So if you want to be beautiful, young man, work on this: developing human excellence. But what is human excellence? Look at who you praise when you're being honest. Do you praise people who are just or unjust? The just ones. Do you praise people who are moderate or extreme? The moderate ones. Do you praise people who have self-control or those who don't? Those with self-control. If you become this kind of person, you'll know you've made yourself beautiful. But as long as you ignore these qualities, you'll be ugly — no matter how hard you try to appear beautiful on the outside.
And do you then, if you wish to be beautiful, young man, labor at this, the acquisition of human excellence? But what is this? Observe whom you yourself praise, when you praise many persons without partiality: do you praise the just or the unjust? The just. Whether do you praise the moderate or the immoderate? The moderate. And the temperate or the intemperate? The temperate. If then you make yourself such a person, you will know that you will make yourself beautiful; but so long as you neglect these things, you must be ugly ([Greek: aischron]), even though you contrive all you can to appear beautiful.