Novalis's ongoing reflections upon Fichte's ideas, particularly those in the "Wissenshaftlehre" ("Foundations of the Science of Knowledge ") formed part of the foundation for his later philosophical and literary works, Novalis focused on Fichte's argument that the concept of identity assumes a tension between self (i.e., "I") and object (i.e., "not-I") Novalis's critique of Fichte arose from Novalis's literary commitments: Novalis suggests that the tension between self and object that Fichte asserts is actually a tension between language and imagination. Later, Novalis would take his critique further, suggesting that identity is not the separation of subject and object, but a dynamic process of equal partners in mutual communication. Novalis's viewpoint is summarized in his aphorism "Statt Nicht-I du" ("Instead of 'not-I', you").