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With it firmly in hand, he goes on to fill it up, but it would be better to quit.
“Firmly in hand” means not to let virtue [de] go. Not only does he not let his virtue go, he goes further and fills it up [ying]. The power [shi] of such a one will surely be toppled. Thus “it would be better to quit,” which means that it would be better if one had no virtue or sense of achievement at all.
I think that Zhuangzi best clarified this position:
–From Patricia Ebrey, Chinese Civilization : A Sourcebook, 2d ed. (New York: Free Press, 1993), pp. 28-31
I also think that Yang Zhu, the Chinese equivalent of Epicurus, would certainly have found great resonance with this passage when he said:
If, having forged it, one goes on to sharpen it, it could not last long.
If one forges the end of a sword to a point but goes further and grinds it sharper, it snaps off, its characteristic property [shi] destroyed. Thus “it could not last long.”
The danger in seeking perfection is overshooting the mark.
Gold and jade fill the hall, but none can keep them safe.
It would be better to put an end to them.
Wealth exists as a means to an end rather than as an end unto itself. Again, Yang Zhu may have had this passage in mind when he said,
If one is arrogant because of wealth and rank, he will give himself a blameworthy fate.
Such a one could not last long.
We are all equal in death. Those who strive beyond their station aggravate themselves by living beyond their nature, thereby quickening the end. I apologize for the Wade-Giles romanization in the following passage, but Yang’s words are too decadent to miss, yet the passage is too long for editing to be worthwhile. I am confident that Yang would have approved of such brevity:
Once achievement has occurred, one retires, for such is the Dao of Heaven.
The four seasons move on in turn: once one achieves what it should, it gives way to the next.
Achievements are straw dogs, but perhaps even more terrifying is the idea that reality itself is a straw dog.