Pulling oneself together
One jokes about one's own decline when one should be looking for ways to remedy it. taoscopy.com
Splitting Apart23
Unraveling structures; necessary endings. Prepare for new beginnings. Embrace the change, allowing the old to fall away.
↓ Line 1
The foundation is weak, and persistence in this situation leads to ruin.
↓ Line 2
The situation is deteriorating, and continued effort will not prevent the collapse.
↓ Line 4
The damage is severe, affecting the core, leading to misfortune.
↓ Line 6
Opportunities remain for the wise, while the unwise face disintegration.
↓ The Marrying Maiden54
Proceed cautiously, recognizing limitations and external influences. Adapt to circumstances with humility and patience, but remain aware of your own path and intentions.
23 Splitting Apart
Other titles: Splitting Apart, The symbol of Falling or Flaying, Peeling Off, Decay, Flaying, Stripping Away, Intrigue, Deterioration, Collapse, Fracturing, Tearing, Disintegration, Ruin, Unraveling, "Can refer to a physical parting. Making a secure foundation." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Disintegration means that it is not advantageous to make a movement in any direction whatever.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Splitting Apart. It does not further one to go anywhere.
Blofeld: Peeling off. At present, there is no goal (or destination) which can be sought with advantage. [Peeling off in the sense of getting rid of hindrances (or hinderers) one after another. The first four lines of this hexagram symbolize a process of ridding ourselves progressively of all those upon whom we are accustomed to rely, for the powers of darkness are in the ascendant and no one can be trusted. However, in the long run, virtue triumphs, as indicated by line five, and ultimately we are all the more esteemed for our steadfastness, as can be seen from line six.]
Liu: Decay. It is unfavorable to undertake anything.
Ritsema/Karcher:Stripping not Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of something outmoded or worn out. It emphasizes that eliminating what has become unusable is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Flaying: Not beneficial to have someplace to go.
Cleary (1):Stripping away does not make it beneficial to go anywhere.
Cleary (2): … It is not beneficial, etc.
Wu: Tearing indicates that it is not advantageous to have any undertaking.
The Image
Legge: The image of a mountain adhering to the earth forms Disintegration. Superiors therefore strengthen their inferiors to secure the peace and stability of their own position.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The mountain rests on the earth: the image of Splitting Apart. Thus those above can ensure their position only by giving generously to those below.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a mountain resting upon the earth. The truly great shower generosity upon those under them to enable them to live in peace and comfort. [The upper and lower trigrams, mountain and Earth, symbolize the Superior Man and the people in his care.]
Liu: The mountain stands on the earth, symbolizing Decay. Those above should act with benevolence toward those below. Then there will be peace and security.
Ritsema/Karcher: Mountain adjoining with-respect-to earth. Stripping. Using munificence above to quiet the position below.
Cleary (1): Mountains are joined to the earth. Those above secure their homes by kindness to those below.
Wu: The mountain is subordinated to the earth; this is Tearing .Thus those above treat those below with liberal rewards to secure their own positions.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Disintegration means overthrowing or being overthrown: the magnetic lines attack the dynamic line at the top in order to change it into one of themselves. It is unwise to move in any direction because inferior elements are now increasing in power. The superior man, observing this, stops all forward movement. He defers to the exigency of the time, realizing that increase and decrease, ripeness and decay are cyclic rhythms.
Legge:Disintegrationis the symbol of falling or causing to fall, and refers to the process of decay or overthrow in both the natural and political worlds. The figure consists of five yin lines below and one yang line on top. Decay has begun at the bottom and crept upward. The hexagram symbolizes the ninth month when summer has passed and the year is about to fall into the sterile arms of winter. In the political world, inferior men have gradually displaced good men until only one remains. The lesson for him is to wait because the power operating against him is too strong. Eventually a change for the better will appear. The specific image is that of a bed and its occupant, and the symbolism describes the attempts made to overthrow him. The lower trigram of Docility and the upper trigram of Keeping Still suggest to the superior man of line six how he can best deal with the prevailing circumstances. The situation is not hopeless -- winter is followed by spring, night by day, and the waning moon soon grows full again. So will it be in the course of human affairs.
