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 rarely discusses profit, Destiny, and benevolence in the same conversation. When someone praises him for being wise but not having established himself in any field, Confucius asks his disciples which field he should choose: driving or archery? He says he thinks he would prefer driving.
Here, the implication is that the Master is above worldly professions like archery or driving. Because he is so dedicated to studying and teaching the Way, he does not need to think about profit or profession in the same way common people do.
Themes
There are four things the Master refuses to engage with in any capacity: they are entertaining conjectures, insisting on certainty, being inflexible, and being egotistical.
The four traits depicted here are the opposite of the things Confucius most values: intellectual humility and curiosity, willingness to learn, and emphasis on the collective rather than the self.
Themes
Sighing, Yen Yüan comments that the more he looks up towards his goal, the higher it appears; the harder he works at achieving it, the more difficult it becomes. When he sees it in front of him, suddenly it is behind him. The Master, he says, is able to lead one step at a time. The Master teaches him high culture but keeps him grounded through practicing the rites. Yen Yüan knows that he will never be able to live in full accordance with the Way, and yet, he will never be able to give up on this goal.
This is an important moment of characterization for Confucius. According to one of his students, he is both a gentle and stern teacher who inspires his students and yet reminds them that they have a lot of work to do. Yen Yüan sounds like the kind of student that Confucius most values, in that he is dedicated to the Way even though he knows that the process is hard.
Themes
The Master says that it is difficult not to be pleased by beautiful words, but what is most important is that one improves oneself. He says that he can do nothing with men who say that they want to reform themselves but take no steps towards this goal.
Again, the Master speaks to the importance of one’s actions aligning with one’s words. If someone isn’t honest with themselves about what they need to improve, and dedicated in their efforts to improve those things, Confucius refuses to help.
Themes
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The Master says that Yu is perhaps the only man he knows who can be poorly dressed and stand next to a wealthy, well-dressed man without feeling ashamed. He quotes the Odes, saying, “Neither envious nor covetous, / How can he be anything but good?”
Again, Confucius praises one of his favorite students for being restrained, for recognizing that material wealth says nothing about one’s value. He praises Yu for not wanting luxury.
Themes
