Hexagram 4 · Line 6
Youthful Folly — 上六
Meng · Shang Liu
The Line
In punishing folly, it is not favorable to commit transgressions. It is favorable only to ward off transgressions.
Interpretation
Under certain circumstances an incorrigible fool must be punished. Whoever will not listen must feel. This punishment is different from the rousing at the outset. But the imposition of punishment must not occur in anger; it must limit itself to an objective warding off of unjustified transgressions. It is never an end in itself but serves only to establish orderly conditions. This applies both to education and to the measures of a government against a population that commits excesses. The intervention of the government must always be merely defensive and has as its sole goal the establishment of public safety and calm.