- Without a fountain of thought, the flow of words quickly grinds to a halt. γ Even if you only mend the surface, if you are not thorough on the inside, wise people will only see it and despise it.
from The Art of Worldly Wisdom Be thorough. xlviii Be thorough.
How much depends on the person. The inside must be at least as good as the outside. Some personalities are only ostensible. For example, there are houses where, for lack of means, the front door of the palace leads to a room in the cottage. For such people, though bored, there is no point if the conversation is cut short after the first greeting. They bounce off the first compliment like a Sicilian thorn, but silence soon follows. For where there is no fountain of thought, the flow of words soon comes to a halt. Others may be taken in by them because they see only the surface, but the wise look within them and find there nothing but material for contempt.
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