One may go a long way after one is tired.

This saying is typically labeled a “French proverb” in English-language collections of maxims and aphorisms, where it appears as a piece of folk wisdom about endurance rather than as a line traceable to a single author or event. Like many proverbs, it likely circulated orally before being gathered into print in proverb anthologies and quotation books, often in contexts that emphasize perseverance in travel, labor, or hardship. Because it is transmitted as traditional wisdom, it is usually presented without a fixed date, locale, or original speaker, and its “French” attribution signals cultural origin rather than a verifiable first publication.

The proverb observes that fatigue is not an absolute limit: people often retain reserves of will, capacity, or ingenuity that only become apparent when they must continue. Literally, a traveler can still cover distance after feeling tired; figuratively, one can persist through discouragement, setbacks, or the dull middle stretch of any undertaking. Its emphasis is less on heroic triumph than on the quiet practicality of endurance—continuing despite discomfort. The line also hints at a psychological truth: the sensation of being “done” can arrive before one is actually unable to proceed, so progress sometimes depends on refusing to treat tiredness as final.