Many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little.

This quote appears in the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch’s “Parallel Lives,” a collection of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, including soldiers, statesmen, and orators. It is attributed by Plutarch to Quintus Sertorius, a Roman general who led a significant rebellion against the Roman Senate. Rallying his soldiers, Sertorius explained to them how “perseverance is more prevailing than violence,” and in time, could “overthrow and destroy the greatest powers.”