子曰，小子，何莫学夫诗。诗可以兴。可以观。可以群。可以怨。迩之事父，远之事君。多识于鸟兽草木之名。
Modern Chinese Guide
孔子说：弟子们，为什么没有人研究《诗经》呢？读《诗》可以激发意志，可以观察世态人情，可以结交朋友，可以讽谏怨刺。近可以侍奉父母，远可以侍奉君主。还能多认识一些鸟兽草木的名称。
James Legge Translation
1. The Master said, "My children, why do you not study the Book of Poetry? 2. "The Odes serve to stimulate the mind. 3. "They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation. 4. "They teach the art of sociability. 5. "They show how to regulate feelings of resentment. 6. "From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving one's prince. 7. "From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts, and plants."
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。