Overview
Small forces restrain great ones through patience and timing. Accumulate quietly, attend to details, and do not mistake restraint for weakness.
The Judgment
Hsiao Khu indicates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and success. (We see) dense clouds, but no rain coming from our borders in the west.
The Image
(The trigram representing) the sky, and that representing wind moving above it, form Hsiâo Khû. The superior man, in accordance with this, adorns the outward manifestation of his virtue.
The Lines
- Line 1
The first line, undivided, shows its subject returning and pursuing his own course. What mistake should he fall into? There will be good fortune. - Line 2
The second line, undivided, shows its subject, by the attraction (of the former line), returning (to the proper course). There will be good fortune. - Line 3
The third line, undivided, suggests the idea of a carriage, the strap beneath which has been removed, or of a husband and wife looking on each other with averted eyes. - Line 4
The fourth line, divided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity. The danger of bloodshed is thereby averted, and his (ground for) apprehension dismissed. There will be no mistake. - Line 5
The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity, and drawing others to unite with him. Rich in resources, he employs his neighbours (in the same cause with himself). - Line 6
The topmost line, undivided, shows how the rain has fallen, and the (onward progress) is stayed;—(so) must we value the full accumulation of the virtue (represented by the upper trigram). But a wife (exercising restraint), however firm and correct she may be, is in a position of peril, (and like) the moon approaching to the full. If the superior man prosecute his measures (in such circumstances), there will be evil.