Confucius eliminated four faults: he did not speculate without evidence, did not insist on absolute certainty, did not cling to rigid opinions, and did not prioritize his own self.
A person from Daxiang said, “How great is Confucius! He is immensely learned, yet he has not become famous for any single skill.” When Confucius heard this, he said to his disciples, “What should I specialize in? Should I take up charioteering or archery? I’ll go with charioteering.”
Confucius rarely spoke about profit. He spoke much more often about fate (the Mandate of Heaven) and humaneness (benevolence).
Only the supremely sage person under Heaven possesses:
Confucius traced his teachings back to Yao and Shun,and took Wen and Wu as his models for institutions.Above, he conformed to the rhythms of Heaven’s seasons;below, he followed the patterns of earth, water, and soil.
The Master said:“I can speak of the rites of the Xia dynasty, but the state of Qi provides insufficient evidence.I studied the rites of the Yin dynasty; remnants still exist in the state of Song.I studied the rites of the Zhou dynasty – they are in use today – so I follow the Zhou.”