The Detroit times., 1916-02-26
THE SUPERIOR MAN
~ DR.. FRANK CRANE
Copyright. 1915, by Frank Crane,

1000 years his teachings have been ac-
cepted by larger number of human
beings than those of any other teacher.
1t would seem that all intelligent per-
sons would know something of him and
of the ideas he stood for.
Confucius was not the founder of re-
ligion, as were Jesus and Mahomet; he
was teacher of ethics; that is, of per-
sonal morals and political principles.
He died in 479 b. c., unappreciated
AS in the cases of Socrates and Jesus,
a great cult grew up around his teach
ings after his death, and the real sense
and beauty of the founder became OBJ
scured under the organization that
sought to make him the fgurehead of
authority.
He was in reality an incarnation Of
common sense and clear intelligence.
Here is the gist of his main teachings.
First, the object of every man should
be to be superior, not necessarily to 9TH
ers. but to his past, to himself.
The superior mans aim in life is per-
fectly to express himself, to develop har-
moniously all his faculties.
Success means accomplishing this.
Hence, if We understand why we are put
here we understand that the difference
in station or natural talents amounts to
nothing; one man can succeed as well
as another.
Once we see this all complaint against
the injustive of fate and the special
privileges of men disappear. In what is
worth while none can have the advan-
tage.
Again, intellectual honesty is the basis
of any true morals. We must first know
facts. No morality is possible that
springs from ignorance.
But, alas! he shrewdly remarks
when mans finger is defolmed he
knows enough to be dissatisfied; but if
his mind be deformed he does not know
enough to be dissatisfied"
The superior man therefore loves the
truth They who know the truth are
not equal to them that love it"
In other words mans first duty is
not to follow his conscience, but to see
| to it that his conscience is conformed to
the truth.
! The superior man is free from four
evils: "foregone conclusions, arbitrary
predeterminations. obstinacy, and ego
| tsm."
The superior man conceives living to
be an art, thing to be thought out and
purposely followed.
The superior man is catholic and not
partisan; the ordinary man is the oppo-
site.
Things have their root and their fru-
iticn; the superior man knows the root.
The spirit of the superior man is OPEN
mindedness and candid inquiry. Thus
Confucius anticipated the modern scien-
tifc mind.
Blind following of authority does not
characterize the superior man. "Hwuy,"
he said, gives me no assistance. There
| is nothing say in which he does not de-
light"
In Confucius we get similar picture
of pure democracy, of universal compan-
ionship, and of the essential humility of
a great soul to that we see in Jesus, in
Socrates and in Epictetus. There being
instruction" he said, there will be no
distinction of classes"
These and many more helpful things
you may find in "The Ethics Of Con-
fucius" or 'The Superior Man. a book
by M. M. Dawson, recently published by
Putnam. The advantage Of this volume
over any upon the subject have ever
seen is that it is clear readibe, and well
ordered. II is worth buying, keeping,
reading, and re-reading, which is praise
deserved by few books of any kind.
It has an admirable introduction by
WI Ting-fang, who reminds us of the
great object of the sage, which was to
show one "how to get through life like
a courteous gentlemen"