III

The philosopher Tsǎng being ill, he called to him the disciples of his school, and said, “Uncover my feet, uncover my hands. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘We should be apprehensive and cautious, as if on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice,’ and so have I been. Now and hereafter, I know my escape from all injury to my person, O ye, my little children.”