There have never been people who know but do not act.

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There have never been people who know but do not act. — Wang Yangming · Smartyfair

There have never been people who know but do not act.

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In plain words

If you really understand something, you do something about it.

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How sure this is: 80% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: Instructions for Practical Living (Chuanxi lu), sec. 5, dialogue with disciple Xu Ai; wording follows Wing-tsit Chan's 1963 translation. The same passage appears in F. G. Henke's 1916 translation (pp. 53-54)
Sources checked: archive.orgChecked using claude-fable-5, 21 August 2026Henke's 1916 public-domain translation, full text: 'No one who really has knowledge fails to practice it. Knowledge without practice should be interpreted as lack of knowledge' — the same Chuanxi lu sentence Chan renders as our quote

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