(5.19) I initially was a little confused by this passage, as Confucius, when faced with positive examples of leadership, continuously asks what the person has done to be considered authoritative. But, looking back at earlier passages like (4.16), where Confucius says he has yet to meet an authoritative person who has given their full strength to authoritative conduct, (5.8), where Confucius acknowledges that even his most trustworthy of students cannot really be considered authoritative, and (6.7), where Confucius quantifies ren as a state that lasts for a certain period of time, it seems like authoritative conduct may be less of a thing that a person achieves once and then holds, and moreso like a goal to achieve to that comes in moments. Doing authoritative things does not make one an authoritative person, it just means that in that moment, they were able to achieve authoritative conduct. Ren is something to aspire to, a goal that we can sometimes achieve and always should strive for, but is unrealistic to expect to be a permament state.

(9.3) This is a really interesting passage to me, as, throughout almost the entirety of these 10 books, Confucius has been adamant about the importance of tradition and keeping to tradition, especially when it comes to ritual propriety. Here, however, he praises the use of the silk cap rather than the traditional hemp cap in ritual propriety, due to the frugality of the silk. What's most striking about it is how little attention is brought to this difference, as it is treated as just another one of Confucius' teachings. But an explanation for this is perhaps seen at the end of this passage, as Confucius says that he kowtows upon entering a hall, observing tradition of ritual even though it isn't societally accepted anymore. So, here, Confucius not explicitly states that there is some flexibility when it comes to tradition, and things must be judged on a case by case basis.

(1.14) In this passage, Confucius uses the analogy of eating in order to convey the way in which the junzi has a love of learning. Confucius writes that exemplary persons eat not to be full nor for comfort, then switches to the topic of love of learning, illustrating that what he actually is teaching is not about eating, but instead, about the way an exemplary person should learn. Instead of learning for the simple purpose of gaining more knowledge or of trying to be educated and making their lives more comfortable, a truly exemplary person learns purely because they enjoy it, just like a person eating not to be full, but for the sensation and enjoyment of the taste. This does make me wonder if Confucius believes that there is any case where it is acceptable to learn simply for the sake of knowing more and becoming more well-rounded. Does this stop the learner from being an exemplary person? Or is it just that in that instance, they are still learning, and there is still much good to be gained from that, but it simply does not count as doing it just for the love of learning?