Confucius Didn't Say That!: Where's the Glory in That?

One of the most oft-repeated ideas and tropes in American culture is, "Never give up!". It's built into our very myths about who we are as a people. We even celebrate lost causes like the Alamo or in the South, many sadly still celebrate the ultimate lost cause, the Confederacy.  "Never say die!" is also a a tried-and-true movie plot device, (Rocky, Braveheart, Hoosiers, or basically any sports or fighting movie). The lesson is to always give you best and never give up. If you give up you, you're a failure.

This all brings me to the latest "fake quote" of Confucius:

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius 

It's true that when I first read this quote I thought of this old Dwayne Wade commercial (but I was wrong that it was a shoe commercial instead of a sugar water commercial):



Even taking into account how different many of the English translations of Confucius' purported ideas are, I have become familiar with the style and form of Confucius's sayings. He's rarely pithy or blunt. His ideas are nuanced and usually preceded by or followed by explanations or exposition.

This has none of the qualities of Confucius' style or tone.

The real issue is the value behind the quote. The quote implies that the "greatest glory" about being a human is our drive for individual success. There's nothing wrong with the idea of "try, try again" but the meaning is clearly aimed at motivating people to "never give up" or to continue striving for their goal.

I am not claiming that Confucius would be a quitter and "pack it up" as soon as the "going got tough". There is general support for the idea of perseverance and persistence in the Analects.

[17:5] Zi Zhang asked Confucius about fundamental human goodness. Confucius said, “If you can practice these five things with all the people, you can be called a fundamentally good person.”

Zi Zhang asked what they were.

Confucius said, “Courtesy, generosity, honesty, persistence, and kindness. If you are courteous, you will not be disrespected; if you are generous, you will gain everything. If you are honest, people will rely on you. If you are persistent you will get results. If you are kind, you can employ people.”

However, persistence only used for personal or worldly success would be obscene to Confucius. He would not be a fan of Chumbawamba's one hit in the 90's.

The "greatest glory" wouldn't be striving for something greater but in our relationships. 

For Confucius and later Confucian thinkers, individuals only made sense in their relationships with others. It's something of a Confucian obsession that if everyone knew "their place" in society (their relationships) then harmony could be achieved.  From a Confucian point of view, my drive for personal success should never come at the expense of others and it must come clearly within the boundaries of the traditional relationships. We see this most clearly in Confucius' ideas of Ren, which is usually translated as something like "humaneness". Ren was the ideal of what people were to live like:

[12:22] Fan Chi asked about the meaning of ren.

Confucius said “love others.”He asked about the meaning of “knowledge.”

The Master said, “Know others.”

Again, the idea is towards the inter-relatedness of one's success, it should never come at the expense of others,

[6:30].... Now the ren man, wishing himself to be established, sees that others are established, and, wishing himself to be successful, sees that others are successful. To be able to take one's own 
feelings as a guide may be called the art of ren.”

I once heard Ren described as "seeking the good in others". I'm sure that's more of an interpretative approach to the term, but I liked that. If I seek good in others, I can find empathy and understanding. 

It seems this has been a fake quote attributed to Confucius or "Chinese philosopher" for a long time. This one really surprised me, I thought it sounded like a wholly 1997 creation from the internet. However, it apparently it came from an Irishmen in the 1700's who wrote a fictionalized account of a Chinese philosopher living in London. So, this "fake quote" has been circulating for a long time and has been connected to China for over 3 centuries!


I'm not too fond of the quote itself. Well, okay, it sucks. 

While the quote's strength is its ability to adapt to almost anyone's circumstances, I think its usual application is that it's likely to be used on inspirational posters in a high school's guidance counselor's office. I am being a bit of a curmudgeon, but these fake quotes just irritate me. If someone is motivated by the quote to do better in school or at work, then kudos to them. Keep on truckin' friends.

Ultimately, I'll side with Confucius on this one, but I'll quote from another great thinker, Viktor Frankel, "The salvation of man is through love and in love." That is human's greatest glory. Without love, "rising" back up ceases to have any real meaning.