Chunyu Kun, a native of Qi, offered a persuasion that the king of Wei should join the Vertical Alliance in opposition to Qin. Because the king of Wei considered his argument subtle, he gave him ten chariots for a mission to Chu. As Chunyu Kun was taking his leave, he offered a persuasion that the king of Wei should join the Horizontal Axis with Qin, so the king of Wei canceled his mission. He failed not only in getting the ruler to join the Vertical Alliance, but also in having him join the Horizontal Axis. He would have been better off with fewer abilities and no eloquence at all.
On the Zhou tripods there is pictured the ancient artisan Chui chewing on his own fingers. By this means did the ancient kings illustrate the uselessness of excessive skill.
Id., 18/4.6