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ConfuciusAnalects of Confucius
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | BCEA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaBooks 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 4 Summary
Confucius returns to the theme of the cultivation of moral character, or what he terms “manhood,” and its social requirements. As Confucius says at the outset of this book, “If the will is set toward manhood, there is no criminality” (24). In addition to the previous books, which have dealt with the cultivation of “manhood” or “gentlemanliness,” Confucius adds here the role played by society in an individual’s pursuit of becoming a virtuous person. As he notes, “A man’s errors, every one of the them, belong to his environment (clique, party, gang he associates with); watch his faults and you can judge his humanity” (25).
This passage, however, should be read in light of the passage that opens the book, which reads, “A neighborhood’s humanity is its beauty. If a man doesn’t settle among real people, how can he know” (24). With these two passages together, Confucius is highlighting the fact that the cultivation of moral character is as much the responsibility of individuals as it is of society as a whole. It is only when both individuals and society orient themselves toward the cultivation of moral virtue that people will live in such a way that they are “[n]ot worried at being out of a job, but about being fit for one; not worried about being unknown but about doing something knowable” (26).
Book 5 Summary
Confucius provides his commentary and assessment of various members who are close to his students and his community. However, despite these various assessments of individual persons, what is at stake in Confucius’s remarks remains that of his pursuit of articulating and outlining the requirements for the cultivation of “manhood” and moral virtue:
He said to Tze-Ch’an: there are four components in a proper man’s doing: He is reverent in his personal conduct, scrupulously honourable in serving his prince, considerate in provisioning the people, and just in employing them” (32).
Expanding upon his characterization of the figure of manhood, Confucius remarks that Kung-Wan, a colleague, received the title of the accomplished one by virtue of the fact that “[h]e was active, loved [to] study and was not ashamed to question his inferiors, therefore described as ‘the accomplished’” (31). These two key passages together create the following image of what it would mean to cultivate the moral virtue of manhood within oneself: Manhood is acting in a way that shows one does not think too highly of oneself (being reverent in personal conduct), being measured in one’s conduct such that one acts appropriately in one’s profession (being scrupulously honourable), being sympathetic yet firm in judging the behavior of others (being considerate in provisioning the people), being empathetic in terms of ensuring equal opportunity (being just in employment), and seeking out knowledge and clarification with respect to those who are younger and less experienced (loving to study and not being ashamed to question his inferiors).
Book 6 Summary
Confucius continues offering his comments regarding various colleagues to provide a richer picture of the virtue that is called “manhood.” Regarding his colleague, Yuan Sze, who was elected governor but declined offerings of grain, Confucius says: “Yuan Sze being made governor, declined 900 measures of grain given him [...] Confucius said: Don’t, they could be given to your big and little hamlets, villages, towns” (36). For Confucius, it is constitutive of manhood to know when to accept offerings, especially when such gifts will benefit the larger community.
Regarding his colleague Hui, Confucius says: “Hui had solid talent (merit). One bamboo dish of rice, one ladle full of drink, living in a wretched lane, others couldn’t have stood it. Hui continued to enjoy (life) unaltered, that’s how solid his talent was” (37). For the individual who has cultivated true manhood hardship in the present is of no concern precisely because the individual remains focused on preparing for employment rather than on the fact of not having a job, as Confucius already mentioned in Book 4. By contrast, for the individual who lacks “manhood,” Confucius has this to say: “If a man isn’t strong enough he stops half way, you shut yourself in” (37). Thus it is only by cultivating the strength that leads to accomplishment and the solidity to persevere through difficult circumstances that one can achieve manhood: “[A]ccomplishment and solidity as two trees growing side by side and together with leafage and the consequences is the proper man” (38).
Books 4-6 Analysis
In Books 4-6 of the Analects, Confucius provides a more detailed elaboration on the image of the virtuous individual or the one who possesses “manhood”: “The complete man wants to build up himself in order to build up others; to be intelligent (see through things) in order to make others intelligent” (40). In Book 4, Confucius returns to the theme of the cultivation of moral character, or what he terms “manhood,” and its social requirements. As Confucius says at the outset of this book, “If the will is set toward manhood, there is no criminality” (24). Throughout this book, Confucius highlights the fact that the cultivation of moral character is as much the responsibility of individuals as it is of society as a whole. It is only when both individuals and society orient themselves toward the cultivation of moral virtue that people will live in such a way that they are “[n]ot worried at being out of a job, but about being fit for one; not worried about being unknown but about doing something knowable” (26).
Continuing on the themes laid out in Book 5, in the fifth book, Confucius asserts that the essence of manhood is acting in such a way that one does not think too highly of oneself (being reverent in personal conduct), being measured in one’s conduct such that one acts appropriately in one’s profession (being scrupulously honourable), being sympathetic yet firm in judging the behavior of others (being considerate in provisioning the people), being empathetic in terms of ensuring equal opportunity (being just in employment), and seeking out knowledge and clarification with respect to those who are younger and less experienced (loving to study and not being ashamed to question his inferiors).
In the sixth book, Confucius ties these reflections on manhood and the virtuous individual to those who hold political office. Thus, says Confucius, it is only by cultivating the strength that leads to accomplishment and the solidity to persevere through difficult circumstances that one can achieve manhood while holding a position of authority in politics: “[A]ccomplishment and solidity as two trees growing side by side and together with leafage and the consequences is the proper man” (38).
