Recent reading

The first time I looked at an edition of the sayings of Confucius, I confess to being a bit disappointed: to begin with, I was comparing it (because of the format and genre) to the Wisdom books of the Old Testament that I had grown up on, and it's not really a fair comparison to hold one man or even a tradition working only with man's natural intellect up to one that has the benefit of revealed religion and divine inspiration as well as natural wisdom; also, because of the hype surrounding the name of the sage I had unrealistic expectations.

But more recently I ran across the book again and looked at it perhaps from a more realistic perspective, expecting something more along the lines of if there was a book of sayings of Socrates or Aristotle. 

Anyway, from the brief look I have had at it, he must have been a very wise and prudent man.  The teaching reminds me quite a bit of Aristotle and of the Stoic tradition.  For instance, virtue-based ethics and emphasis on the Golden mean.  I bring the Stoics into it because he seems to take it for granted that public service is the most noble calling.  You would expect that if two philosophers from different cultures make accurate statements about human nature that they would have a great deal in common even if they vary in the details.

Here are some of the ones I liked:

• "Sky begat the excellence in me.  How can Hsiang Tu'i harm me?" (Compare to Socrates' claim that no harm of any consequence can come to a good man.  n.b. The translator has "Sky" for "Tien" rather than "heaven.")
• 'Chung Yu inquired about the proper treatment of spirits and divinities.  "You cannot treat spirits and divinities properly before you are able to treat your fellow-men properly."' (Compare to I John 4:20.)
• 'Tuan-mu Tz'u inquired which was of the higher caliber, Chuan-sun Shih or Pu Shang.  "The former is excessive; the latter, deficient."  "In that case, Chuan-sun Shih is of higher caliber."  "Excess and deficiency are equally at fault."' (The Golden Mean.  n.b. the three parts in quotes are an exchange between the master and the student)
• "I would describe Manhood-at-its-best like this: What it desires as its own role, it assigns to others.  The success it desires for itself it causes its fellow-men to attain." (Compare to Aristotle's notion of telea philia, perfected friendship, where the friends produce virtue in each other.)