子贡问为仁。子曰，工欲善其事，必先利其器，居是邦也，事其大夫之贤者，友其士之仁者。
Modern Chinese Guide
子贡问怎样培养仁德。孔子说：工匠想把活儿做好，必先磨好他的工具。住在这个国家，就要侍奉大夫中的贤者，结交士人中的仁者。
James Legge Translation
Tsze-kung asked about the practice of virtue. The Master said, "The mechanic, who wishes to do his work well, must first sharpen his tools. When you are living in any state, take service with the most worthy among its great officers, and make friends of the most virtuous among its scholars."
Source: James Legge, public domain, 1893.
Notes
- 底本：Wikisource 整理的 James Legge《The Chinese Classics》公版中英文本（1893–1895）。
- 简体化：原文由繁体转为简体（OpenCC），与公版英译逐句对应。
- 白话参考底本：《白话论语读本》，张兆瑢、沈元起编译，上海广益书局1948 年新三版。