Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Analects, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Self-Restraint
Honesty and Integrity
The Individual vs. The Collective
Self-Mastery, Discipline, and Improvement
Summary
Analysis
In the state of Ch’en, provisions run out. Confucius and his followers become so hungry that none of them can stand on their feet. Yu asks Confucius whether it is common for gentlemen to find themselves in such difficult circumstances. Confucius responds that it is—in fact, gentlemen are rarely surprised to find themselves in such circumstances. The small man, on the other hand, loses all restraint when in difficult moments.
Speaking about the value of non-attachment, Confucius suggests that gentlemen are used to living through moments of material discomfort and therefore are not perturbed when the find themselves in difficult situations. They are not attached to ease or comfort. Small men, on the other hand, are, and therefore lack resilience.
Themes
The Master praises Shih Yü, who is just as honest and trustworthy when the Way prevails in a state as he is when the Way falls into disuse. He also praises Ch’ü Po-yü, who takes office when the Way prevails but refrains from holding office when the Way falls out of use.
Here, Confucius praises the two men’s discipline and dedication to the Way. Shih Yü doesn’t depend on the Way being popular to act on it; he follows the Way out of his deep personal belief in its teachings. Ch’ü Po-yü has the integrity not to take part in a government whose values he disagrees with.
Themes
The Master says that what the small man seeks, he seeks in others. In contrast, the gentleman only seeks that which is already inside himself.
This passage expands on Confucius’s earlier statement that cultivating benevolence is an individual project, accessed by holding oneself accountable to high moral standards.
Themes
When asked if there is a one word that can serve as a guide throughout one’s life, the Master says that it is the word shu, which encompasses the principle of not imposing on others what one does not wish to experience oneself.
By placing this as the singular, most important value, Confucius characterizes his teachings as being principally about collective and community wellbeing.
Themes
Get the entire The Analects LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Master says that when one has the opportunity to practice benevolence, one should make this a priority even over one’s teacher.
Again, Confucius states that one’s personal practice of benevolence is the most important way in which one can develop one’s moral character.
Themes
