70% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up
Earliest close antecedent: George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum (1640), "To him that will, ways are not wanting." Modern exact wording documented by 1822 (New Monthly Magazine). Genuinely anonymous English proverb with a pre-1700 root.
Sources checked
grammarist.comChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 21 August 2026Herbert 1640 precursor plus 1822 modern-wording citation
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