Returning to the father's decay, the third line reports the cost of pressing it hard. Legge's translation allows that there may be some small occasion for repentance, then states plainly that there will not be any great error, and the Little Symbolism closes the matter by saying that in the end there is no error at all. This is a measured verdict rather than a warning. Energy spent slightly beyond what the situation required is a fault of degree, and a hexagram whose whole subject is neglect treats excess of zeal as the cheaper mistake.
Strong and correctly placed in an odd position, the line stands at the top of the lower trigram Xun, the last station before the work rises into the still mountain above. Threshold positions are read as points of maximum exertion, where a movement gathers itself to cross, and the small regret named here is the natural residue of that gathering.
Set against the fourth line, which will view the same decay indulgently and be told that going forward brings regret, this verdict is generous by comparison. Between doing too much and doing nothing the hexagram is unambiguous. Repair carried out with more force than elegance still counts as repair, and the text absolves it.