Give Me A Lever Long Enough

This is the most widely quoted version of the lever boast attributed to Archimedes, recorded by Pappus of Alexandria in Synagoge, Book VIII (c. AD 340). The original Greek phrasing from Pappus reads: "Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth." The longer version with "lever long enough and a fulcrum" appears in later sources and may be an elaboration of the original. Regardless of exact wording, the statement encapsulates Archimedes' proof — in his work On the Equilibrium of Planes — that any weight can be moved given sufficient mechanical advantage.