The Allegory of Adorned Facade and Unadorned Character

In Jami's tale, an ugly-faced man of base nature lavishes ornament on his dwelling until every surface — floor, walls, and ceiling — is beautified beyond compare. When a visiting sage, interrupted mid-discourse by phlegm rising in his throat, searches for the meanest spot on which to spit, he finds nothing left unadorned except the host's own face, and casts his spittle there.

The anecdote turns a coarse jest into a moral lesson: external decoration cannot conceal baseness of character, and inner ugliness only becomes more conspicuous when framed by outward splendor. It belongs to Jami's recurring contrast between outward form (صورت) and inner reality (سیرت), aligning with the neighboring tales of fine garments covering brainless words (Section 30) and the wise man whose unlovely form houses true wisdom (Section 14).