Analects of Confucius

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).