Meaning & Analysis
Over a long period, the continuous action of water dripping onto a stone will eventually erode and wear it away, despite the stone's hardness.
Insights
Power of Persistence
Through relentless effort and perseverance, even the most formidable challenges or obstacles can be overcome. It champions the power of sustained effort over momentary force.
Triumph of the Small
This illustrates how seemingly weak or insignificant forces can triumph over great strength and resistance through sheer tenacity and consistency over time.
Erosion of Will
The proverb can describe the process of breaking down emotional or intellectual resistance. Constant pleading, persuasion, or criticism can eventually wear down a person's resolve or defenses.
Principle of Gradual Achievement
It serves as a powerful encouragement that no task is insurmountable if approached with steady, unwavering dedication, transforming a natural process into a motivational principle.
Literary and Biblical Resonance
Rooted in biblical and classical antiquity, this proverb was extensively used by Shakespeare, who frequently adapted it to describe emotional erosion, where relentless tears or pleas could wear down a 'marble' or 'rocky' heart.
Psychological Tenacity
The proverb embodies the psychological principle of gradual change. It illustrates how consistent, small actions accumulate over time to overcome significant obstacles, a concept relevant to habit formation, learning, and achieving long-term goals.
Natural World Analogy
Grounded in the observable, universal process of geological erosion, the proverb draws its authority from the natural world. This connection lends it a timeless and undeniable quality, making its metaphorical lesson more potent.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The core of the proverb is the powerful metaphor of water (persistence) overcoming stone (a great obstacle), which makes an abstract concept tangible and memorable.
Imagery
The proverb creates a stark and memorable visual of a small, soft water drop striking a large, hard stone, vividly illustrating its central theme.
Antithesis
It juxtaposes the weak, gentle 'dropping' with the strong, hard 'stone' to emphasize the surprising power of persistence against apparent strength.
Transcription
Quotations
Water by often droppyng may make a hole in a marbyll stone.
The droppes of water with ofte fallynge make the hole in a marbyll stone.
*A Prouerbe aptely shewing that nothing is so difficult, but that industrie and labour will ouercome, accordyng to that saying of Lilius.
Yet loe the seas I see by often beating, Doe pearce the rockes, and hardest marble weares; But his hard rocky hart for no entreating Will yeeld, but when my piteous plaints he heares, Is hardened more with my aboundant teares.
At length, or in continuance of time, the water pierceth stone.
Continuall drops doe pierce the marble stone.
The drop weares out the stone Not by force, but oft falling on.
The stone yields to the water.
A drop of water breaks a stone.
Bible Citations
The waters wear the stones.
Shakespeare Citations
Her tears will pierce into a marble heart.
Much rain wears the marble.
But be your heart to them As unrelenting flint to drops of rain.
Nay, more [hard] than flint, for stone at rain relenteth.
Tears harden lust, though marble wear with raining.
Be moved with my tears . . which . . Beat at thy rocky and wrack-threat’ning heart, To soften it with their continual motion. For stones dissolv’d to water do convert.
Time’s glory is to . . waste huge stones with little water-drops.
Or shall we . . make some pretty match with shedding tears? As thus—to drop them still upon one place Till they have fretted us a pair of graves Within the earth.
When water drops have worn the stones of Troy.
Her salt tears fell from her, and soft’ned the stones.
But with the inundation of the eyes What rocky heart to water will not wear?
Cross References
- See OTTO, no. 774
- T. 113, p. 107
- S886 A rugged stone grows smooth from hand to hand
- S887 Spit on a stone and it will be wet at last
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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