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Who really said it

Those who can, do; those who cannot, teach

Not Aristotle — actually George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1856–1950 · Irish playwright, critic & polemicist
Disputed Free to reuse

Aristotle never wrote this. The line is a light modern paraphrase of Shaw’s aphorism “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches,” printed under “Education” in the Maxims for Revolutionists ↗ appended to Man and Superman (1903). It is a deliberately provocative jab, not a considered verdict on teaching.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

For presentations

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Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“Those who can, do; those who cannot, teach” Original wording: "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches." —George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903). Not Aristotle.

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Aristotle. Use the credit shown above instead.

Can you use it?

Free to use, including in commercial and paid presentations — no permission or licence needed.

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In context

Evoking the world of George Bernard Shaw — Irish playwright, critic & polemicist. Theme: "Those who can, do; those who cannot, teach". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Those who can, do; those who cannot, teach". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

Work
Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy
Section
“Maxims for Revolutionists” (appendix), under “Education”
Original line
“He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.”
First published
1903 (Archibald Constable & Co., London)

He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.

Shaw’s original wording. The familiar form — “Those who can, do; those who cannot, teach” — is a later paraphrase that swaps his singular “he who” for a plural “those who.”

Maxims for Revolutionists on Wikisource

How we verified this

  • The primary text: Shaw’s Maxims for Revolutionists ↗ prints the line verbatim under the heading “Education.”
  • Phrases.org.uk ↗ traces the saying to Shaw’s Man and Superman (1903) and gives the original wording.
  • The History Room ↗ notes the “Aristotle” version does not appear in his surviving texts and reads as a back-formation from Shaw.
Public domain

Shaw’s Man and Superman, containing the original maxim, was first published in 1903 — long before the 1931 US copyright cutoff — so the source text is in the public domain. The popular “Those who can, do” form is an anonymous later paraphrase of that public-domain line.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

How Aristotle got the credit

The line is routinely pinned on Aristotle in memes and quote sites, but it is neither his wording nor his idea — it is Shaw’s, paraphrased.

Aristotle Misattributed

No such line exists in Aristotle’s surviving works; commentators note ↗ the “Aristotle” version is phrased to echo Shaw and appears nowhere in his texts. Aristotle’s Metaphysics in fact argues the near-opposite — that being able to teach is a mark of true knowledge.

George Bernard Shaw True source

Shaw printed “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches” under “Education” in the Maxims for Revolutionists ↗ (1903).

The saying is Shaw’s 1903 maxim — “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches” ↗ — lightly reworded; Aristotle has nothing to do with it.

Context

Why it mattered

Shaw meant the line as provocation, not sociology. It sits among the “Maxims for Revolutionists,” a string of deliberately barbed aphorisms he attached to Man and Superman — the voice is that of the play’s firebrand John Tanner, a talker more than a doer.

Stripped of that satirical frame and re-pointed at schoolteachers, the maxim became a standalone insult, then drifted onto Aristotle as feel-good misattribution took hold online.

He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Work Knowledge

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Maxims for Revolutionists (full text)en.wikisource.org

Shaw’s primary text with the original line under “Education.”
He Who Can, Does; He Who Cannot, Teachesphrases.org.uk

Phrase history tracing the saying to Shaw’s 1903 play.
The Teacher’s Insulthistoryroom.org

Discusses the Shaw origin and debunks the Aristotle version.
George Bernard Shaw (Wikiquote)en.wikiquote.org

Sourced Shaw quotations, including the Maxims for Revolutionists.
Man and Superman (Project Gutenberg)gutenberg.org

Free full text of Shaw’s 1903 play and its appendices.

The real source

Who actually wrote it

George Bernard Shaw

1856–1950 · Irish playwright, critic & polemicist

George Bernard Shaw was an Irish dramatist and critic whose plays — Man and Superman, Pygmalion, Major Barbara — married sharp wit to social argument. He appended satirical aphorisms, the “Maxims for Revolutionists,” to Man and Superman in 1903; the teaching jab is one of them. Shaw won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Man and Superman (1903)

George Bernard Shaw, “Maxims for Revolutionists: Education,” in Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy (London: Archibald Constable & Co., 1903).

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Those who can, do; those who cannot, teach’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/those-who-can-do-those-who-cannot-teach/

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