--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing surely is as potent as a law that…" description: "\"Nothing surely is as potent as a law that may not be disobeyed. It has the force of the water drop that hollows the stone. A small dainty task, if it b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/anthony-trollope-611_beats_nothing-surely-is-as-potent-as-a-law-tha_158590.jpg" --- # Nothing surely is as potent as a law that may not be… ![“Nothing surely is as potent as a law that may not be disobeyed. It has the force of the water drop that hollows the stone. A small dainty task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.” quote by Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/anthony-trollope-611_beats_nothing-surely-is-as-potent-as-a-law-tha_158590.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/anthony-trollope-611_beats_nothing-surely-is-as-potent-as-a-law-tha_158590.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/anthony-trollope-611_beats_nothing-surely-is-as-potent-as-a-law-tha_158590.jpg) > “Nothing surely is as potent as a law that may not be disobeyed. It has the force of the water drop that hollows the stone. A small dainty task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.” [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consistent, seemingly minor actions accumulate power, eventually overcoming great obstacles like water eroding stone. **In simple terms:** Small daily habits can achieve big results. Key Takeaway Practice tiny, regular tasks. Themes consistency perseverance incremental change Mood determined steady Type motivational practical When to use this quote - personal growth - skill mastery - long‑term projects - health routines Key Concepts habit formation compound effect resilience Questions to Reflect On - What tiny habit could you start today? - How does daily effort compare to occasional bursts? A Different Perspective May be too slow for urgent crises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drop of water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drop-of-water/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [The shallow consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise man sees in it, on the contrary, the potent Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-shallow-consider-liberty-a-release-from-all-law-from-every/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [The shallow, as intimated, consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise see in it, on the contrary, the potent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-shallow-as-intimated-consider-liberty-a-release-from-all-law-from/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“May picked up a smooth round stone, As small as a world and as large as alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings-2/may-picked-up-a-smooth-round-stone-as-small-as-a-world-and-as-large/) [E.E. Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings-2/) > [may came home with a smooth round stone as small as a world and as large as alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-came-home-with-a-smooth-round-stone-as-small-as-a-world-and-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Small is not just a stepping-stone. Small is a great destination itself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-fried/small-is-not-just-a-stepping-stone-small-is-a-great-destination-itself/) [Jason Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-fried/) > [“the force of the water drop that hollows the stone. A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labors of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-vanderkam/the-force-of-the-water-drop-that-hollows-the-stone-a-small-daily-task/) [Laura Vanderkam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-vanderkam/) > [I understand I'm supposed to be feminine and dainty, but I'm not. There are two sides to the coin. People are more impressed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/i-understand-i-m-supposed-to-be-feminine-and-dainty-but-i-m-not-there/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) > [There's times to be dainty and times to be a pig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/there-s-times-to-be-dainty-and-times-to-be-a-pig/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [So we went to bed, assaulted by sleep that fumed at us from medicine glasses, or was wielded from small sweet-coated tablets -- dainty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/so-we-went-to-bed-assaulted-by-sleep-that-fumed-at-us-from-medicine/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [He's got hands so long and white and dainty I think they carved each other out of soap, and sometimes they get loose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/he-s-got-hands-so-long-and-white-and-dainty-i-think-they-carved-each-2/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [Love That’s it: The cashless commerce. The blanket always too short. The loose connexion. To search behind the horizon. To brush fallen leaves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/love-that-s-it-the-cashless-commerce-the-blanket-always-too-short-the/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“ Autumn Days Yellow, mellow, ripened days, Sheltered in a golden coating; O'er the dreamy, listless haze, White and dainty cloudlets floating; Winking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-carleton/autumn-days-yellow-mellow-ripened-days-sheltered-in-a-golden-coating/) [Will Carleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-carleton/) > [Where is truth, forsooth, and who knoweth it? Is Beauty beautiful, or is it only our eyes that make it so? Does Venus squint?