“The mountains will be in labor, and a ridiculous mouse will be brought forth.”

—  Horace , Ars Poetica

Source: Ars Poetica, or The Epistle to the Pisones (c. 18 BC), Line 139. Horace is hereby poking fun at heroic labours producing meager results; his line is also an allusion to one of Æsop's fables, The Mountain in Labour. The title to Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing expresses a similar sentiment.

Original

Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Horace 92
Roman lyric poet -65–-8 BC

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