--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hold on to that thought - and examine it…" description: "\"“Hold on to that thought - and examine it, for there you will find evil's greatest weapon. What can I do when I am so small and weak? Why should I not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/david-gemmell-1821_change-the-world_hold-on-to-that-thought-and-examine-it-f_1645298.jpg" --- # Hold on to that thought - and examine it, for there you… ![“Hold on to that thought - and examine it, for there you will find evil's greatest weapon. What can I do when I am so small and weak? Why should I not steal a little, everyone else does? Why should I try to be pure, when it leaves me poor and disregarded? How can I change the world? Yet all ideas…” quote by David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/david-gemmell-1821_change-the-world_hold-on-to-that-thought-and-examine-it-f_1645298.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/david-gemmell-1821_change-the-world_hold-on-to-that-thought-and-examine-it-f_1645298.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/david-gemmell-1821_change-the-world_hold-on-to-that-thought-and-examine-it-f_1645298.jpg) > ““Hold on to that thought - and examine it, for there you will find evil's greatest weapon. What can I do when I am so small and weak? Why should I not steal a little, everyone else does? Why should I try to be pure, when it leaves me poor and disregarded? How can I change the world? Yet all ideas, for good or evil, start in the heart of a single man or woman. From there they spread, one to one, two to two, a hundred to a hundred.' 'You are flying too high for me, Gwydion,' said Lámfhada, stretching his legs and rising. 'I cannot follow all of this.' Gwydion rose beside him. 'Ruad was good to you and showed you a path to follow. You will show others. The more men who follow this path because of you, the greater Ruad's achievement. His death will not stop that. But if you despair, and take another path, his life will have been diminished. That is your debt, my friend.”” [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual thoughts can become powerful forces; moral choices arise from weakness, temptation, and the desire for purity, while ideas spread from one person to another, shaping collective destiny. **In simple terms:** Ideas start in one mind and spread, influencing good or evil. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of your thoughts. Themes morality temptation influence legacy Mood hopeful serious Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - personal dilemmas - leadership - activism - community building Key Concepts ethical decision-making social contagion Questions to Reflect On - How will your ideas affect others? - Can small actions change the world? A Different Perspective Good intentions can be compromised by selfishness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) [Despair Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-path-602797/) [Follow Gwydion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow-gwydion-602795/) [Follow Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow-path/) [Good evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-evil/) [Gwydion Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gwydion-said-602796/) [Single man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-man/) ## Related quotes > [Always look forward. Follow the path of light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikage/always-look-forward-follow-the-path-of-light/) [Mikage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikage/) > [“Don't follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-follow-where-the-path-may-lead-go-instead-where-there-is-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I dont know what I want to do with my life and thats ok as long as I have people in my life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dont-know-what-i-want-to-do-with-my-life-and-thats-ok-as-long-as-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God has a path, and I'm just here to follow the path, so I just kind of wait and see where the doors open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-bargatze/god-has-a-path-and-i-m-just-here-to-follow-the-path-so-i-just-kind-of/) [Nate Bargatze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-bargatze/) > [I never follow the path,I always set the way.I don't do what people think I have to,I do whatever I want to do.I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-follow-the-path-i-always-set-the-way-i-don-t-do-what-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived. Follow the path that is no path, follow your bliss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/life-is-not-a-problem-to-be-solved-but-a-mystery-to-be-lived-follow/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“Find then follow the path that enables you to live the life you want to live. Don't be blow by the winds of fate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/find-then-follow-the-path-that-enables-you-to-live-the-life-you-want/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Follow your path, and let the people talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/follow-your-path-and-let-the-people-talk/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Look, nobody is ever exactly the same as anybody else. You're handed the cards you are for a particular reason, so you follow that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-willis/look-nobody-is-ever-exactly-the-same-as-anybody-else-you-re-handed/) [Rumer Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-willis/) > [You are all lions – so go your own way. Do not walk the beaten path like sheep, one after another. Do not follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-l-poonja/you-are-all-lions-so-go-your-own-way-do-not-walk-the-beaten-path-like/) [H. W. L. Poonja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-l-poonja/) > [“Sometimes in the mountains the animals make paths by using the same route again and again. If you don't know what you're doing, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-adelstein/sometimes-in-the-mountains-the-animals-make-paths-by-using-the-same/) [Jake Adelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-adelstein/) > [I dont expect people to follow my path neither I follow there's I believe to be like water which makes its own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/i-dont-expect-people-to-follow-my-path-neither-i-follow-there-s-i/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal. It can't be organized or regulated. It isn't true that everyone should follow one path. Listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/the-spiritual-journey-is-individual-highly-personal-it-can-t-be/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not plan my fiction any more than I normally plan woodland walks; I follow the path that seems most promising at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-do-not-plan-my-fiction-any-more-than-i-normally-plan-woodland-walks/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [To follow the path that others have laid before you is a reasonable course of action; therefore all progress is made by unreasonable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/to-follow-the-path-that-others-have-laid-before-you-is-a-reasonable/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) ## More by David Gemmell > [Do not complain of life's unfairness. It is never fair - at best it is impartial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/do-not-complain-of-life-s-unfairness-it-is-never-fair-at-best-it-is/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [“It seems to me, that you people spend a great deal of time talking about honour, but strip away the high sounding words and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/it-seems-to-me-that-you-people-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-talking/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [Makes no sense to me,' said Huntsekker. 