a man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
People have control over their actions, but not over their desires or intentions.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Con người có quyền kiểm soát hành động nhưng không kiểm soát được ham muốn hoặc ý định
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “a man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills” mean?
People have control over their actions, but not over their desires or intentions.
Is “a man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.