It is less to throw light on the topic in hand than for the

这句话是出自一篇讨论经典教育的文章,原文标题是What Knowledge Is Of Most Worth?,对不?
完整的分句是：
and if he occasionally vents a Latin quotation,or alludes to some Greek myth,it is less to throw light on the topic in hand than for the sake of effect.
我的译文是：
如果偶尔引用一句拉丁文或者无意提到某个希腊神话,与其说是为了讨论话题,不如说是为了让别人惊艳一把.
我个人认为,本篇文章批判了一种把经典挂在嘴边做装饰品的学习态度.