Quick answer“Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth.” is a famous quote by Archimedes. It is widely quoted on wisdom and science. No writing of Archimedes himself records the words, but the ancient mathematician Pappus reports that Archimedes, demonstrating the lever, declared: give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth.
No writing of Archimedes himself records the words, but the ancient mathematician Pappus reports that Archimedes, demonstrating the lever, declared: give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth. The boast has outlived every machine he built.
Origin: No writing of Archimedes himself records this remark. It is reported by Pappus of Alexandria in his Synagoge (Collection), Book VIII, written about AD 340, some five and a half centuries after Archimedes died: Archimedes is said to have made the assertion while demonstrating the principle of the lever. Plutarch, writing earlier (Life of Marcellus), tells a related story: Archimedes boasted to King Hiero that with a given force any weight could be moved, and that if he had another earth to stand on, he would move this one.
Translated from Greek.
Key facts
| Quote | “Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth.” |
|---|---|
| Author | Archimedes |
| Source | Pappus of Alexandria, Synagoge (Collection), Book VIII, c. AD 340 |
| Themes | wisdom, science |
| Language | Greek (translation) |
| Original | “δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω.” |
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