Zhuge Oracle Lesson 116
Zhuge Oracle Lesson 116 “Gains small as a snail's horn or a fly's head—”: Coveting petty gains accomplishes nothing great. Even if you see through it and stop nitpicking for a while, you may begin well but not finish, slipping back into old habits.
From the complete 384-lesson Zhuge Shen Shu (Zhuge Oracle) system.
Oracle Text
Gains small as a snail's horn or a fly's head—
by now you have learned to let them go;
yet the people laugh at you behind their hands:
good at the start, but not so at the end.
Interpretation
Coveting petty gains accomplishes nothing great. Even if you see through it and stop nitpicking for a while, you may begin well but not finish, slipping back into old habits.