The Superior man of Confucius

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Part of Panorama

Title: The Superior man of Confucius
Creator: Jaspers, Karl
Language: English
Year: 1968
Subject: Superior man (Chun-tzu)
Rights
Fulltext: THE SUPERIOR MAN OF CONFUCIUS All goodness, truth, beauty are combined in the ideal of the superior man (Chun-tzu). Noble both in birth and en dowment, he has the man ners of a gentleman and the wisdom of a sage. The superior man is no saint. The saint is bom; he is what he is; the superior man becomes what he is through self-discipline. “To have the truth is the path of heaven, to seek the truth is the path of men. He who has the truth finds the right action without pains, achieves success without reflection.” But he v>ho seeks the truth chooses the good and holds it fast. He investigates, he questions critically, he pon ders the truth and resolute ly acts on it. “Perhaps others can do it the first time; I must do it a thousand times. But he who really has the perseverance to go this way — be he foolish, he will be come clearheaded; be he weak, he will become strong.” The character, cast of thought, gestures of the su perior man are described. He is contrasted with the in ferior man. The superior man is concerned with jus tice, the inferior man with profit. The superior man is quiet and serene, the in ferior man is always full of anxiety. The superior man is congenial though never stooping to vulgarity; the in ferior man is vulgar without being congenial. The su perior man is dignified with out arrogance; the inferior man is arrogant without dig nity. — Karl Jaspers in The Great Philosophers. Panorama
pages: 48