The idea behind the Image is that a mountain has the earth for its foundation. If the earth is thick, the mountain preserves its height. So it is with the sovereign and people.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Disintegration means do not act.
The Superior Man stabilizes his responses and seeks tranquility.
The twenty-third hexagram is the inverse ofReturn, the hexagram immediately following it. Each figure depicts an opposite pole in a cyclic progression. Here the old cycle has disintegrated to the point of dissolution. The following hexagram depicts theReturnto the beginning of a new cycle.
The first four lines of Disintegration show the gradual erosion of a position or frame of reference, symbolized by a bed or couch. The inferior forces creep up from below like termites to undermine a solid foundation. The fifth line shows a gathering of forces for a potentially positive transformation, and the top line suggests the first stages of this transformation. The implication is that times of disintegration needn't always be regarded as negative, or a foregone conclusion. We still have the choice to alter conditions in our favor.
That the superior man "strengthens his inferiors" to insure the stability of his position, means that one stabilizes one's psychological situation by defusing the causes of rebellion -- safeguard the foundation where it is weak. Hexagram number forty-three, Resoluteness, is a negative picture of this figure, and the message in the Image is very similar: "The superior man does not hoard his wealth, but shares it with his subordinates." The idea is subtle -- it doesn't mean to indulge your weaknesses, but to monitor them encouragingly so that they may become transformed into positive forces.
Whenever we go deep enough toward the core of a sub- personality, we find that the core -- which is some basic urge, or need -- is good. For practical purposes, this can be considered an absolute. No matter how many layers of distortion may surround it, the basic need, the basic motivation, is a good one -- and if it becomes twisted, it was because of not being able to express itself directly. The real core -- not what the sub- personality wants, but what it needs -- is good. A basic purpose of the coordination phase is to discover this central urge or need, to make it conscious, and to find acceptable ways in which it can be satisfied and fulfilled. And, provided we have sufficient understanding and skill, it can be satisfied -- if not fully, at least enough to maintain the process of growth. James Vargiu -- Subpersonalities
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows one overturning the couch by injuring its legs. The injury will go on to the destruction of all firm correctness, and there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The leg of the bed is split. Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune.
Blofeld: He starts the peeling off at the foot of the bed. There is no steadfastness -- misfortune!
Liu: The legs of the bed are rotting. If one continues despite this, misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Stripping the bed, using the stand. Discarding the Trial: pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Flaying the good together with the legs; determination about the military is inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Stripping a bed of the legs, destroying rectitude brings misfortune.
Cleary (2): … Destroying uprightness, etc.
Wu: He tears down the legs of the bed. Without regard to what is correct, it will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Thus she commences her work of ruin with what is lowest in the superior man. Wilhelm/Baynes: "The leg of the bed is split," in order to destroy those below. Blofeld: This implies ridding ourselves of those below. [Because he finds them unworthy. What is said in the various lines about the foot, edge and mattress of the bed means that he is obliged to continue the peeling off process until he reaches those very close to himself; there is no one left whom he can trust to help him in his work of righteousness.] Ritsema/ Karcher: Below using submerging indeed. Cleary (2): (He) is destroying the foundation.[In contemplating mind, this refers to removing the foundation of discipline.] Wu: He destroys the underpinning.
Legge: The attempt in line one is made by commencing with the legs of the couch. The symbolism goes on to explain itself. The object of the evil worker is the overthrow of all firm correctness. Of course there will be evil.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the superior men around the ruler are being undermined by the slander and intrigue of inferior men on their destructive path. All that can be done is to be patient while the evil continues.
Wing: Your position is being undermined. Persons of inferior persuasions have entered the situation from below and are creating an environment for Deterioration. The time bodes evil for persons of integrity. All you can do is patiently wait.
