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The ugly saints

Socrates was an ugly little man. He dressed untidily and looked clumsily built. He was small and not at all beautiful, for his eyes protruded from his head, his nose was squat and his lips were thick. A beard covered his chin and neck.

But as soon as people began to listen to him they were enthralled. No matter how clever a man might think himself, Socrates could show him that he really knew nothing.

Confucius was even uglier than Socrates. He was large man possessed of great physical strength, the top of his head was sunken like a valley, by which he got his name Qiu, he has warts on his nose, two long front teeth that protruded over his lower lip, and a wispy beard. The great historian Sima Qian wrote in the Biography of Confucius that Confucius has seven protrusions: buckle teeth, bulging eyes, exposed nostrils, and protruded ear channels.

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