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/where-is-truth-forsooth-and-who-knoweth-it-is-beauty-beautiful-or-is/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [With all your music, loud and lustily, With every dainty joy of sight and smell, Prepare a banquet meet to entertain The Lord of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartley-coleridge/with-all-your-music-loud-and-lustily-with-every-dainty-joy-of-sight/) [Hartley Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartley-coleridge/) > [I hope the day will come when a wasp-waist and a pair of thin shoulders will not be esteemed beauty: we have had our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/i-hope-the-day-will-come-when-a-wasp-waist-and-a-pair-of-thin/) [Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/) ## More by Anthony Trollope > [“I have from the first felt sure that the writer, when he sits down to commence his novel, should do so, not because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-have-from-the-first-felt-sure-that-the-writer-when-he-sits-down-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Things to be done offer themselves, I suppose, because they are in themselves desirable; not because it is desirable to have something to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/things-to-be-done-offer-themselves-i-suppose-because-they-are-in/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/a-small-daily-task-if-it-be-really-daily-will-beat-the-labours-of-a/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [You men find so many angels in your travels. You have been honester than some. You have generally been off with the old angel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/you-men-find-so-many-angels-in-your-travels-you-have-been-honester/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [The man who worships mere wealth is a snob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-man-who-worships-mere-wealth-is-a-snob/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [To feel that your hours are filled to overflowing, that you can barely steal minutes enough for sleep, that the welfare of many is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/to-feel-that-your-hours-are-filled-to-overflowing-that-you-can-barely/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [It is necessary to get a lot of men together, for the show of the thing, otherwise the world will not believe. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/it-is-necessary-to-get-a-lot-of-men-together-for-the-show-of-the/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“An accepted lover, who deserves to have been accepted, should devote every hour at his command to his mistress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/an-accepted-lover-who-deserves-to-have-been-accepted-should-devote/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Wine is valued by its price, not its flavour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/wine-is-valued-by-its-price-not-its-flavour/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“(On Charles Dickens) It has been the peculiarity and the marvel of this man’s power, that he has invested his puppets with a charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/on-charles-dickens-it-has-been-the-peculiarity-and-the-marvel-of-this/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [There is no road to wealth so easy and respectable as that of matrimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/there-is-no-road-to-wealth-so-easy-and-respectable-as-that-of/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [I hold that gentleman to be the best-dressed whose dress no one observes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-hold-that-gentleman-to-be-the-best-dressed-whose-dress-no-one/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [But mad people never die. That's a well-known fact. They've nothing to trouble them, and they live for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/but-mad-people-never-die-that-s-a-well-known-fact-they-ve-nothing-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Since woman's rights have come up a young woman is better able to fight her own battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/since-woman-s-rights-have-come-up-a-young-woman-is-better-able-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“The heroes of life are so much better than the heroes of romance,” said Caroline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-heroes-of-life-are-so-much-better-than-the-heroes-of-romance-said/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) [Explore all 448 Anthony Trollope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) ## More Beats quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [If you don't like club beats take a HIT OF E and you will love the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/if-you-don-t-like-club-beats-take-a-hit-of-e-and-you-will-love-the/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Every pitcher can beat you, it doesn't matter how good you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bonds/every-pitcher-can-beat-you-it-doesn-t-matter-how-good-you-are/) [Barry Bonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-bonds/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [Practice to beat the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-bennett/practice-to-beat-the-best/) [Dick Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-bennett/) > [I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know in our region everyone is gunning to beat us. We have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-donovan/i-don-t-know-about-the-rest-of-the-world-but-i-know-in-our-region/) [Landon Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/landon-donovan/) > [Grand business plans are all very well, but nothing beats dipping your toe in the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-bilimoria-karan-bilimoria/grand-business-plans-are-all-very-well-but-nothing-beats-dipping-your/) Baron Bilimoria Karan Bilimoria > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Imagine if you were a drummer, and you accidentally picked up two magic wands instead of sticks. There you are, keeping the beat, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/imagine-if-you-were-a-drummer-and-you-accidentally-picked-up-two/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I don't like small birds. They hop around so merrily outside my window, looking so innocent. but I know that secretly, they're watching my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-like-small-birds-they-hop-around-so-merrily-outside-my-window/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 3,311 Beats quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing surely is as potent as a law that may not be disobeyed. It has the force of the water drop that hollows the stone. 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