--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let me but make a beginning, let me but…" description: "\"Let me but make a beginning, let me but strike the world in a vulnerable spot, and I can take it by storm.\" — Mary MacLane" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/mary-maclane-10500_beginning_let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-s_1055120.png" --- # Let me but make a beginning, let me but strike the world… ![“Let me but make a beginning, let me but strike the world in a vulnerable spot, and I can take it by storm.” quote by Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/mary-maclane-10500_beginning_let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-s_1055120.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/mary-maclane-10500_beginning_let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-s_1055120.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/mary-maclane-10500_beginning_let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-s_1055120.png) > “Let me but make a beginning, let me but strike the world in a vulnerable spot, and I can take it by storm.” [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bold, strategic strike can shift circumstances dramatically **In simple terms:** Start small, then dominate Key Takeaway Take decisive, focused action Themes activism personal agency strategy Mood defiant hopeful Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - political protest - social movements - personal challenges - creative projects Key Concepts initiative impact Questions to Reflect On - What vulnerable spot can you target? - How will you sustain momentum after the strike? A Different Perspective Bold actions can provoke backlash or failure ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Let me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-me/) [Let Strike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-strike-2545944/) [Make Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-beginning-588571/) [Spots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spots/) [Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storm/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulnerable/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-vulnerable-491780/) ## Related quotes > [If we turn our back on the world's most vulnerable people, we're eschewing the values our country was founded on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/if-we-turn-our-back-on-the-world-s-most-vulnerable-people-we-re/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [Today, our world is more interconnected than ever. This offers many opportunities; it creates wealth and new freedoms. Yet our world is also vulnerable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-walter-steinmeier/today-our-world-is-more-interconnected-than-ever-this-offers-many/) [Frank-Walter Steinmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-walter-steinmeier/) > [“We live in a world gone crazy for resources. Everybody on Google Earth can look at this place now. If you don’t move to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/we-live-in-a-world-gone-crazy-for-resources-everybody-on-google-earth/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [If any good comes out of the current famine in the Horn of Africa - amidst the pictures of mothers carrying dying babies at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josette-sheeran/if-any-good-comes-out-of-the-current-famine-in-the-horn-of-africa/) [Josette Sheeran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josette-sheeran/) > [A child born in a wealthy country is likely to consume, waste, and pollute more in his lifetime than 50 children born in developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carey/a-child-born-in-a-wealthy-country-is-likely-to-consume-waste-and/) [George Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carey/) > [They just wanted to show the entertainment world that we're vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-chong/they-just-wanted-to-show-the-entertainment-world-that-we-re-vulnerable/) [Tommy Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-chong/) > [“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-charbonneau/what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the-end-and-to-make-an-end-is-to-2/) [Bradley Charbonneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-charbonneau/) > [“To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/to-make-an-end-is-to-make-a-beginning-the-end-is-where-we-start-from/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“For better it is to make a beginning of that which may lead to something, than to engage in a perpetual struggle and pursuit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/for-better-it-is-to-make-a-beginning-of-that-which-may-lead-to/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the-end-and-to-make-an-end-is-to/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [“For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/for-last-year-s-words-belong-to-last-year-s-language-and-next-year-s/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [Of course there must be lots of Magic in the world," he said wisely one day, "but people don't know what it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/of-course-there-must-be-lots-of-magic-in-the-world-he-said-wisely-one/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [If you can't figure out how to make the beginning of your book compelling, you're probably not writing a compelling book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pavone/if-you-can-t-figure-out-how-to-make-the-beginning-of-your-book/) [Chris Pavone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pavone/) > [To make an end is to make a beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/to-make-an-end-is-to-make-a-beginning/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [There's only one way to make a beginning, and that is to begin; and begin with hard work, and patience, prepared for all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/there-s-only-one-way-to-make-a-beginning-and-that-is-to-begin-and/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) ## More by Mary MacLane > [I want fame more than I can tell. But more than I want fame I want happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-want-fame-more-than-i-can-tell-but-more-than-i-want-fame-i-want/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Fame is indeed beautiful and benign and gentle and satisfying, but happiness is something at once tender and brilliant beyond all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/fame-is-indeed-beautiful-and-benign-and-gentle-and-satisfying-but/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“I Don’t Know whether lust is a human coarseness or a human fineness: I don’t know why death holds a so sweet lure since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-don-t-know-whether-lust-is-a-human-coarseness-or-a-human-fineness-i/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Are there many things in this cool-hearted world so utterly exquisite as the pure love of one woman for another woman?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/are-there-many-things-in-this-cool-hearted-world-so-utterly-exquisite/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“It is of the dubious inevitable side of human nature—like gold teeth and tinned salmon and bastard lacy valentines”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/it-is-of-the-dubious-inevitable-side-of-human-nature-like-gold-teeth/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I would rather be a fairly happy wife and mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-would-rather-be-a-fairly-happy-wife-and-mother/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I am not good. I am not virtuous. I am not sympathetic. I am not generous. I am merely and above all a creature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-am-not-good-i-am-not-virtuous-i-am-not-sympathetic-i-am-not/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“And it is in New York I have those strangest things of all: human friendships. Not many friendships and not of spent familiarities: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/and-it-is-in-new-york-i-have-those-strangest-things-of-all-human/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I've never made plans for more than a day ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-ve-never-made-plans-for-more-than-a-day-ahead/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [“May I never, I say, become that abnormal, merciless animal, that deformed monstrosity— a virtuous woman. Anything, Devil, but that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/may-i-never-i-say-become-that-abnormal-merciless-animal-that-deformed/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I am lithe, but fragile from constant involuntary self-analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-am-lithe-but-fragile-from-constant-involuntary-self-analysis/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Genius of a kind has always been with me; an empty heart that has taken on a certain wooden quality; an excellent, strong woman's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/genius-of-a-kind-has-always-been-with-me-an-empty-heart-that-has/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [at this point I meet Me face to face. I am Mary MacLane: of no importance to the wide bright world and dearly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/at-this-point-i-meet-me-face-to-face-i-am-mary-maclane-of-no/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Just why I sent it to the publishers would be hard to say, but when I had finished it I felt that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/just-why-i-sent-it-to-the-publishers-would-be-hard-to-say-but-when-i/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [The highest thing one can do in literature is to succeed in saying that thing which one meant to say. There is nothing better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/the-highest-thing-one-can-do-in-literature-is-to-succeed-in-saying/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) [Explore all 65 Mary MacLane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) ## More Beginning quotes > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) [Adam Imad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-imad/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/) [Manae Poet Of Carisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manae-poet-of-carisis/) > [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/) [Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/) [Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/) > [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/) [Jacklyn H Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacklyn-h-lucas/) [Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let me but make a beginning, let me but strike the world in a vulnerable spot, and I can take it by storm.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary MacLane" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-strike-the-world-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beginning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-strike-the-world-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/mary-maclane-10500_beginning_let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-s_1055120.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/mary-maclane-10500_beginning_let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-s_1055120.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/mary-maclane-10500_beginning_let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-s_1055120.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let me but make a beginning, let me but strike the world in a vulnerable spot, and I can take it by storm.” — Mary MacLane", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mary MacLane", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Let me but make a beginning,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-strike-the-world-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-strike-the-world-in-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```