<P> "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" is a quotation from Alexander Pope's "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" of January 1735 . </P> <P> It alludes to "breaking on the wheel", a form of torture in which victims had their long bones broken by an iron bar while tied to a Catherine wheel . The quotation is used to suggest someone is "(employing) superabundant effort in the accomplishment of a small matter". </P> <P> The quotation is sometimes misquoted with "on" in place of "upon". </P>

Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel meaning