Editor: A bed is a resting place, a context or matrix, as “the bed of a river.” The legs of the bed are its support, or foundation. Thus, the injury or disintegration of the legs is synonymous with "not having a leg to stand on." The image suggests the destruction of a fundamental premise which is essential for correct behavior.
That a bed signifies doctrine, is from correspondence, for as the body rests in its bed, so does the mind rest in its doctrine. Swedenborg
A. Your assumptions are unfounded -- to continue in error brings unfortunate consequences.
B. Destructive forces are active -- to pursue your present course is to feed their intent.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows one overthrowing the couch by injuring its frame. The injury will go on to the destruction of all firm correctness, and there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The bed is split at the edge. Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune.
Blofeld: He continues peeling off at the edge of the bed. There is no steadfastness -- misfortune!
Liu: The frame of the bed is rotting. If one continues despite this, misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Stripping the bed, using marking-off. Discarding the Trial: pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Flaying the good together with the dividers; determination about the military is inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Stripping a bed of its frame, destroying rectitude brings misfortune.
Cleary (2): … Destroying uprightness, etc.
Wu: He strips away the panels of the bed. Without regard to what is correct, it will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The superior man has as yet no associates. Wilhelm/ Baynes: One has no comrade. Blofeld: This implies being left without friends. Ritsema/Karcher: Not-yet possessing associating indeed. Cleary (2): There is nothing to work with. Wu: He does not have a responsive correlate.
Legge: line two has the same effect as line one, except that the foe has advanced from the legs to the frame of the couch.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The inferior men grow stronger. No help is in sight. Great caution and stubborn adherence to personal convictions are required.
Wing: The time requires the utmost caution. You are without allies in a compromising situation. Adapt as best you can to the circumstances. Do not take a self-righteous position or you could be badly hurt.
Editor: The legs are what the bed stands upon; the frame is what defines its perimeter. Line two therefore suggests the destruction of a definition which is essential to a doctrine, belief or discipline. For example, a basic tenet of Alcoholics Anonymous is the idea that each member must abstain entirely from alcohol. To expand the rules to permit the consumption of one ounce of alcohol per day would be to "overthrow the couch" -- the entire concept of what Alcoholics Anonymous is would be destroyed by including such an idea in its framework. Sometimes receiving this line is a simple acknowledgment that an old viewpoint or belief was inadequate -- in which case it needed to be destroyed.
As long as soul stays true to itself, it loves the divinity and desires to be at one with it, as a daughter loves with noble love a noble father. When, however, the soul has come down here to human birth, it exchanges (as if deceived by the false promises of an adulterous lover) its divine love for one that is mortal. And then, far from its begetter, the soul yields to all manner of excess. Plotinus
A. Suggests a situation with weak or disintegrating boundaries.
B. Conclusions based on faulty premises are worthless. Rationalization may be a factor.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows its subject having overthrown the couch, and going on to injure the skin of him who lies on it. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The bed is split up to the skin . Misfortune.
Blofeld: He continues the peeling off at the mattress of his bed -- misfortune!
Liu: The entire bed rots, reaching the body. Misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Stripping the bed, using flesh . Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Flaying the good together with the skin; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Stripping away even the skin on the bed , misfortune.
Cleary (2): Stripping a bed to the skin brings misfortune.
Wu: He rips off the matting in the bed . There will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Calamity is very near at hand. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is a serious and immediate misfortune. Blofeld: This presages our being very close to a terrible misfortune. Ritsema/Karcher: Slicing close-to calamity indeed. Cleary (2): Getting very close to disaster. Wu: The danger is imminent.
Legge: Danger is imminent. The bed has been overthrown. The person of the occupant is at the mercy of the destroyers.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Calamity is imminent. Neither warning nor protection is forthcoming. The man is at the mercy of destroyers.
Wing: You are exposed to danger. Calamity is imminent and you are unable to hold it back. Without warning, you are on the threshold of defeat.
Editor: This is one of the most negative lines in the I Ching-- an image of maximum destruction. Legge’s translation suggests that the dynamic sixth line may be regarded as the bed’s symbolic occupant -- i.e., it's his skin which is being flayed. Psychologically interpreted, this can suggest the Self which is in some sense em-bed-ed in its satellite complexes.
