論 語 Lun Yu – Les Entretiens de Confucius

子曰‘誦詩三百、授之以政、不達、使於四方、不能專對、雖多、亦奚以為’

原文 322

Le Maître dit : « Supposons qu'un homme ait appris les trois cents odes [du Livre des Odes] ; qu'ensuite, s'il est chargé d'une partie de l'administration, il manque d'habileté ; s'il est envoyé en mission, il soit incapable de répondre par lui-même ; que lui sert toute sa littérature ? »

Couvreur XIII.5.

Literary acquirements useless without practical ability.
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?"

Legge XIII.5.

The Master said, 'If a man who knows the three hundred Odes by heart fails when given administrative responsibilities and proves incapable of exercising his own initiative when sent to foreign states, then what use are the Odes to him, however many he may have learned?'

Lau [13:5]