Book 13: 《子路》 Zi Lu
《子路》 Passage 13.5
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "Though a man may be able to recite the three hundred odes, yet if, when entrusted 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?"Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master (honorific title for Confucius)
- 曰 said
- 誦 sòng
to recite, chant from memory
- 詩 shī
the Odes, the Book of Songs
Refers to the 詩經, the canonical anthology of ancient poems studied by Confucius's disciples.
- 三百 sān bǎi
three hundred
- 三 three
- 百 hundred
- 授…以 shòu … yǐ
to grant, entrust, assign (a duty) to someone
- 授 to grant, assign, entrust someone with a duty
- 以 coverb marking the thing given: with, by means of
- 之 zhī
third-person object pronoun: him
- 政 zhèng
government, governmental affairs or duties
- 不達 bù dá
to fail, not succeed (in carrying out one's duties)
- 不 not
- 達 to succeed, accomplish, carry out effectively
- 使 shǐ
to send on a mission, dispatch as an envoy
- 於四方 yú sì fāng
to the four quarters, abroad, to foreign states
- 於 coverb marking destination: to, toward
- 四 four
- 方 region, quarter, direction
- 不能 bù néng
cannot, to be unable to
- 不 not
- 能 to be able to, can
- 專對 zhuān duì
to respond on one's own initiative, reply without relying on others
- 專 on one's own, independently, without relying on others
- 對 to respond, reply (in an official exchange)
專對 describes handling a diplomatic exchange extemporaneously, without instructions from a superior.
- 雖多 suī duō
though (he has learned) much, however many (odes)
- 雖 although, even if
- 多 much, many, extensive
- 亦奚以為 yì xī yǐ wéi
what use is it then?, what good does it do?
- 亦 adverb: still, after all (emphasizes the question that follows)
- 奚 what? why? (interrogative pronoun)
- 以 coverb marking purpose or means: for, by means of, with
- 為 final particle closing the rhetorical question 奚以…為: what is the use of
奚以...為 is a fixed classical rhetorical construction meaning 'of what use is X'; 亦 adds emphasis, 'still, after all'.
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