Little strokes fell great oaks. — Benjamin Franklin · Smartyfair

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Little strokes fell great oaks. — Benjamin Franklin · Smartyfair

Little strokes fell great oaks.

Benjamin Franklin1706–1790 · inventor · 1700s AmericaBenjamin Franklin was an inventor, writer, and one of America's founding fathers.12 quotes

Source foundPerseverance

In plain words

Small chops, again and again, bring down the biggest tree.

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strokes
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Where these words come from

How sure this is: 93% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: Poor Richard's Almanack, 1750 (also appears in the 1757 "maxims" edition)
Work: Poor Richard's Almanack
Occasion: 1750
Sources checked: en.wikiquote.orgChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 20 August 2026
battlefields.org

More from Benjamin Franklin

Energy and persistence conquer all things.

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More on perseverance

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

1700s

Checked using claude-sonnet-5, 21 August 2026

Primary-text reproduction of the 1758 Almanack preface ('The Way to Wealth') containing the line verbatim.

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Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

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Slow and steady wins the race.

Patience is the key to relief.Arabic proverb

Drops of water hollow out a stone.

Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.