Even at the height of [Hitler's] power there was for him no Germany, there were no German troops for whom he felt himself responsible; for him there was -- at first sub-consciously, but in his last years fully consciously -- only one greatness, a greatness which dominated his life and to which his evil genius sacrificed everything -- his own ego. Colonel-General Franz Halder
A. You are destroying the Work.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows its subject as a great fruit which has not been eaten. The superior man finds the people again as a chariot carrying him. The inferior men by their course overthrow their own dwellings.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is a large fruit still uneaten. The superior man receives a carriage. The house of the inferior man is split apart.
Blofeld: The ripe fruit remains uneaten. [Few care to accept advice or help, although the Superior Man will gladly give it them.] The Superior Man will acquire a carriage, whereas the mean man will lose his own house. [This line presages great good fortune for the truly virtuous; for, in the end, their virtue is widely recognized and men rally to their support. On the other hand, those who hitherto have managed to obtain good fortune through dishonest methods pursued at a time when virtue as under an eclipse will lose everything they have.]
Liu: A large fruit not eaten. The superior man acquires a carriage. The inferior man's house falls apart.
Ritsema/Karcher: The ripe fruit not taken in. A chun tzu acquiring a cart. Small People Stripping the hut.
Shaughnessy: The stone fruit is not eaten: the gentleman obtains a chariot the little man flays a gourd.
Cleary (1): A hard fruit is not eaten. The superior person gets a vehicle. The inferior person is stripped of a house.
Cleary (2): … The leader gets a vehicle. The petty person, etc.
Wu: The grand fruit is not picked for eating. The jun zi gains a carriage. The little men tear down their shelters. [This is the lone yang line in the hexagram, like a big fruit not yet picked. Translation: the only remaining yang not stripped off by the yin. Here is the jun zi [chun tzu, superior man] who has the support of the people. Despite temporary setbacks, goodness prevails in the end.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The superior man finds himself in a carriage: he is carried along by the people. The inferior men have over-thrown their own dwellings, which can never again be of use to them. Wilhelm/Baynes: He is carried by the people. "The house of the inferior man is split apart": he ends up as useless. Blofeld: The carriage symbolizes the support of the people. The mean wretch who loses his house is ultimately found useless for anything. Ritsema/ Karcher: Commoners: the place to carry indeed. Completing, not permitting availing-of indeed. Cleary (2): The leader (is) carried by the people. The small person is after all unsuitable for employment. Wu: Because the people support him. Because they have destroyed their own usefulness.
Legge: The dynamic sixth line, notwithstanding the attempts against him, survives and acquires fresh vigor. The people again cherish their sovereign, and the plotters have wrought to their own destruction.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The evil finally brings about its own demise, and good times return.
The man acquires fresh vigor, and the sovereign is strengthened by public support.
Wing: The forces of Deterioration have ended. The power will return to persons of worthwhile vision, who will again win the support of others. Inferior persons are destroyed by their own evil, for without power, negativity is self-consuming.
Editor: Fruit: Generally, the results of any action, either good or bad: An accrual of Karma. "By their fruits ye shall know them." (The context here being favorable.) Chariot: A vehicle, means of progress, way of going. It can symbolize the psyche as the vehicle of evolution. Here, the superior man (or Self) has a "new way of going." People:"(Symbolic of) the lower mental and emotional qualities; the natural undeveloped instincts and activities which are to be disciplined and used as a means to the end of the manifestation of the Self." [Gaskell --Dictionary of Scriptures and Myths]. Dwelling:in the symbolism of this line, the dwellings of the inferior men are the focal points of autonomous, unregenerate forces within the psyche: desires, appetites, etc. But now these foci are overthrown, so the inferior forces no longer "have a home." Generally speaking, this line tells us that the time of disintegration has passed or will soon change for the better. As Legge points out in his commentary on the hexagram: "The situation is not hopeless -- winter is followed by spring, night by day, and the waning moon soon grows full again. So will it be in the course of human affairs."
