颂·周颂·闵予小子之什·小毖

予其惩，而毖后患。
莫予荓蜂，自求辛螫。
肇允彼桃虫，拼飞维鸟。
未堪家多难，予又集于蓼。

King Cheng's Self-Criticism*

I blame myself for woes gone by
And guard against those of future nigh.
A wasp is a dangerous thing.
Why should I seek its painful sting?
At first only a wren is heard;
When it takes wing,it becomes a bird.
Unequal to hard tasks of the State,
I am again in a narrow strait.