Michael Connolly's Reviews > The Analects

When Confucius was asked what he thought about the idea of being kind to someone who does you wrong, he pointed out that this would be unfair to people who treat you right, who deserve to be treated better than people who do you wrong. Confucius was therefore an advocate of justice, was Aristotle. Jesus, on the other hand, said turn the other cheek and love your enemies, which is not justice. I also liked the suggestion of Confucius that one should not serve in government when evil people dominated the government. Confucius thought that good government should resemble a good family. The parents should treat the children fairly, and the children should, in return, be loyal to their government. There is very little that is mystical or other-worldly in Confucianism, which gives it a great advantage over Christianity and Islam.