Had they been ugly their talents would have been better developed

From A Treasury of Jewish Folklore by Nathan Ausubel.

Shallow Judgment

A princess once said to Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, “It is true that you are a sage, but why are you so ugly? Imagine God pouring wisdom into such an ugly vessel as yours!”

Rabbi Joshua answered, “Tell me, O .Princess, in what sort of vessels does your father keep his wine?”

“In earthen jars, of course,” answered the Princess.

Rabbi Joshua pretended to be amazed.

“How can that be?” he exclaimed. “Everybody keeps wine in earthen jars, but your father, after all, is the King! Surely he can afford finer vessels!”

“In what sort of vessels do you think my father ought to keep his wine?”

“For a King, gold and silver vessels would be more fitting.”

The Princess then went to her father and said, “It is not fitting that a King like you should keep his wine in earthen jars like the commonest man.”

The King agreed and ordered that all his wine should be poured into gold and silver vessels. This was done, but before long the wine turned sour.

Angered, the King asked his daughter, “From whom did you get the advice you gave me?”

“From Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah.”

So the King sent for Rabbi Joshua.

“What made you give my daughter such wicked advice?” he asked angrily.

Rabbi Joshua then told him how the Princess had referred to him as “wisdom in an ugly vessel,” and that he had wanted to prove to her that beauty is sometimes a handicap.

The King remonstrated: “Aren’t there people who combine in themselves both beauty and great talents?”

Rabbi Joshua answered, “Rest assured — had they been ugly their talents would have been better developed.”