--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have not many wills, but only one --it…" description: "\"“We have not many wills, but only one --it cannot be continuously compromised without atrophy setting in altogether.”\" — Arthur Miller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/arthur-miller-947_atrophy_we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-c_2046224.png" --- # We have not many wills, but only one --it cannot be… ![“We have not many wills, but only one --it cannot be continuously compromised without atrophy setting in altogether.” quote by Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/arthur-miller-947_atrophy_we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-c_2046224.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/arthur-miller-947_atrophy_we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-c_2046224.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/arthur-miller-947_atrophy_we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-c_2046224.png) > ““We have not many wills, but only one --it cannot be continuously compromised without atrophy setting in altogether.”” [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Willpower weakens without continual use, leading to decline. **In simple terms:** Will declines without use. Key Takeaway Exercise will regularly. Themes willpower decline maintenance Mood determined reflective Type self-help philosophical When to use this quote - career development - personal fitness - habit formation - skill learning Key Concepts psychology self-discipline Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep willpower strong? - What activities sustain mental resilience? A Different Perspective Overuse can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atrophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrophy/) [Atrophy Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrophy-setting-3833553/) [Compromised Atrophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromised-atrophy-3833552/) [Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wills/) [Wills Continuously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wills-continuously-3833551/) ## Related quotes > [Our future and our fate lie in our wills more than in our hands, for our hands are but the instruments of our wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/our-future-and-our-fate-lie-in-our-wills-more-than-in-our-hands-for/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [The Finals are about a test of wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-laimbeer/the-finals-are-about-a-test-of-wills/) [Bill Laimbeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-laimbeer/) > [“The will of God, the creator and ruler of the universe, embraces all possible wills, His own as well as that of every man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-will-of-god-the-creator-and-ruler-of-the-universe-embraces-all/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [A man can do all things if he but wills them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-battista-alberti/a-man-can-do-all-things-if-he-but-wills-them/) [Leon Battista Alberti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-battista-alberti/) > [If we incline our wills in true earnest singleness to God, then we go with Christ out of this world, out from the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/if-we-incline-our-wills-in-true-earnest-singleness-to-god-then-we-go/) [Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/) > [All things must; man is the only creature that wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/all-things-must-man-is-the-only-creature-that-wills/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Women must have their wills while they live, because they make none when they die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/women-must-have-their-wills-while-they-live-because-they-make-none/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [Aircraft do not crash of themselves. They come to grief because men are foolish, or vain, or lazy, or irresolute or reckless. One crash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/aircraft-do-not-crash-of-themselves-they-come-to-grief-because-men/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [I will see you tomorrow, if God wills it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-i/i-will-see-you-tomorrow-if-god-wills-it/) [Pope John Paul I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-i/) > [Nothing can resist the will of man when he knows what is true and wills what is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/nothing-can-resist-the-will-of-man-when-he-knows-what-is-true-and/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [Everything is possible to him who wills only what is true! Rest in Nature, study, know, then dare; dare to will, dare to act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/everything-is-possible-to-him-who-wills-only-what-is-true-rest-in/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [God wills in man only that which is good, in the kingdom of his grace; where the free will yields itself up into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/god-wills-in-man-only-that-which-is-good-in-the-kingdom-of-his-grace/) [Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/) > [If God himself wills such misery on people whom I love, then I say I will deal with him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/if-god-himself-wills-such-misery-on-people-whom-i-love-then-i-say-i/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [I like to interpose in all of my appointments, if the Lord wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-simpson/i-like-to-interpose-in-all-of-my-appointments-if-the-lord-wills/) [A. B. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-simpson/) > [No one is more miserable than the person who wills everything and can do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudius/no-one-is-more-miserable-than-the-person-who-wills-everything-and-can/) [Claudius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudius/) ## More by Arthur Miller > [If a person measures his spiritual fulfillment in terms of cosmic visions, surpassing peace of mind, or ecstasy, then he is not likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-a-person-measures-his-spiritual-fulfillment-in-terms-of-cosmic/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“If you can fall in love again and again, if you can forgive your parents for the crime of bringing you into the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-you-can-fall-in-love-again-and-again-if-you-can-forgive-your/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The wedding of Christianity or Judaism with nationalism is lethal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-wedding-of-christianity-or-judaism-with-nationalism-is-lethal/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“I know what's wrong with me - I could never stand still for death! Which you've got to do by a certain age, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-what-s-wrong-with-me-i-could-never-stand-still-for-death-which/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [You cannot catch a child's spirit by running after it; you must stand still and for love it will soon itself return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/you-cannot-catch-a-child-s-spirit-by-running-after-it-you-must-stand/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [ “(Looking at the letter in his hand) Then what is this if it isn’t telling me? Sure, \[Larry\] was my son. But I think… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/looking-at-the-letter-in-his-hand-then-what-is-this-if-it-isn-t/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The