'You don't know who is at your door, but you know the thoughts of a man twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/makes-no-sense-to-me-said-huntsekker-you-don-t-know-who-is-at-your/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. But these are virtues to be cherished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/i-may-be-stupid-as-you-say-to-believe-in-honour-and-friendship-and/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [When your life has been spent in one war after another for forty-five years, you have to be pretty handy to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/when-your-life-has-been-spent-in-one-war-after-another-for-forty-five/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [When healers yearn to kill then hope begins to die ... Evil cannot be overcome by evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/when-healers-yearn-to-kill-then-hope-begins-to-die-evil-cannot-be/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-there-are-many-words-and/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [“Listen...You could spend a lifetime trying to understand the works of evil men. Their joys are not ours. They love to inflict pain, create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/listen-you-could-spend-a-lifetime-trying-to-understand-the-works-of/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [ We are full of dreams \[...\] We long for the unattainable. We believe in the nonsense of fables. There is no pure love; there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/we-are-full-of-dreams-we-long-for-the-unattainable-we-believe-in-the/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [It is easier with strangers, for they touch your life but for an instant. You will not disappoint them, for you owe them nothing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/it-is-easier-with-strangers-for-they-touch-your-life-but-for-an/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [I don't know yet whether I fully believe in fate, but certain things do happen in a man's life that he cannot explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/i-don-t-know-yet-whether-i-fully-believe-in-fate-but-certain-things/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [If you look at any ancient civilization, they've all used fantasy stories to train the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/if-you-look-at-any-ancient-civilization-they-ve-all-used-fantasy/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [All men have talents. Some build, some paint, some write, some fight. For me it is different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/all-men-have-talents-some-build-some-paint-some-write-some-fight-for/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [“Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/never-violate-a-woman-nor-harm-a-child-do-not-lie-cheat-or-steal/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [“The truth? What the Hell is the truth? We're born, we live and we die. Everything else is just shades of opinion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/the-truth-what-the-hell-is-the-truth-we-re-born-we-live-and-we-die/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) [Explore all 201 David Gemmell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) ## More Change the world quotes > [If you learn something that changes you, you've made progress. If you learn something that changes others, you've helped change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanie-lane/if-you-learn-something-that-changes-you-you-ve-made-progress-if-you/) [Lanie Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanie-lane/) > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Paul Gray - he believed in my art, and I believed in his music. Together, we decided to change the world, and that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-crahan/paul-gray-he-believed-in-my-art-and-i-believed-in-his-music-together/) [Shawn Crahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-crahan/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Curiously, the righteous Pharisees had little historical impact, save for a brief time in a remote corner of the Roman Empire. But Jesus' disciples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/curiously-the-righteous-pharisees-had-little-historical-impact-save/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [“if i am not in the world simply to adapt to it, but rather transform it, and if it is not possible to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/if-i-am-not-in-the-world-simply-to-adapt-to-it-but-rather-transform/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [I don't like lyrics to be overbearing. I like them to say something. But I'm not trying to change the world overnight. Something simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rodgers/i-don-t-like-lyrics-to-be-overbearing-i-like-them-to-say-something/) [Paul Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rodgers/) > [Larry Kramer wisely realized so early on that to change the world, people have to know you. If they know you and see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/larry-kramer-wisely-realized-so-early-on-that-to-change-the-world/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Don't underestimate the power of your vision to change the world. Whether that world is your office, your community, an industry or a global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/don-t-underestimate-the-power-of-your-vision-to-change-the-world/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [“I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina" He said. "You and I are going to change the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/i-ve-been-waiting-for-you-a-long-time-alina-he-said-you-and-i-are/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [The most important thing in all human relationships is conversation, but people don’t talk anymore, they don’t sit down to talk and listen. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-most-important-thing-in-all-human-relationships-is-conversation/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [We can use our art to become political, to become something you want to talk about. We make clothes, but we have the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-rousteing/we-can-use-our-art-to-become-political-to-become-something-you-want/) [Olivier Rousteing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-rousteing/) > [“Live each day as if it's our last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Browse all 2,043 Change the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hold on to that thought - and examine it, for there you will find evil's greatest weapon. What can I do when I am so small and weak? Why should I not steal a little, everyone else does? Why should I try to be pure, when it leaves me poor and disregarded? How can I change the world? Yet all ideas, for good or evil, start in the heart of a single man or woman. From there they spread, one to one, two to two, a hundred to a hundred.' 'You are flying too high for me, Gwydion,' said Lámfhada, stretching his legs and rising. 'I cannot follow all of this.' Gwydion rose beside him. 'Ruad was good to you and showed you a path to follow. You will show others. The more men who follow this path because of you, the greater Ruad's achievement. His death will not stop that. But if you despair, and take another path, his life will have been diminished. 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