Little things make a big difference

Explore 7 quotes about Little things make a big difference

A great flame follows a little spark.

Dante Alighieri

Paradiso

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Topic

Little things make a big difference

Author

Dante Alighieri

Source

Paradiso The Divine Comedy

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem Epic poem Religious literature

Language

Italian

Time

1321 1320s 14th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Paradiso [Paradise]." La Comedia di Dante Alleghieri [The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri]. Foligno: Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi, 1472.

Current Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Paradiso." The Divine Comedy, edited by David H. Higgins, translated by C. H. Sisson. Oxford University Press, 2008.

For want of Nail the Shoe is lost;
For want of a Shoe the Horse is lost;
For want of a Horse the Rider is lost.

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

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Read this proverb at the National Archives website

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Topic

Butterfly effect Little things make a big difference

Author

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

Source

Poor Richard's Almanack

Medium

Almanac

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1752 1750s 18th century

Era

Colonial America

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Franklin, Benjamin [published as Richard Saunders]. Poor Richard Improved. Philadelphia, 1752.

Current Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. "Poor Richard Improved." Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography, Poor Richard, and Later Writings, edited by J. A. Leo Lemay. Library of America, 2005.

If you should put even a little on a little, and should do this often, soon this too would become big.

Hesiod

Works and Days

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Topic

Little things make a big difference Snowball effect

Author

Hesiod

Source

Works and Days

Medium

Poem

Genre

Didactic poem

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Hesiod. Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι [Works and Days]. c. 700 BC, l. 361-362.

Current Citation

Hesiod. "Works and Days." Theogony and Works and Days, translated by M. L. West. Oxford University Press, 2009, l. 361-362.

One leak will sink a ship, and one sin will destroy a sinner.

John Bunyan

The Pilgrim's Progress from this World to that Which is to Come

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Topic

Little things make a big difference Sin

Speaker

Interpreter

Author

John Bunyan

Source

The Pilgrim's Progress from this World to that Which is to Come

Medium

Allegory

Genre

Religious literature

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1678 1670s 17th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim's Progress from this World to that Which is to Come. London: Nathaniel Ponder, 1678, pt. 2.

Current Citation

Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim's Progress, edited by Roger Pooley. Penguin Classics, 2009, pt. 2.

For want of a nail the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost.

George Herbert

Outlandish Proverbs

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Topic

Little things make a big difference

Author

George Herbert

Source

Outlandish Proverbs

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1633 1630s 17th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Herbert, George. Jacula Prudentum, or, Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. Microform. London: Humphrey Blunden, 1640.

Current Citation

Herbert, George. "Outlandish Proverbs." Herbert: The Complete English Works, edited by Ann Pasternak Slater. Everyman's Library, 1995, no. 495.

Beware of little Expences: a small leak will sink a great Ship.

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

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Read this proverb at the National Archives website

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Topic

Butterfly effect Little things make a big difference Actions have consequences

Author

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

Source

Poor Richard's Almanack

Medium

Almanac

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Advice

Language

English

Time

1745 1740s 18th century

Era

Colonial America

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Franklin, Benjamin [published as Richard Saunders]. Poor Richard's Almanack. Philadelphia, 1745.

Current Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. "Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1745." Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography, Poor Richard, and Later Writings, edited by J. A. Leo Lemay. Library of America, 2005.

The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.

Aristotle

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Topic

Butterfly effect Little things make a big difference

Author

Aristotle

Source

On the Heavens

Genre

Scientific literature

Language

Greek

Time

350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Aristotle. Περὶ οὐρανοῦ [On the Heavens]. c. 350 BC.

Current Citation

Aristotle. De Caelo, translated by C. D. C. Reeve. Hackett Publishing, 2020.