Chapter 17, Part 7 - Confucius

Pi Hsi inviting him to visit him, the Master was inclined to go.

Tsze-lu said, "Master, formerly I have heard you say, 'When a man in his own person is guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not associate with him.' Pi Hsi is in rebellion, holding possession of Chung-mau; if you go to him, what shall be said?"

The Master said, "Yes, I did use these words. But is it not said, that, if a thing be really hard, it may be ground without being made thin? Is it not said, that, if a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluid without being made black?

"Am I a bitter gourd? How can I be hung up out of the way of being eaten?"
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.