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
The Master says that although there are 300 Odes, they can be summarized in a single phrase: “Swerving not from the right path.”
Here, Confucius describes the meaning of the Way with great simplicity. However, the fact that there are so many Odes to be studied also reveals how much hard work and rigorous studying it takes to learn about what the “right path” is and how not to sway from it. Therefore, this moment showcases the discipline necessary to live in accordance with the Way.
Themes
When asked what it means to be a good child to one’s parents, the Master says that a good child should “never fail to comply.” This means that good children complete their parents’ wishes when they are alive, and, after their parents die, follow the rites in by giving them a proper burial and making sacrifices to live in accordance with what their parents would wish for them. He adds that good children should cause their parents no stress other than illness.
Confucius again addresses how important it is for children to be loyal to their parents. He establishes a clear hierarchical relationship between parent and child, in which the child’s role is merely to obey and appease their parents. He mentions that children must follow the rites in burying their parents, which again highlights Confucius’s high opinion of tradition.
Themes
Continuing his discussion on what it means to be a good child, the Master comments that in the modern days, people understand a “filial” son to be one who keep his parents well-fed in their old age. He comments, however, that “even hounds and horses are, in some way, provided with food.” For the Master, without reverence for one’s parents, there is no difference between providing food for one’s parents and providing food for one’s animals.
This is the first moment in which Confucius seems to complain about modern ways as they differ from traditional ways. He seems to think that people in his day and age are overly materialistic, thinking that only in caring for their parents’ physical needs they are being sufficiently filial (that is, what is due from a son or daughter). For him, though, honoring one’s parents has much more to do with respecting cultural practices than giving them material comfort.
Themes
When asked about what it means to be a gentleman, the Master says that a gentleman allows his words to follow his actions, rather than speaking first and acting later. He says that a gentleman participates in “associations but not cliques,” whereas the “small man” participates in cliques instead of associations.
Confucius says several times in the Analects that it is important to say only what one can back up with their actions, which highlights Confucius’s strong belief in integrity. He also suggests that the way gentlemen engage with friends is inclusive and kind, whereas lesser men are exclusionary.
Themes
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The Master says that those who learn from the people around them without thinking for themselves at all become bewildered. At the same time, those who think but refuse to learn anything from others are “in peril.”
In order to follow the Way, one must find a balance between relying on their own studies and relying on their friends’ and community’s wisdom. This highlights both self-discipline and the collective as important vehicles through which people can learn about the Way, as long as they’re balanced against one another.
Themes
The Master tells Yu what it is to know: it is “To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not.” This, for the Master, is true knowledge.
Here, again, Confucius emphasizes the importance of integrity and restraint. While someone’s ego might tempt them into pretending to know things when they really don’t, true followers of the Way have the humility to admit when they are ignorant. Through this, they can learn.
Themes
A duke asks the Master how to get the common people to admire him. The Master tells him that he should honor the common people who are honest and admonish those who are dishonest.
The Master often advises political leaders to lead by example. Through celebrating citizens who are honest, Confucius envisions that the duke will effectively lead his people to be honest themselves and earn their respect.
Themes
When asked why he did not take part in the government, the Master quotes the Book of History, saying that a man who is a good son, brother, and friend can influence the government. For Confucius, this is a way to take part in the government.
This is the first moment when Confucius is explicitly identified as the Master. Confucius’s vision of participating in government is really a vision of how individuals can participate meaningfully in their communities. He suggests that the government should operate similarly to the way communities operate and vice versa; good moral character among one’s community, for him, is already substantial political influence.
Themes
