching and tending, how his life is growing.
There are a great many bent people in the world.

Physical bending may be caused by accident or disease, and is no mark of spiritual curvature.

Many a deformed body is the home of a noble and holy soul, with eyes and aspirations turned upward toward God.

I remember a woman in my first parish who then for fourteen years had sat in her chair, unable to lift hand or foot, every joint drawn, her wasted body frightfully bent.