two greatest plays ever written were Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, and they're both about father-son relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-two-greatest-plays-ever-written-were-hamlet-and-oedipus-rex-and/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [A character is defined by the kinds of challenges he cannot walk away from. And by those he has walked away from that cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/a-character-is-defined-by-the-kinds-of-challenges-he-cannot-walk-away/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/everybody-likes-a-kidder-but-nobody-lends-him-money/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The American Dream is the largely unacknowledged screen in front of which all American writing plays itself out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-american-dream-is-the-largely-unacknowledged-screen-in-front-of/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“When it is recalled that until the Christian era the underworld was never regardded as a hostile area, that all gods were useful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/when-it-is-recalled-that-until-the-christian-era-the-underworld-was/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“Elizabeth, with great fear: I will fear nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/elizabeth-with-great-fear-i-will-fear-nothing/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [I know you're no worse than most men but I thought you were better. I never saw you as a man. I saw you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-you-re-no-worse-than-most-men-but-i-thought-you-were-better-i/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The best of our theater is standing on tiptoe, striving to see over the shoulders of father and mother. The worst is exploiting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-best-of-our-theater-is-standing-on-tiptoe-striving-to-see-over/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“I only ask you one thing- don't trust nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-only-ask-you-one-thing-don-t-trust-nobody/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) [Explore all 322 Arthur Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) ## More Atrophy quotes > [I prefer atrophy over exercise any day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-duffy/i-prefer-atrophy-over-exercise-any-day/) [Karen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-duffy/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Somewhere between the ages of eleven and fifteen, the average child begins to suffer from an atrophy, the paralysis of curiosity and the suspension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/somewhere-between-the-ages-of-eleven-and-fifteen-the-average-child/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [The modern world’s tech-giddy control and facilitation makes us stupid. Awareness atrophies. Dumb gets dumber. Lists are everywhere – the five things you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-cohen/the-modern-world-s-tech-giddy-control-and-facilitation-makes-us/) [Roger Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-cohen/) > [ The disinterest \[of my two great-aunts\] in anything that had to do with high society was such that their sense of hearing ... put… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-disinterest-of-my-two-great-aunts-in-anything-that-had-to-do-with/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [A road that perhaps more than any other leads to self atrophy is undedicated money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/a-road-that-perhaps-more-than-any-other-leads-to-self-atrophy-is/) [E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [There is always this interesting relationship we have with technology. When we invented writing Socrates used to say it was going to rot our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/there-is-always-this-interesting-relationship-we-have-with-technology/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [I don't believe anything I write or say. I regard belief as a form of brain damage, the death of intelligence, the fracture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-don-t-believe-anything-i-write-or-say-i-regard-belief-as-a-form-of/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The psychological tools I've gained from bodybuilding will never atrophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-platz/the-psychological-tools-i-ve-gained-from-bodybuilding-will-never/) [Tom Platz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-platz/) > [Skepticism, as I said, is not intellectual only; it is moral also; a chronic atrophy and disease of the whole soul. A man lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/skepticism-as-i-said-is-not-intellectual-only-it-is-moral-also-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [There can be no question, however, that prolonged commitment to mathematical exercises in economics can be damaging. It leads to the atrophy of judgement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/there-can-be-no-question-however-that-prolonged-commitment-to/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“If you can do everything in your job without struggling, not only will you get stuck in your slot but you’ll never flex your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wong/if-you-can-do-everything-in-your-job-without-struggling-not-only-will/) [Brian Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wong/) > [Life is a series of diminishments. Each cessation of an activity either from choice or some variety of infirmity is a death, a putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/life-is-a-series-of-diminishments-each-cessation-of-an-activity/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [Life yields only to the conqueror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/life-yields-only-to-the-conqueror/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [There's a lot of different kinds of success. I'm so dedicated to the making of the art that the rest of my life atrophies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shaw/there-s-a-lot-of-different-kinds-of-success-i-m-so-dedicated-to-the/) [Jim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shaw/) [Browse all 75 Atrophy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrophy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have not many wills, but only one --it cannot be continuously compromised without atrophy setting in altogether.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-cannot-be-continuously/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atrophy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-cannot-be-continuously/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/arthur-miller-947_atrophy_we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-c_2046224.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/arthur-miller-947_atrophy_we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-c_2046224.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/arthur-miller-947_atrophy_we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-c_2046224.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have not many wills, but only one --it cannot be continuously compromised without atrophy setting in…” — Arthur Miller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We have not many wills, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-cannot-be-continuously/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/we-have-not-many-wills-but-only-one-it-cannot-be-continuously/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```