Ji Zicheng said, “For a superior man, it is only the inner quality that matters. Why mention the outer brilliancy?”

“It is a pity that you should have depicted a superior man that way!” said Zigong. “But a word uttered cannot be taken back even by four horses. Inner quality is as important as outer brilliancy, and vice versa. The hide of a tiger or a leopard without hair on it looks no better than that of a dog or a goat.”

~ Confucius, The Analects 12.8