The portrait of the sage in Analects VII
More Stoicising obs on the Confucian classic
Although each of the twenty books of the Analects is paratactic, a sequence of episodes and sayings by Confucius, his pupils and contemporaries, different books have different foci. Book II was strongly about filial piety; book IV about ren or benevolence. Book VII is almost wholly devoted to a kind of portrait of the sage or philosopher, in the person of Confucius himself.
So, here are some observations, with our biases and interests announced in advance. The wise person is not partial, but few of us are wise, and anyone who pronounces themselves so, certainly isn’t, in the Confucian and Socratic perspective.
Not an innovator, not a sage
We start with a famous humble statement in which Confucius claims not to be an original thinker, but someone who returns to the wisdom of the ancients of his day.
“I, as a transmitter and not an originator, and as one who believes in and loves the ancients, venture to compare myself with our old P’ang.”
Commentators agree that this is at least in part a graceful gesture. Confucius is a radical reformer in ethics, and in understandings of the role of ritual in Chinese society. He presents himself as seeking learning and…