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Book 6
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 describes himself, saying that he transmits knowledge but does not innovate. He says that he is honest and “devoted to antiquity.”
In this moment, the Master implies that the wisdom he shares with his students is not his, but derives from antiquity. By recognizing that he himself did not come up with these ideas, he demonstrates humility and devotion to antiquity.
Themes
The Master says that the behaviors he most fears in himself are the following: failing to cultivate virtue, failing deepen his understanding of what he has learned, failing to correct himself when he is wrong, and failing to do the right thing when he knows what it is.
The Master says that he refuses to enlighten those who are not so dedicated to learning that they are not occasionally frustrated by the process. He says, “When I have pointed out one corner of a square to anyone and he does not come back with the other three, I will not point it out to him a second time.”
Here, Confucius implies that he values hard work and individual thought in his students. He wants to work with people who are so devoted to cultivating wisdom that they put all their effort into thinking things through.
Themes
When the Governor of She asks Yu about Confucius, Yu does not answer. When he tells Confucius of this, Confucius asks him why he did not describe him as the sort of man who drives himself to distraction trying to solve a problem, who is so joyful that he does not notice that he is aging.
Here, Confucius again characterizes himself as someone who has a great deal of intellectual discipline. This is one of the traits that he values most in others and has praised repeatedly throughout the Analects.
Themes
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According to the Master, he was not born a wise man, but because he is fond of antiquity he is quick to seek knowledge.
Confucius implies that in order to preserve antiquity, he must seek out knowledge about ancient practices and beliefs. He suggests that it is through his passion for antiquity that he became wise.
Themes
The Master says that he can learn from any two men with whom he walks. He copies the good qualities of the one while correcting in himself the bad qualities of the other.
Again, Confucius emphasizes the ways in which people learn from one another. To him, developing character is a communal process, in which the individuals learn by emulating others who are more skillful.
Themes
