“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

—  Archimedes

Last update June 13, 2021. History

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Archimedes 20
Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and ast… -287–-212 BC

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“Give me the place to stand, and I shall move the earth.”

Archimedes (-287–-212 BC) Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer

δῶς[No omega+perispomene doric form per e.g. LSJ, March 2017] μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω.
Dôs moi pâ stô, kaì tàn gân kinásō.
Said to be his assertion in demonstrating the principle of the lever; as quoted by Pappus of Alexandria, Synagoge, Book VIII, c. AD 340; also found in Chiliades (12th century) by John Tzetzes, II.130 http://books.google.com/books?id=dG0GAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA46. This and "Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the world" are the most commonly quoted translations.
Variant translations:
Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world.
This variant derives from an earlier source than Pappus: The Library of History of Diodorus Siculus, Fragments of Book XXVI http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/26*.html, as translated by F. R. Walton, in Loeb Classical Library (1957) Vol. XI. In Doric Greek this may have originally been Πᾷ βῶ, καὶ χαριστίωνι τὰν γᾶν κινήσω πᾶσαν [Pā bō, kai kharistiōni tan gān kinēsō [variant kinasō] pāsan].
Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth.
Give me a fulcrum, and I shall move the world.
Give me a firm spot on which to stand, and I shall move the earth.

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