In Ch`i there was a man who had offended against Duke Ching.
Duke Ching was very angry and had the man bound and placed
below in the hall. Then he summoned his attendants to sever his
limbs.[2]
Any who objected would be put to death. Yen-tzŭ with
his left hand grasped [the man's] head and with his right whetted
his sword. Looking up he asked, "I have not discovered with
which one they began to cut[3]
when the enlightened kings and
sage rulers of antiquity severed a man's limbs?"
Duke Ching got off the mat and said, "Release him. The fault
lies with me."
The Ode says,[4]
Loving the correct and the straight.
