47] were sitting with him, the Master said,
Why not each of you tell me thy wishes?

[Footnote 46: Po-yi and Shu-ch'i were sons of the King of Ku-chu.
Their father left the throne to the younger of the two; but he would
not supplant the elder, nor would the elder go against his father's
wishes. So they both retired into obscurity. When King Wu overthrew
the tyrant Chou (1122 B.C.), they starved to death, rather than live
under a new dynasty. Of Po-yi Mencius tells us (Book X, chapter 1):
'His eyes would not look on an evil face, his ears would not listen to
an evil sound. He served none but his own lord, he ruled none but his
own people. He came in when there was order, and withdrew when tumults
came. Where lawless rule showed, or lawless people stayed, he could
not bear to dwell. To be together with country folk he thought like
sitting in court dress and court cap on dust and ashes. In Chou's time
he dwelt by the North Sea shore, waiting for all below heaven to grow
clean. So, hearing the ways of Po-yi, the fool grows honest, and the
weakling's purpose stands.']

[Footnote 47: Tzu-lu.]

Tzu-lu said, I should like carriages and horses, and clothes of light
fur to share with my friends, and, if they spoiled them, not to get
angry.

Yen Yuean said, I should like to make no boast of talent or show or
merit.

Tzu-lu said, We should like to hear your wishes, Sir.

The Master said, To give the old folk peace, to be true to friends,
and to have a heart for the young.

26. The Master said, It is finished! I have met no one that can see
his own faults and arraign himself within.

27. The Master said, In a hamlet of ten houses there must be men that
are as faithful and true men as I, but they do not love learning as I
do.

BOOK VI

1. The Master said, Yung[48] might fill the seat of a prince.

And might Tzu-sang Po-tzu? asked Chung-kung.

Yes, said the Master; but he is slack.

To be stern to himself, said Chung-kung, and slack in his claims on
the people, might do; but to be slack himself and slack with others
must surely be too slack.

The Master said, What Yung says is true.

2. Duke Ai asked which disciples loved learning.

Confucius answered, Yen Hui[49] loved learning. He did not carry over
anger; he made no mistake twice. Alas! his mission was short, he died.
Now that he is gone, I hear of no one that loves learning.

3. When Tzu-hua[50] was sent to Ch'i, the disciple Jan asked for grain
for