Sun-shu Ao met an old man of Hu-ch`iu who said, "I have
heard that as there are three advantages there must be three
worries. Do you know about this?"
Sun-shu Ao uneasily changed countenance and said, "I am not
intelligent; how could I know about it? I venture to ask what is
meant by the three advantages and by the three worries?"
The old man of Hu-ch`iu said, "If your rank is high, others
will envy you. If your office is a big one, your ruler will dislike
you. If your salary is large, resentment will be your lot. This is
the meaning."
Sun-shu Ao said, "Not necessarily. The higher the rank the
more humble the ambitions; the greater the office the smaller
the desire; the larger the salary the more widespread the gifts—
would this not permit one to escape the three worries?"
The old man of Hu-ch`iu said, "Well said! Even Yao and Shun
would not have found fault with such conduct."[2]
The Ode says,[3]
We must be mild, and humble,
As if we were perched on trees.
We must be anxious and careful,
As if we were on the brink of a valley.
