Analects Books 4-6

Goodness in our Lives

4.25 The master said, “Virtue is never solitary; it always has neighbours.”

As this book (4) itself talks a lot about “Goodness”, I guess it could be considered a neighbour. I wanted to focus on “Goodness” and will give various examples of it, and try to explain what it is to be good, according to the Analects.

4.1 The Master said, “…If one does not choose to dwell among those who are Good, how will one obtain wisdom?”

The Master is connecting wisdom, that the people among the Good have it. To be Good though, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are smart, as there can be smart people that are mean towards others. But maybe this term—wisdom—is used differently, that it does not exactly means to be smart. I guess having wisdom in “Confucism” means rather, to know how to be good, and to act and respond in a “good” manner amongst all aspects of life.

4.2 The Master said, “Without Goodness, one cannot remain constant in adversity and cannot enjoy enduring happiness.”

It is good to be able to dwell within adversity, because these people that are not “good”, means they tend to dislike other kinds of people, prejudicing them. It is therefore good to respect whichever kind of people, as we are all equal, no matter their ethnicity, or beliefs, or religion.

4.3 The Master said, “Only one who is Good is able to truly love others or despise others.”

When you are good, you can love the ones who are good as you. You only have this right of “despising” other people when you are Good, because if you are not good and you hate someone, you are hating wrongfully, since you are the one doing wrong in the first place.

4.6 The Master said, “…Is there a person who can, for the space of a single day, simply devote his efforts to Goodness? I have never met anyone whose strength was insufficient for this task. Perhaps such a person exists, but I have yet to meet him.”

People have the capacity to be Good, to dedicate their lives towards Goodness, but some can’t even for a day. It’s not that they can’t, rather that they don’t try. The Master believes that he will find someday, this person that, as most, has the capacity, but also the willingness to be Good.

The Masters make us realize how truly important is it being Good. How it influences in all aspects of our lives, our relationships with other peoples, our souls. How our life will change for the better if we’re good.