Ethics of Confucius, The [Paperback]

Miles Menander Dawson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 23, 2002

This treatise covers the works of Confucius and his chief followers, with a sketch of his life. When Confucius died, it is recorded that his last words were regrets that none among the rulers then living possessed the sagacity requisite to a proper appreciation of his ethical philosophy and teachings. He died unhonored - in his seventy-third year - in 479 B.C., feeling in the flickering beats of his failing heart that his inspiring pleas for truth and justice, industry and self-denial, moderation and public duty, though then without having awakened men's impulses, would yet stir the depths of the social life of his land. The ethical and political precepts of Confucius are not well known in Occidental countries, even to most of those who give special attention to these subjects; and of what is known, much, indeed most, is confused with the notion that Confucius taught a religion in our sense of that term.Yet these ethical teachings, which are almost purely secular, have for more than 2000 years been accepted by a larger number of human beings than those of any other teacher. This, also, notwithstanding that the peoples who so receive Confucian morals as their guide are of the most various views concerning religion, i.e., for instance, are Buddhists, Muhammadans, Taoists, Shintoists, etc. No other ethical system, whether or religious origin, or secular, has ever been acceptable to persons professing religious convictions so diverse.

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About the Author

MILES MENANDER DAWSON (1863-1942) was deeply interested in poetry and philosophy, particularly ethics, and wrote books about the teachings of Zoroaster, Socrates, as well as Confucius. Born in Wisconsin, Dawson spent his life as a highly respected actuary in New York. He wrote numerous books on life insurance and actuarial science and was a member of the Confucian Society of China. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: University Press of the Pacific (December 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410203565
• ISBN-13: 978-1410203564
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,948,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ethics of Confucius, December 20, 2009

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This review is from: The Ethics of Confucius; The Sayings of the Master and His Disciples Upon the Conduct of "The Superior Man," (Paperback)

Excellent condition, prompt delivery. Thank you.

I ordered this book because I was looking for a particular quote. And I found it.
But it took a lot of hunting. I didn't read the rest of the book as the text/translation was too scholarly or labored for me.