折疑論 3.196

3.196

Laozi said, 'Therefore the sage discards the excessive, the extravagant, and the extreme' (qù is in the falling tone; what Laozi said with the three words 'excessive, extravagant, extreme' all carry the meaning of going beyond the mean and being improper; therefore the sage removes them: 'excessive' means going too far in music, 'extravagant' means going too far in dress and food, 'extreme' means going too far in palaces; if one lacks these three, one accords with the mean).