子曰，夏礼吾能言之，杞不足征也，殷礼吾能言之，宋不足征也，文献不足故也，足，则吾能征之矣。
白话导读
孔子说：夏朝的礼制我能讲出来，可惜它的后代杞国不足以验证；殷朝的礼制我能讲出来，可惜它的后代宋国不足以验证。这是因为杞国、宋国留存的典籍和贤人都不够。如果足够，我就能验证这些礼制了。
James Legge 英译
The Master said, "I could describe the ceremonies of the Hsia dynasty, but Chi cannot sufficiently attest my words. I could describe the ceremonies of the Yin dynasty, but Sung cannot sufficiently attest my words. (They cannot do so) because of the insufficiency of their records and wise men. If those were sufficient, I could adduce them in support of my words."
译注：James Legge 公版英译，1893 年原版。
注释
- 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。