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Chapter VII - The effect of some hexagrams on building characterVII - 1
Was it not in the middle period of antiquity that the I began to flourish? Was it not he who made it familiar with anxiety and calamity?
Note: This refers to king Wen.
VII - 2
Therefore Lü (10. Treading carefully) shows us the foundations of virtue; Ch'ien (15. Modesty) its handle; Fu (24. The Turning Point) its root; Heng (32. Endurance) its solidity; Sun (41. Decrease) its cultivation; I (42. Increase) its abundance; K'un (47. Exhaustion) its exercise of discrimination; Ching (48. The Well) its field; Sun (57. Gentle Penetration) its regulation.
VII - 3
In Lü we have the perfection of harmony; in Ch'ien we have the giving honour to others and the distinction thence arising; in Fu we have what is small at first, but with a discrimination in it of the qualities of things; in Heng we have a mixed experience, but without any wearyness; in Sun we have difficulty in the beginning, but ease in the end; in I we have abundance of growth without any contrivance; in K'un we have the pressure of extreme difficulty, ending in a free course; in Ching we have abiding in one's place, yet influencing others; in Sun we have the weighing of things and acting accordingly, but secretly and unobserved.
VII - 4
Lü appears in the harmony of conduct; Ch'ien in the regulation of ceremonies; Fu in self-knowledge; Heng in uniformity of virtue; Sun in keeping what is harmful at a distance; I in the promoting of what is advantageous; K'un in the diminution of resentments; Ching in the discrimination of what is righteous; and Sun in the doing what is appropriate to time and circumstances.