Happy is the virtuous man, for he will feed on the fruit of his deeds; Woe to the wicked, evil is on him, he will be treated as his actions deserve. Isaiah 3: 10-11
A. The consequences of past actions have yet to manifest themselves, or you have yet to assimilate an insight concerning a natural separation of positive and negative elements within the situation. However, a reorganization and new synthesis of forces is imaged and stability is being re-established.
54 The Marrying Maiden
Other titles: The Marrying Maiden, The Symbol of the Marriage of the Younger Sister, Marriageable Maiden, The Marrying Girl, Subordinate, The Second Wife, Converting Maidenhood, Returning maiden, Making a young girl marry, Marrying a young girl, Marrying a Maiden, Unilateral Action, Impropriety, Improper Advances, "Deals with life and death, sex and birth. It contains a warning about a person or situation. It deals essentially with discrimination. The first step on the Path without which we are useless." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Propriety indicates that action will be evil, and in no wise advantageous.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Marrying Maiden. Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing that would further.
Blofeld:The Marriageable Maiden. Advance brings misfortune. No goal (or destination) is now favorable.
Liu: The Marrying Girl. Undertaking leads to misfortune. Nothing benefits.
Ritsema/Karcher: Converting Maidenhood, chastising: pitfall. Without direction: Harvesting. [Without direction: Harvesting: ... In order to take advantage of the situation, do not impose a direction on events.] [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the changing status of someone who cannot control their circumstances. It emphasizes that finding a real field of activity through accepting this imposition is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Returning maiden: To be upright is inauspicious; there is no place beneficial.
Cleary (1): Making a young girl marry: To go on will lead to misfortune; no profit is gained.
Cleary (2):Marrying a young girl. To go on an expedition leads to misfortune, with nothing gained.
Wu: Marrying a Maiden indicates that it will be foreboding to make moves. There is nothing to be gained.
The Image
Legge: The waters of a Marsh with Thunder over it form the hexagram of Propriety. The superior man, in accordance with this, having regard to the far-distant end, knows the mischief that may be done at the beginning.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder over the lake: the image of The Marrying Maiden. Thus the superior man understands the transitory in the light of the eternity of the end.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over a pool. The Superior Man knows that, to achieve an enduring end, he must be aware of his mistakes at the beginning.
Liu: Thunder over the lake symbolizes the Marrying Girl. The superior man knows the cause of error, and persists in his virtue to the end.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh possessing thunder. Converting Maidenhood. A chun tzu uses perpetually completing to know the cracked.
Cleary (1): There is thunder above a lake, making a young girl marry. Thus superior people persist to the end and know what is wrong.
Cleary (2): Thunder over a lake – Marrying a young girl. Developed people consider lasting results and know what is wrong. [The way developed people handle things is that before they take the time to ask how to start something, they first consider lasting results. If they think of lasting results, they know what is wrong with acting prematurely, like marrying an immature girl. If you understand the meaning of this, you can apply it to government and to contemplating mind as well.]
Wu: There is thunder above the marsh; this is Marrying a Maiden. Thus, the jun zi in the pursuit of lasting excellence realizes the flaws and corrects them.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In the marriage of a young bride the proper relationship between heaven and earth is seen. Nothing could grow or flourish if heaven and earth did not unite. The marriage of a young bride is therefore both the commencement and goal of humanity. But here the desire of pleasure employs movement to attain union. This action will be evil because the lines are in inappropriate places, and the magnetic three and five are mounted on dynamic lines.
Legge: The Chinese phrase for this hexagram might be equivalent to the English "giving in marriage,” but there are some special meanings in this case which must be understood. The Judgment gives a bad auspice because the trigram of the Youngest Daughter is beneath the trigram of the Eldest Son. Since the action of the hexagram begins with the lowest trigram, we have two violations of propriety. First, the marriage is initiated by the woman and her friends. She goes unilaterally to her future home instead of the bridegroom coming to fetch her. Second, the parties are unequally matched -- there is too great a disparity in their ages. In addition, all the lines in the hexagram except the top and the bottom are in places inappropriate for them. Some commentators insist that the symbol of the contracting of a marriage in this hexagram sets forth some principles which should obtain in the relation between a ruler and his ministers.
