True nobility

What is the meaning of nobility? A person possessing nobility is one whose hidden wealth surpasses his outward wealth, whose hidden treasures exceed his obvious treasures, whose inner depth surpasses by far that which he reveals. Refinement is found only where inwardness is greater than outward appearance. The hidden is greater than the obvious, depth greater than breadth. Nobility is the redeemed quality which rises within the soul when it exchanges the transient for the permanent, the useful for the valuable.—Abraham Joshua Heschel in Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays, 56

<idle musing>
Indeed! And a rare thing to find now, isn't it? What with all the social media apps, it's rare to find someone who doesn't "let it all hang out" as we used to say many years ago. And, unfortunately, what "hangs out" is far too often less than noble : (

</idle musing>