Confucius: The Essential Analects Summary

There were many recurring themes throughout the Analects, and those are the ones I'm going to talk about, since Confucius must have believed them to be very important since he emphasized them so much. They all have to do with being Good, which is the central theme of this book.

One thing about Confucius is that he is very specific when he decides what is Goodness and what is not, and he doesn't believe that being pure, or wise, or courageous, is the same thing as being Good. There are many times when a disciple comes to him with an example of someone, and asks the Master if he is Good, only to have him answer that he is this, this, or this, but maybe not good. The best example is 5.19, when Zilu brings up and example of a minister. Confucius states that he is dutiful and pure, but that he has done nothing to deserve being called Good.

Another thing that Confucius preaches is the importance to have a love for learning, complaining about who can't study for more than three years without thinking about money. He states that, "In any village of ten households there are surely those who are as dutiful or trustworthy as I am, but there is no one who matches my love for learning," (5.28), and laughing at someone who believes that he should become more learned in one subject than the others (9.2). He also believes that all good qualities, unless balanced by a love for learning, will turn into vices (17.18). For example, "Loving Goodness without balancing it with a love for learning will result in the vice of foolishness."

Confucius also talks a lot about the importance of observing the rites, yet with a right mixture of "native substance and cultural refinement." Native substance is genuine belief of your religion and cultural, and cultural refinement is the elaborate way of doing your rituals. If you have too much native substance, you become a crude rustic, but if you have too much cultural refinement you become foppish. You need both to become a gentleman (6.18). His love for the rites is related to his love for antiquity; "I am not someone who was born with knowledge. I simply love antiquity, and diligently look there for knowledge." (7.20) He does not believe in innovation, but believes that if something has worked for a long time, then it proves it good and should be continued, which is funny because that was actually one of rhetoric fallacies. He also believes in following the Odes, insisting that they don't lead you astray (2.2), which is another instance of using the old ways of thinking as guidance.

The last thing that Confucius really emphasizes is the importance of being filial (1.6). He also talks about the fact that being filial is more than just giving his parents food and taking care of them (2.7). Even animals can do that. Humans need to respect their parents, and follow their wishes (1.11). You need to protect them, as well as cover up for them if they get into trouble, and even if they do something illegal. He really stresses the importance of behaving his way towards your elders, parents, and older brothers.

These are the most recurring themes throughout the Analects. He talks about them over and over again, all the while showing different aspects of them and giving us examples of how they should be done. I think he did this to show us that these are the most important characteristics of being Good, so that we can see who is Good and try to follow their example (16.4, 12.24, 4.17).