A merchant wishes to see the world. Or, more precisely, to see himself in the world, as a gracious counselor to others. “Clearly I know a lot about what is of value in life and I should educate others as part of my civic duty.” He has also grown florid and very fat. Somewhat from a celebration of his material success, but also because he is both lazy and he has neglected his inner self, leaving an empty gnawing that is with him always. And so he eats and eats, and talks and talks, in an attempt to mask his hollowness. And rather than look into that dark maw, he casts his eyes upon others — noting faults that he fails to recognize in himself and so considers himself beyond, and praising those qualities he ascribes to himself and for which he seeks notice. As he travels, round and round, his mouth is always open — either to dispense his opinion, or to stuff it with food and wine. One day he is walking across a bridge, feeling pleased with his sophistication as he prates on about the quaint charm of the village around him. Over the sound of his voice and flapping lips, he cannot hear the wood groaning under his prodigious weight, and his polite guides cannot find an opportunity to utter warning of the danger at his feet. So he is surprised when it gives way and he clumsily falls into the water. Not knowing how to shut his mouth, he swallows a goodly part of the river and promptly drowns. This ends up being his most profound lesson to others.
— Anonymous
Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with… Thus the superior man is careful of his words and temperate in eating and drinking… This is an image of providing nourishment through movement and tranquility. The superior man takes it as a pattern for the nourishment and cultivation of his character. Words are a movement going from within outward. Eating and drinking are movements from outward within. Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquility. For tranquility keeps the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding proper measure, and keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding its proper measure. Thus character is cultivated.
— I Ching, Corners of the Mouth
