But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling, like dew, upon a thought produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions think.

These lines come from Byron’s satirical verse-epistle “Don Juan,” in a passage where the poet reflects on the power and consequences of writing. Composed in the early 1820s during Byron’s self-imposed exile from Britain (after scandal and separation), “Don Juan” mixes comic narration with sharp commentary on politics, society, and literary culture. In this moment Byron steps back from the story to meditate on how language—especially when fixed in print—can outlast the writer and ripple outward through public opinion. The image of ink falling “like dew” captures how a seemingly slight act of writing can have vast social effects.

Byron insists that words are not airy abstractions but “things”: they have material presence (ink on a page) and real-world force. A “small drop of ink” can land on a single thought and amplify it into a contagion of ideas, shaping how “thousands, perhaps millions” think. The metaphor highlights both creativity and responsibility: writing can crystallize private reflection into public influence, for good or ill. In the context of Byron’s satire, the claim also carries irony—pamphlets, poems, and journalism can manufacture reputations, spread scandal, or mobilize political feeling. The couplet is a compact statement of literature’s power to propagate thought across time and society.