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He who must still exhort himself, and be exhorted, to will the good, has as yet no firm and ever-ready will, but wills a will anew every time he needs it. But he who has such a stable will, wills what he wills for ever, and cannot under any circumstances will otherwise than he always wills. For him freedom of the will is destroyed and swallowed up in necessity.

— Johann Gottlieb Fichte

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More quotes by Johann Gottlieb Fichte

Upon the progress of knowledge the whole progress of the human race is immediately dependent: he who retards that, hinders this also.

The Vocation of the Scholar (1794)

Humanity may endure the loss of everything: all its possessions may be torn away without infringing its true dignity; — all but the possibility of improvement.

The Vocation of the Scholar (1794)

By conscience alone comes truth and reality into my representations.

The Vocation of Man (1800)

The law of the transcendental world must, therefore, be a Will.

The Vocation of Man (1800)

A man can do what he ought to do; and when he says he cannot, it is because he will not.

letter (1791)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Johann Gottlieb Fichte (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.