What men would dare not obey them and be transformed by them? "
"That's deceptive virtue," said Mad Chieh Yii. "Using it to govern all under heaven is like trying to channel a river through the ocean or making a flea carry a mountain on its back. When the sage governs, does he govern externals? No, all he does is set things upright before acting and then make sure they do what they can. Birds fly high to escape harm from the hunter 's dart. Mice burrow deep beneath the mound of the local god to avoid the threat of being smoked out or dug up. Don't you even know as much as these two tiny creatures?