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Creativity Quote by Robert Clive

"It appears I am destined for something; I will live"

About this Quote

"It appears I am destined for something; I will live" is the kind of line that sounds like a private vow overheard at the cliff edge: half prophecy, half refusal. The phrasing matters. "It appears" feigns modesty, as if fate has merely left a note on the table. Then "destined" swings the sentence from observation into self-mythology. By the time Clive lands on "I will live", the grammar turns into pure willpower. Not "I want to", not "I hope" - a decision disguised as inevitability.

The cultural electricity here comes from how destiny functions as permission. Saying you're "destined" externalizes the burden of choice: survival becomes not just a personal act but the fulfillment of an assigned role. It's a classic maneuver for someone standing at a breaking point, when the mind needs a story big enough to drown out panic. The semicolon is the hinge: the first clause invents a cosmic narrative; the second clause cashes it in as immediate action.

The context sharpens the stakes. Robert Clive is better known as a British imperial operator than a musician, and that mismatch is revealing in itself: history loves to tidy people into single categories, while actual lives spill across them. Read against Clive's real biography - ambition, risk, and a taste for dramatic self-authoring - the line becomes less inspirational poster, more survival script. It isn't serenity. It's a man trying to outtalk the void by appointing himself necessary.

Quote Details

TopicFree Will & Fate
Source
Later attribution: In Pursuit of Destiny (Dr Jaimie Oliver Garande, 2010) modern compilationISBN: 9781452020037 · ID: R3MdnDMwIRwC
Text match: 95.00%   Provider: Google Books
Evidence:
... It appears I am destined for something; I will live. Robert Clive Robert Clive Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty ...
Other candidates (1)
Peer Gynt - Act 5 (Henrik Ibsen) primary60.0%
Song: "Peer Gynt - Act 5" by Henrik Ibsen
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Clive, Robert. (2026, March 7). It appears I am destined for something; I will live. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-appears-i-am-destined-for-something-i-will-live-163076/

Chicago Style
Clive, Robert. "It appears I am destined for something; I will live." FixQuotes. March 7, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-appears-i-am-destined-for-something-i-will-live-163076/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"It appears I am destined for something; I will live." FixQuotes, 7 Mar. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-appears-i-am-destined-for-something-i-will-live-163076/. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.

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About the Author

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Robert Clive (September 9, 1725 - November 22, 1774) was a Musician from United Kingdom.

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