"Few things are impracticable in themselves; and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed"
About this Quote
Self-help optimism, but with a scalpel.
La Rochefoucauld’s line flatters the reader’s sense of agency while quietly accusing them of laziness, vanity, and self-exculpation. “Few things are impracticable” sounds expansive and humane until the hinge turns: failure is “for want of application,” not “of means.” In other words, the obstacle you’re blaming - money, connections, luck, the world’s unfairness - is often a convenient alibi. The sentence is built like a courtroom argument: it grants a small concession (“few things” are genuinely impossible) so it can land the harsher verdict (most people don’t succeed because they don’t persist).
The subtext is classic La Rochefoucauld: a cool, aristocratic anthropology of motives. He lived in a 17th-century France where reputations were made in salons and courts, and where “virtue” was frequently a performance staged for status. In that environment, “means” isn’t just cash; it’s social capital, patronage, polish. By dismissing “means” as secondary, he’s puncturing the era’s favorite excuse - that only the well-positioned can win - while also reinforcing an elite ethic: discipline as moral proof.
What makes the maxim work is its slippery universality. It feels empowering because it reframes possibility as effort, but it also carries a sting: if you’re not where you want to be, look first at your consistency, not your circumstances. He’s not offering comfort; he’s offering a mirror designed to be slightly unkind.
La Rochefoucauld’s line flatters the reader’s sense of agency while quietly accusing them of laziness, vanity, and self-exculpation. “Few things are impracticable” sounds expansive and humane until the hinge turns: failure is “for want of application,” not “of means.” In other words, the obstacle you’re blaming - money, connections, luck, the world’s unfairness - is often a convenient alibi. The sentence is built like a courtroom argument: it grants a small concession (“few things” are genuinely impossible) so it can land the harsher verdict (most people don’t succeed because they don’t persist).
The subtext is classic La Rochefoucauld: a cool, aristocratic anthropology of motives. He lived in a 17th-century France where reputations were made in salons and courts, and where “virtue” was frequently a performance staged for status. In that environment, “means” isn’t just cash; it’s social capital, patronage, polish. By dismissing “means” as secondary, he’s puncturing the era’s favorite excuse - that only the well-positioned can win - while also reinforcing an elite ethic: discipline as moral proof.
What makes the maxim work is its slippery universality. It feels empowering because it reframes possibility as effort, but it also carries a sting: if you’re not where you want to be, look first at your consistency, not your circumstances. He’s not offering comfort; he’s offering a mirror designed to be slightly unkind.
Quote Details
| Topic | Perseverance |
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