Pî Hsî inviting him to visit him, the Master was inclined to go.
Tsze-lû said, “Master, formerly I have heard you say, ‘When a man in his own person is guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not associate with him.’ Pî Hsî is in rebellion, holding possession of Chung-mau; if you go to him, what shall be said?”
The Master said, “Yes, I did use these words. But is it not said, that, if a thing be really hard, it may be ground without being made thin? Is it not said, that, if a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluid without being made black?
“Am I a bitter gourd! How can I be hung up out of the way of being eaten?”