The morals of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who flourished above five hundred years before the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ : being one of the most choicest pieces of learning remaining of that nation. by Confucius
This month’s featured text is The morals of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who flourished above five hundred years before the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ : being one of the most choicest pieces of learning remaining of that nation. Confucius was one of the most noted philosophers in Chinese history, some have even compared his contributions to Eastern philosophy to those of Socrates in the West. Confucius was born around 551 BCE in the Shandong province of Eastern China and lived until 479 BCE. Around the age of 40, Confucius began to teach his ideas to others and came to the notice of Duke Ding of Lu who appointed Confucius to several political posts. In 484 BCE, Confucius began writing books such as the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, Spring and Autumn Annals, and, most importantly, the Analects. Eventually, Confucius' work became the cornerstone of Chinese social philosophy, and a basis of court culture and life. It is still an influential work, and continues to influence Eastern philosophy.

This edition, printed in 1691 is interesting in several respects. It shows an awareness of Eastern ideas that one would not normally associate with 17th century England. Additionally, the author of this work attempts to put Confucius' ideas into a Western/Christian context. In the advertisement at the front, it is stressed that though Confucius was a pagan, his ideas are not inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible and his desire for achieving virtue and morality is certainly consistent with the beliefs of 17th century Christian philosophers. He even goes so far as to say that some of Confucius ideas are superior to these contemporaneous philosophers "who abound with so many false, or over-subtileThoughts; who almost every where surpass the Bounds of their Duty, and who give themselves up to their own Fancy, or ill Humour. . . ." In all, this edition shows an unexpected openness to other ideas, but a need to modify that and put it into a uniquely English and, more importantly, Christian context.

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