From A Chinese Garden of Serenity (1959), by Hung Tzu-ch’eng, translated by Chao Tze-chiang:

When a man does not establish himself on a high plane, it is like brushing clothes in the dust or washing feet in the mud. How can he then be transcendent? And when he deals with the world without yielding a step, it is like a moth flying into a candle or a ram butting against a hedgerow. How can he then be happy?