The only translation that is a pleasure to read for both its language and its profundity. Legge buries the stodgy old Confucius and introduce us to a vibrant thinker--the kind of intellectual magnet that attracted hundreds of followers in his own time and millions throughout history.
Since the standard translations, there have been great strides in understanding the philosophy of Confucius time. Legge is not only expert in the language but is at the cutting edge of ancient Chinese philosophy. This book questions many basic presumptions about Confucius philosophy and deserves thoughtful consideration.
This particular translation of the Analects is wonderful. The author begins the book by introducing some terms that are difficult to translate or have multiple implications. In the text itself, these words are frequently left untranslated so that the reader can fully appreciate the diversity of the meaning.
A great book alltogether.
