Modern scholars study to impress others.
You are NOT alone in your pursuit. As you might have noticed, I abandoned the 'superior' and 'inferior' in the translation text, as I don't think Confucius was talking in a condescending way. Yet what Confucius really meant, or some people like myself interpret the text to mean, is that the ancient scholars took the whole world into themselves. Once you see the 'others', you have already separated yourself from the rest of the world and your pursuing for the knowledge is no longer just for the sake of seeking truth but may be mixed with other motives like 'to impress others', 'to climb to higher positions', etc. Few of today's scholars have the luxury of yesterday's aristocrats in regards to their time and financial resources.