What’s the origin of the phrase ‘The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak’?
From the Bible, Matthew 26:41 (King James Version):
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Meaning
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
The meaning of the phrase
A statement of the difficulty in living up to the high moral standards that one has set oneself.
Historical trend
“spirit is willing but the” in printed material over time
Source: Google Books Ngrams (1800–2020).
- spirit is willing but the