"Now these six worthies enjoy a high reputation among men. Yet a fuller investigation shows that in each case a desire for advantage disturbed their original purity and forced it into a contrary direction. Hence the shamelessness of their deeds.
"Among those whom the world calls virtuous were Poh I and Shu Ch'i. They declined the sovereignty of Ku-chu and died of starvation on Mount Shou-yang, their corpses deprived of burial.
"Pao Chiao made a great show of virtue and abused the world in general. He grasped a tree and died.
Tzŭ Kung, one of Confucius' disciples, is said to have scolded Pao Chiao so vigorously that the latter withered up into dead wood.
"Shên T'u Ti, when no heed was paid to his counsels, jumped into the river with a stone on his back and became food for fishes.
See p. [72].
"Chieh Tzŭ T'ui was truly loyal. He cut a slice from his thigh to feed Wên Wang. Afterwards, when Wên Wang turned his back upon him, he retired in anger, and grasping a tree, was burnt to death.
He took refuge in a forest, from which Wên Wang, anxious to recover his friend, tried to smoke him out!
"Wei Shêng made an assignation with a girl beneath a bridge. The girl did not come, and the water rose. But Wei Shêng would not leave. He grasped a buttress and died.
"These four differed in no way from dogs and pigs going about begging to be slaughtered. They all exaggerated reputation and disregarded death. They did not reflect upon their original nature and seek to preserve life into the old age allotted.