In ancient Greece, a scruffy character was put to work by women who were making preparations to greet the great general Philopoeman. They put him to work drawing water and chopping wood.
The scruffy character was Philopoeman, of course. When the general’s men found him, he was sweating. He said he was paying for his appearance.
It’s a charming story of humility and character, but it’s also a reminder of how often we judge by appearances and how confident we are in those judgments.
The story came to me by way of Montaigne’s Essays, that wonderful book. I was reminded of it when I saw a fellow who seemed to be rummaging in a neighbor’s garbage can. But it was only the neighbor. He was wearing tattered work clothes, but soon pulled out expensive lawn equipment and got to work edging and trimming his lawn.
I smiled at myself, and then looked down and started counting the holes in my work clothes.
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