Drops of water hollow out a stone. — Ovid · Smartyfair

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Drops of water hollow out a stone. — Ovid · Smartyfair

Drops of water hollow out a stone.

Ovid43–17 BC · poet · Ancient RomeOvid was a Roman poet famous for his long poem Metamorphoses, a collection of myths about people and gods transforming into animals, plants, and stars.1 quote

Source foundPerseverance

In plain words

Tiny effort, repeated long enough, wears through anything.

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Where these words come from

How sure this is: 85% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: Epistulae ex Ponto, IV.x.5 (Arthur Leslie Wheeler translation, Loeb Classical Library); Wikiquote sourced section.
Sources checked: en.wikiquote.orgChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 20 August 2026Sourced Epistulae ex Ponto section, Wheeler translation of gutta cavat lapidem

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More on perseverance

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

More history

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The wound is the place where the light enters you.

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Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

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An unexamined life is not worth living.

Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.