When the liver succumbs to disease, the eyes become dim. When the kidneys are disordered, the hearing becomes impaired.
Although the root cause of the trouble always lies hidden in an undetected place, the symptoms are invariably there for all to see. Therefore, if a virtuous man does not want his faults manifested in places where all can see them, he must first ensure that there is nothing amiss with him in places hidden from the public.
肝受病则目不能视，肾受病则耳不能听；受病于人所不见，必发于人所共见；故君子欲无得罪于昭昭，必先无得罪于冥冥。
Notes
Illness breeds in darkness, Emerges in light
Like hidden organ diseases causing visible sensory failures, moral faults incubated in private inevitably surface in public conduct.
Vigilance in solitude
True nobility lies in upholding ethics when unwatched — restraining hidden impulses and secret misdeeds.
Cultivate the root, Not the symptom
This passage from Cai Gen Tan (Tending the roots of wisdom) warns that superficial behavioral fixes are futile. Lasting integrity requires curing the inner “disease” (greed, jealousy, sloth) at its source.
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