“Give me a place to stand upon, and I shall move the world.”
This quote has no known author and is recorded as an anonymous proverb.
About this quote
Pappus preserves the remark as an illustration of how a small force applied at a great distance can shift a heavy weight. Read as an achievement maxim it is about leverage rather than effort, since the same amount of work counts for far more when it is applied from the right position.
Source: Pappus, Mathematical Collection, Book VIII