--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not enough to know what is good…" description: "\"It is not enough to know what is good: you must be able to do it.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/george-bernard-shaw-68_able_it-is-not-enough-to-know-what-is-good-yo_1128754.png" --- # It is not enough to know what is good: you must be able to… ![“It is not enough to know what is good: you must be able to do it.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/george-bernard-shaw-68_able_it-is-not-enough-to-know-what-is-good-yo_1128754.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/george-bernard-shaw-68_able_it-is-not-enough-to-know-what-is-good-yo_1128754.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/george-bernard-shaw-68_able_it-is-not-enough-to-know-what-is-good-yo_1128754.png) > “It is not enough to know what is good: you must be able to do it.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowing good isn’t enough; ability to act on it matters. **In simple terms:** Action validates knowledge. Key Takeaway Bridge knowledge to action. Themes ethics action responsibility Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - policy making - personal decisions - education Key Concepts moral philosophy practical wisdom Questions to Reflect On - What good do you know but haven’t acted on? - How can you translate belief into practice? A Different Perspective Knowledge without action can become complacent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [“Silence is good sometimes. That's when you're able to hear best" -Ruby”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-entrada-kelly/silence-is-good-sometimes-that-s-when-you-re-able-to-hear-best-ruby/) [Erin Entrada Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-entrada-kelly/) > [“(Running for president" was a chance to do the most good I would ever be able to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/running-for-president-was-a-chance-to-do-the-most-good-i-would-ever/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [I'm very good at being able to talk to people and kind of get people off their game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-ingles/i-m-very-good-at-being-able-to-talk-to-people-and-kind-of-get-people/) [Joe Ingles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-ingles/) > [When you come to the end of a TV project, it's good to be able - and I'm kind of lucky - that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-berry/when-you-come-to-the-end-of-a-tv-project-it-s-good-to-be-able-and-i-m/) [Matt Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-berry/) > [It's always good to be able to use vermin in a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-schwartz/it-s-always-good-to-be-able-to-use-vermin-in-a-song/) [Stephen Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-schwartz/) > [The definition of being good is being able to make it look easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/the-definition-of-being-good-is-being-able-to-make-it-look-easy/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [I think if you're good at something and you're able to take your talent to the next level, you should be able to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-bagley-iii/i-think-if-you-re-good-at-something-and-you-re-able-to-take-your/) [Marvin Bagley III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-bagley-iii/) > [I think I'm generally quite good at being able to put things in the past and let them go, as it were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-o-connor/i-think-i-m-generally-quite-good-at-being-able-to-put-things-in-the/) [Josh O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-o-connor/) > [I think it's always good when you're able to, as an actor, allow your work to be some kind of a conduit for social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-it-s-always-good-when-you-re-able-to-as-an-actor-allow-your/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [It's good to be able to be the same no matter who you're playing, knowing what you're doing, having consistency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-jimenez/it-s-good-to-be-able-to-be-the-same-no-matter-who-you-re-playing/) [Raul Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-jimenez/) > [Wherever the team needs me to help I will try to do my best, and it's good to be able to play in more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcos-alonso/wherever-the-team-needs-me-to-help-i-will-try-to-do-my-best-and-it-s/) [Marcos Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcos-alonso/) > [If 'Pygmalion' is not good enough for your friends with its own verbal music, their talent must be altogether extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-pygmalion-is-not-good-enough-for-your-friends-with-its-own-verbal/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [We educate one another; and we cannot do this if half of us consider the other half not good enough to talk to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/we-educate-one-another-and-we-cannot-do-this-if-half-of-us-consider/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Revolutionary moments attract those who are not good enough for established institutions as well as those who are too good for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/revolutionary-moments-attract-those-who-are-not-good-enough-for/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I ... must continue to strive for more knowledge and more power, though the new knowledge always contradicts the old and the new power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-must-continue-to-strive-for-more-knowledge-and-more-power-though/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. 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Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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