《梁书·列传·卷五十二》
刘秉一向敬重陶季直，他想约陶季直一起研究对付齐高帝的策略。陶季直认为袁、刘二人都是儒生，他们的圆谋一定会导致灭亡，因此坚决拒绝不肯赴约。
季直以袁、刘儒者，必致颠殒，固辞不赴。
Liu Bing had always respected Tao Jizhi, and he wanted to invite Tao Jizhi to study the strategy to deal with Emperor Gao of Qi. Tao Jizhi believed that Yuan and Liu were both Confucian scholars, and their conspiracy would definitely lead to their demise, so he firmly refused to attend the meeting.