孔子晚年的心志如何，的確多費猜疑。作者發現其中最主要的關鍵在於如何對當今留下的史料作恰當的選取與解讀而已。本文以《論語》為基準，通過《易傳》與《春秋》來了解孔子晚年的思想。對《論語》裡自古以來號稱難解的<莫春篇>作出新的了解，顯豁孔子晚年密契天道的意境，指出這正是孔子志存撥亂，推闡易道，作《春秋》運諸三世之苦心。後世實在不宜再忽視或過度懷疑《孟子．滕文公下》、《史記．孔子世家》及新近出土帛書《易傳．要篇》等史料具有呈顯孔子晚年思想實況的價值性。

　　　　　It certainly is difficult to grasp the intentions of the late Confucius. Everything hinges on the adequate choice and interpretation of the historical sources that have come down to us. This essay takes the analects as a basis to further explore Confucius' later thought as expressed in the Yizhuan and the Chunqiu. As the author's analysis of the difficult "late spring" passage in the analects shows, Confucius in his later life was primarily concerned about the way of heaven (tiandao). The dao in the Yizhuan and the theory of the three ages in the Chunqiu elaborate on this theme. It is time for us to realize the value of the historical material such as the Teng Wengong chapter in the Mencius, the Kongzi shijia chapter in the Shiji and the recently unearthed Yao chapter of the Yizhuan to get a clearer understanding of the late Confucius.