Constant dripping hollows out a stone.
Paraphrase
Not in these words. The idea is in On the Nature of Things (55 BC), Book I, lines 311–314 (stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, I.313); Leonard, Book I, “Substance Is Eternal”.
The real passage, shown below, is found word for word by program in the Latin original and in William Ellery Leonard’s English translation (1916).
- Work
- On the Nature of Things (De rerum natura), 55 BC
- The real passage
- Book I, lines 311–314 (stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, I.313); Leonard, Book I, “Substance Is Eternal”
Researched by AI; closest passage located by program on 31 October 2026. Entry updated 23 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
The real passage
*****
[…] Praeterea quae cumque vetustate amovet aetas, si penitus peremit consumens materiem omnem, unde animale genus generatim in lumina vitae redducit Venus, aut redductum daedala tellus unde alit atque auget generatim pabula praebens? unde mare ingenuei fontes externaque longe flumina suppeditant? unde aether sidera pascit? omnia enim debet, mortali corpore quae sunt, infinita aetas consumpse ante acta diesque. quod si in eo spatio atque ante acta aetate fuere e quibus haec rerum consistit summa refecta, inmortali sunt natura praedita certe. haud igitur possunt ad nilum quaeque reverti.
[…] And raiment, hung by surf-beat shore, grows moist, The same, spread out before the sun, will dry; Yet no one saw how sank the moisture in, Nor how by heat off-driven. Thus we know, That moisture is dispersed about in bits Too small for eyes to see. Another case: A ring upon the finger thins away Along the under side, with years and suns; The drippings from the eaves will scoop the stone; The hooked ploughshare, though of iron, wastes Amid the fields insidiously.1 We view The rock-paved highways worn by many feet; And at the gates the brazen statues show Their right hands leaner from the frequent touch Of wayfarers innumerable who greet. […]
[…] Denique fluctifrago suspensae in litore vestis uvescunt, eaedem dispansae in sole serescunt. at neque quo pacto persederit umor aquai visumst nec rursum quo pacto fugerit aestu. in parvas igitur partis dispergitur umor, quas oculi nulla possunt ratione videre. quin etiam multis solis redeuntibus annis anulus in digito subter tenuatur habendo, stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, uncus aratri ferreus occulte decrescit vomer in arvis, strataque iam volgi pedibus detrita viarum saxea conspicimus; tum portas propter aena signa manus dextras ostendunt adtenuari saepe salutantum tactu praeterque meantum. haec igitur minui, cum sint detrita, videmus. sed quae corpora decedant in tempore quoque, invida praeclusit speciem natura videndi. […]
Nec tamen undique corporea stipata tenentur omnia natura; namque est in rebus inane. quod tibi cognosse in multis erit utile rebus nec sinet errantem dubitare et quaerere semper de summa rerum et nostris diffidere dictis. qua propter locus est intactus inane vacansque. quod si non esset, nulla ratione moveri res possent; namque officium quod corporis exstat, officere atque obstare, id in omni tempore adesset omnibus; haud igitur quicquam procedere posset, principium quoniam cedendi nulla daret res. at nunc per maria ac terras sublimaque caeli multa modis multis varia ratione moveri cernimus ante oculos, quae, si non esset inane, non tam sollicito motu privata carerent quam genita omnino nulla ratione fuissent, undique materies quoniam stipata quiesset. […]
Illud in his rebus ne te deducere vero possit, quod quidam fingunt, praecurrere cogor. cedere squamigeris latices nitentibus aiunt et liquidas aperire vias, quia post loca pisces linquant, quo possint cedentes confluere undae; sic alias quoque res inter se posse moveri et mutare locum, quamvis sint omnia plena. scilicet id falsa totum ratione receptumst. nam quo squamigeri poterunt procedere tandem, ni spatium dederint latices? concedere porro quo poterunt undae, cum pisces ire nequibunt? aut igitur motu privandumst corpora quaeque aut esse admixtum dicundumst rebus inane, unde initum primum capiat res quaeque movendi. […]
How the shared form came about
The image is Lucretius’, in Book I (stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, the fall of the eaves-drip hollows the stone) and again in Book IV (guttas in saxa cadentis umoris longo in spatio pertundere saxa). The proverbial Latin form, ‘gutta cavat lapidem’ (the drop hollows the stone), is Ovid’s, in a letter from exile (Ex Ponto IV.10.5: ‘Gutta cauat lapidem, consumitur anulus usu,’), whose line takes over Lucretius’ ring and drop and, in the next line, his ploughshare. Wiktionary notes an older Greek verse credited to Choerilus of Samos with the same image (not checked here). ‘Constant dripping hollows out a stone’ is an English rendering of the proverb; W. H. D. Rouse’s Loeb translation (1924) comes closest (‘the fall of drippings hollows a stone’); the added ‘constant’ turns the line into the proverb, and quote sites that credit it to him give no line.
In context
Lucretius is arguing that the first bodies of things exist although they are too small to be seen. We see things wear away over the years, a ring on the finger, the stone under the eaves, a ploughshare in the field, paving worn by feet, the right hands of bronze statues at the city gates rubbed thin by passers-by greeting them, but we never see the particles that leave them. In Book IV (lines 1283–1287) he uses the image again for how long habit can breed love: drops of water falling on stones in the end bore through them.
What it says
Even the hardest things are worn away little by little, by bodies too small to see; the effect shows only over a long time.
Often misread
Quoted as a maxim about perseverance. In Book I the drip on the stone is evidence for invisible atoms, not advice; the nearest he comes to the proverb’s sense is the Book IV passage on habit and love.
Also shared as
- ShortenedStilicidi casus lapidem cavat. Lucretius I.313 cut down to the image itself. Where it was seen
- Another public-domain translationThe fall of drippings hollows a stone. W. H. D. Rouse’s Loeb translation of I.313 (1924). Where it was seen
- The form on posters and social mediaContinual dropping wears away a stone. The English proverb, given on Wikiquote as a variant translation of I.313. Where it was seen
- The form on posters and social mediaConstant dripping hollows out a stone. Quote-image form credited to Lucretius with no reference. Where it was seen
- Two passages run togetherGutta cavat lapidem. Ovid’s wording (Ex Ponto IV.10.5), the Latin proverb Lucretius’ line is merged with.
Before and after
Topics
Related quotes
- What is food to one, is to others bitter poison.
- what we have to make when we have learned how, these we learn how to make by making. Aristotle
- To be angry is what any man can do, and easy: but to do these to the right person, in due proportion, at the right time, with a right object, and in the right manner, this is not as before what any man can do, nor is it easy. (paraphrase) Aristotle
- No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. Epictetus
- Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtues consistently. Maya Angelou
Sources
Cite it
“Constant dripping hollows out a stone.” Attributed to Lucretius. Not in these words. The idea is in On the Nature of Things (55 BC), Book I, lines 311–314 (stilicidi casus lapidem cavat, I.313); Leonard, Book I, “Substance Is Eternal”. Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/constant-dripping-hollows-out-a-stone/ (checked 23 October 2026).
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