Stilicidi casus lapidem cavat.
• Variant translation: Continual dropping wears away a stone." - Meaning and context.">
The steady drip of water causes stone to hollow and yield.
• Book I, line 313 (tr. Stallings)
 • Compare: "The soft droppes of rain pierce the hard marble; many strokes overthrow the tallest oaks", John Lyly, Euphues, 1579 (Arber's reprint), p. 81
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Stilicidi casus lapidem cavat.
• Variant translation: Continual dropping wears away a stone.

— Lucretius

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Stilicidi casus lapidem cavat.
• Variant translation: Continual dropping wears away a stone." in the context of "The steady drip of water causes stone to hollow and yield.
• Book I, line 313 (tr. Stallings)
 • Compare: "The soft droppes of rain pierce the hard marble; many strokes overthrow the tallest oaks", John Lyly, Euphues, 1579 (Arber's reprint), p. 81" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Lucretius" (Quotes, De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Lucretius

About Lucretius

Titus Lucretius Carus (c. 99 BC – 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His major work is De Rerum Natura, On the Nature of Things, which is considered by some to be the greatest masterpiece of Latin verse.