--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should try to succeed by merit, not by…" description: "\"We should try to succeed by merit, not by favor. He who does well will always have patrons enough.\" — Plautus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/plautus-1263_merit_we-should-try-to-succeed-by-merit-not-by_1275778.jpg" --- # We should try to succeed by merit, not by favor. He who… ![“We should try to succeed by merit, not by favor. He who does well will always have patrons enough.” quote by Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/plautus-1263_merit_we-should-try-to-succeed-by-merit-not-by_1275778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/plautus-1263_merit_we-should-try-to-succeed-by-merit-not-by_1275778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/plautus-1263_merit_we-should-try-to-succeed-by-merit-not-by_1275778.jpg) > “We should try to succeed by merit, not by favor. He who does well will always have patrons enough.” [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Merit should be the basis of success, not favoritism; true skill attracts support. **In simple terms:** Earn success by merit, not favors. Key Takeaway Focus on competence over connections. Themes merit fairness social mobility Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - job applications - academic pursuits - political campaigns Key Concepts ancient drama ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure meritocracy in your field? - What role does networking play? A Different Perspective Patronage still influences outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [We should try to succeed by merit, not by favor. He who does well will always have patrons enough. \[Lat., Virtute ambire oportet, non…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/we-should-try-to-succeed-by-merit-not-by-favor-he-who-does-well-will-2/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [I would like my kids to inherit a world where people succeed because of merit and hard work, not entitlement, and where people accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/i-would-like-my-kids-to-inherit-a-world-where-people-succeed-because/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [My mom always told me the more you try, the more you will succeed in everything you set out to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-lopez/my-mom-always-told-me-the-more-you-try-the-more-you-will-succeed-in/) [Diana Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-lopez/) > [If we used to be poor don't be ashamed coz if you want to be rich,try and try until you succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherinee27/if-we-used-to-be-poor-don-t-be-ashamed-coz-if-you-want-to-be-rich-try/) Katherinee27 > [The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try nothing and succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-jones/the-men-who-try-to-do-something-and-fail-are-infinitely-better-than/) [Lloyd Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-jones/) > [Men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-jones/men-who-try-to-do-something-and-fail-are-infinitely-better-than-those/) [Lloyd Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-jones/) > [“You rob yourself of reaching your maximum potential and the best chance of success when you try to succeed alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mensah-oteh/you-rob-yourself-of-reaching-your-maximum-potential-and-the-best/) [Mensah Oteh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mensah-oteh/) > [I will try and try and try and try again until I succeed. Only death can stop me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-try-and-try-and-try-and-try-again-until-i-succeed-only-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Better to try something and fail than to try nothing and succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-to-try-something-and-fail-than-to-try-nothing-and-succeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Make a decision to take reasonable, responsible risks. If you never try, you will never succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pelumi-bello/make-a-decision-to-take-reasonable-responsible-risks-if-you-never-try/) [Pelumi Bello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pelumi-bello/) > [It is better to try something and fail than to try nothing and succeed. The result may be the same, but you won't be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/it-is-better-to-try-something-and-fail-than-to-try-nothing-and/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Your Heart Knows What You Should Do. Your Brain Wants To know The Answer. Your Guts Tell You To Hurry Up And do It.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-heart-knows-what-you-should-do-your-brain-wants-to-know-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amateurs try until they succeed. Professionals try until they can't fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/amateurs-try-until-they-succeed-professionals-try-until-they-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“ Some doors lead to amazing things. Some doors lead to...well, not much. But the more doors a person tried, the greater the chances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doe-zantamata/some-doors-lead-to-amazing-things-some-doors-lead-to-well-not-much/) [Doe Zantamata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doe-zantamata/) > [As kids we're not taught how to deal with success; we're taught how to deal with failure. If at first you don't succeed, try,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/as-kids-we-re-not-taught-how-to-deal-with-success-we-re-taught-how-to/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) ## More by Plautus > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [I suspect that hunger was my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/i-suspect-that-hunger-was-my-mother/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [He is happy in his wisdom who has learned at another's expense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-is-happy-in-his-wisdom-who-has-learned-at-another-s-expense/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [He who dies for virtue does not perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-who-dies-for-virtue-does-not-perish/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [The man who would be fully employed should procure a ship or a woman, for no two things produce more trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/the-man-who-would-be-fully-employed-should-procure-a-ship-or-a-woman/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [If you speak insults you will hear them also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/if-you-speak-insults-you-will-hear-them-also/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ No man has perpetual good fortune. \[Lat., Nulli est homini perpetuum bonum.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/no-man-has-perpetual-good-fortune-lat-nulli-est-homini-perpetuum-bonum/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [What you lend is lost; when you ask for it back, you may find a friend made an enemy by your kindness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/what-you-lend-is-lost-when-you-ask-for-it-back-you-may-find-a-friend/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Things unhoped for happen oftener than things we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/things-unhoped-for-happen-oftener-than-things-we-desire/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent-how-often-the-greatest/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ You little know what a ticklish thing it is to go to law. \[Lat., Nescis tu quam meticulosa res sit ire ad judicem.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/you-little-know-what-a-ticklish-thing-it-is-to-go-to-law-lat-nescis/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Modesty should accompany youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/modesty-should-accompany-youth/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [It is wisdom to think upon anything before we execute it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/it-is-wisdom-to-think-upon-anything-before-we-execute-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [A woman smells well when she smells of nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/a-woman-smells-well-when-she-smells-of-nothing/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) [Explore all 259 Plautus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## More Merit quotes > [The Iranian people have a proud past. They merit a great future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/the-iranian-people-have-a-proud-past-they-merit-a-great-future/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I could give you some names of Workshop participants who are as good as many who are being published but haven't had the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gunn/i-could-give-you-some-names-of-workshop-participants-who-are-as-good/) [James Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gunn/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Misfortune is the test of a person's merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/misfortune-is-the-test-of-a-person-s-merit/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [There is no discussion inside this boardroom to say we've got to get into this or that. We look at every growth opportunity on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-packer/there-is-no-discussion-inside-this-boardroom-to-say-we-ve-got-to-get/) [James Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-packer/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [Before I met Ayn Rand, I was a logical positivist, and accordingly, I didn't believe in absolutes, moral or otherwise. If I couldn't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/before-i-met-ayn-rand-i-was-a-logical-positivist-and-accordingly-i/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [He makes his cook his merit, and the world visits his dinners and not him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/he-makes-his-cook-his-merit-and-the-world-visits-his-dinners-and-not/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [The most successful businessmen were often uneducated when measured by the scholastic standards of the teaching profession. But they were equal to their social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-most-successful-businessmen-were-often-uneducated-when-measured/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great. To many people, being nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/everybody-wants-to-be-good-but-not-many-are-prepared-to-make-the-2/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-story-of-the-jews-in-the-bible-is-replete-with-incidents-of-their/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) Browse all 1,373 Merit quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should try to succeed by merit, not by favor. 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