--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Will is wish, and liberty is power." description: "\"Will is wish, and liberty is power.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/voltaire-173_freedom_will-is-wish-and-liberty-is-power-411393_411393.png" --- # Will is wish, and liberty is power. ![“Will is wish, and liberty is power.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/voltaire-173_freedom_will-is-wish-and-liberty-is-power-411393_411393.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/voltaire-173_freedom_will-is-wish-and-liberty-is-power-411393_411393.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/voltaire-173_freedom_will-is-wish-and-liberty-is-power-411393_411393.png) > “Will is wish, and liberty is power.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Will is desire, while liberty is the power to act on that desire. **In simple terms:** Will = desire; liberty = power to act. Key Takeaway Cultivate both desire and the means to fulfill it. Themes freedom willpower empowerment Mood inspirational philosophical Type thought‑provoking empowering When to use this quote - personal goals - social movements - rights activism Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - Do you have the power to pursue your desires? - How can you increase your capacity to act? A Different Perspective Power without will or will without power is ineffective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Liberty Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-power-781575/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-liberty-3667616/) ## Related quotes > [Liberty is the power that we have over ourselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-grotius/liberty-is-the-power-that-we-have-over-ourselves/) [Hugo Grotius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-grotius/) > [If there were just one gift you could choose, but nothing barred, what would it be? We wish you then your own wish; you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/if-there-were-just-one-gift-you-could-choose-but-nothing-barred-what/) [Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/) > [Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/liberty-is-not-the-power-of-doing-what-we-like-but-the-right-of-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man usually thinks liberty is the power of doing what he likes to do. That is license.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/man-usually-thinks-liberty-is-the-power-of-doing-what-he-likes-to-do/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [I have no reason to suppose that he, who would take away my Liberty, would not when he had me in his Power, take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/i-have-no-reason-to-suppose-that-he-who-would-take-away-my-liberty/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [True liberty is not the power to live as we please, but to live as we ought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/true-liberty-is-not-the-power-to-live-as-we-please-but-to-live-as-we/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [I would define liberty to be a power to do as we would be done by. 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"Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [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/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. 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