The growth of things in nature from the interaction of heaven and earth is analogous to the increase of mankind through the interaction between male and female in marriage. The K'ang-hsi editors reconcile this good auspice with the unfavorable Judgment by saying: "The interaction of the yin and yang cannot be dispensed with, but we ought to be careful about it in the beginning in order to prevent mischief in the end.” The error here is that the desire for the marriage originated with the lady, and that she is heedless of the disparity in their ages.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Propriety means that unilateral action is inappropriate.
The Superior Man understands that the Work is guided from within, and that choices which ignore this truth can only retard its progress. (Present actions originate future consequences: pay heed to your choices.)
The traditional name for this hexagram is The Marrying Maiden -- a title which does not convey to modern western readers the subtlety of its symbolism. Blofeld says: "This hexagram is, on the whole, a most unfortunate omen ... We must not suppose that it deals only with marriage. What is said about the maiden symbolizes in some way or other what we may expect for ourselves within the context of our enquiry." The figure is certainly difficult, but "unfortunate" only if its import is resisted or denied: any portrayal of our situation which eliminates illusion (however painful the realization), must be regarded as a positive lesson.
Although the Confucian commentary describes this hexagram in terms of self-seeking aspiration, the wretched protagonist of the figure is not invariably culpable, and neither Judgment nor Image imply this. In addition to being at the very bottom of the social pecking order, the maiden is portrayed as half-blind, crippled and a "slave." Although condemned by the commentators for importuning a marriage that would raise her status, a close reading of the lines reveals that only the sixth place suggests possible impropriety -- the others all contain advice about how one of extremely low status should cope with restricted circumstances. The hexagram therefore can deal with either of two possible conditions: those involving Proprietyand those involving Making-do as an adaptation to adversity.
In the first instance, it is useful to compare the symbolism here with that of the preceding hexagram of Gradual Progress. There we see the organic progression of the Work allegorized as the proper marriage of a young woman. In this case, Gradual Progress has been turned upside down and the symbolism reversed: this young woman improperly pursues a marriage on her own initiative. Psychologically interpreted, it can be regarded as an image of the ego pushing its own agenda or desire for union.
The ego may move in directions and toward actions that are at variance with the intentions and standards of the Self ... The mature adult needs to recognize eventually his or her relative limitedness vis-à-vis the "Self- field" and the cosmic organism of which s/he is but a cell. We are subject to the ordering and growth intents of the entelechy of the whole. E. C. Whitmont -- The Alchemy of Healing
To recognize our `relative limitedness “vis-à-vis the Self-field” is to renounce our claim to unilateral action. Though the ego ardently desires a marriage with the Self, only the Self can initiate such a union. Chou Tun I, an early Neo-Confucian, makes an observation which illuminates Legge's Image:
"The superior man, in accordance with this, having regard to the far-distant end, knows the mischief that may be done at the beginning. The most important things in the world are tendencies. Tendencies may be strong or weak. If a tendency is extremely strong, it cannot be controlled. But it is possible to control it quickly if one realizes that it is strong. To control it requires effort. If one does not realize early enough, it will not be easy to apply effort.”
To receive this hexagram without changing lines can be an admonition to examine your motives and actions in the matter at hand. Where are you out of line? If no obvious impropriety is involved, it could also portray an essentially impotent predicament. At such times Ritsema/Karcher's synopsis bears repetition: "This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the changing status of someone who cannot control their circumstances. It emphasizes that finding a real field of activity through accepting this imposition is the adequate way to handle it.”
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare Propriety with hexagram number fifty-three, Gradual Progress, then compare them both with hexagram number thirty-one,Initiative. What are the similarities in their ideas? Now look at hexagrams number eleven, seventeen and twenty-two and observe the over-all philosophy which begins to emerge.