The primary focus of ›The Facts of Consciousness‹ (January 1813) is on practical facts and their justification, and provides an introductory platform for the incomplete ›Wissenschaftslehre‹ of February 1813. Its point of departure is that all cognition is merely an understanding of itself. The further principles of cognition are then derived from this understanding of understanding. The ›Diarium I‹ (March-August 1813) is here published for the very first time, and offers a glimpse into Fichte’s preparatory work for his lectures on Political Theory (Staatslehre) with their mixture of historical-philosophical and political reflections. Furthermore, ample space is devoted to speculations on an ultimate grounding of the Wissenschaftslehre.