act with restraint and conform to the ways of etiquette
Archaic Confucian phrase, equivalent to 克己復礼. Used in classical contexts to describe self-discipline and adherence to ritual propriety.
See also: 克己復礼
"己に克ち礼に復る" is known as a passage from the Analects.
The more common four-character compound form of the same Confucian concept. 己に克ち礼に復る is the classical phrase broken into a longer reading.
From the Analects of Confucius, expressing the idea of self-restraint and return to propriety. The exact historical derivation is classical Chinese; the Japanese reading is a kun'yomi rendering of the original phrase.