子曰，诵诗三百，授之以政，不达，使于四方，不能专对，虽多，亦奚以为。
Modern Chinese Guide
孔子说：熟读了《诗经》三百篇，交给他政务却办不好，派他出使各国又不能独立应对，就算读得再多，又有什么用呢？
James Legge Translation
The Master said, "Though a man may be able to recite the three hundred odes, yet if, when intrusted with a governmental charge, he knows not how to act, or if, when sent to any quarter on a mission, he cannot give his replies unassisted, notwithstanding the extent of his learning, of what practical use is it?"
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。