"...Bushido made light of knowledge as such. It was not pursued as an end in itself but as a means to the attainment of wisdom. Hence he who stopped short of this end was regarded no higher than a convenient machine which could turn out poems and maxims at bidding. Thus knowledge was conceived as identical with its practical application in life; and this Socratic doctrine found its greatest exponent in the Chinese philosopher Wan Yang Ming who never wearies of repeating "To know and to act are one and the same..."