A good beginning makes a good ending
Meaning: How you start something largely determines how it will finish; preparation and intention matter.
Origin: One of the oldest sayings in English. The South English Legendary, around 1300, links a good beginning with the hope of a good ending, and a manuscript of about 1350 has "Of a good beginning cometh a good ending." John Heywood included it in his 1546 collection. The same thought runs through ancient sayings — the Greeks said the beginning is half the whole — and English also has the shorter "well begun is half done."
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and Italian
- French: Bien commencer, c'est à moitié réussir (literally: Beginning well is half the success)
- Spanish: Un buen comienzo hace un buen final (literally: A good beginning makes a good ending)
- Japanese: 始まりよければ終わりよし (Hajimari yokereba owari yoshi) (literally: If the beginning is good, the ending is good)
- German: Wie der Anfang, so das Ende (literally: As the beginning, so the end)
- Italian: Buon principio fa buon fine (literally: A good beginning makes a good ending)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened — Understanding others requires wisdom, but self-knowledge is the highest form of understan…
- Measure twice, cut once — Take time to plan carefully before acting, to avoid costly and irreversible mistakes.
- The best mirror is an old friend — True friends who have known us for a long time see us most clearly and honestly.
- He who fights with monsters should look to it that he does not become one — In struggling against evil, we risk adopting the very characteristics we oppose.
- Wisdom begins in wonder — Curiosity and a sense of amazement at the world are the foundations of all knowledge.
- He who is everywhere is nowhere — Trying to do too many things at once means accomplishing nothing properly.
From our untranslatable words
- Mångata — The shimmering, road-like reflection the moon casts across water.
- Toska — A dull ache of the soul; a great longing with nothing in particular to long for.
- Dépaysement — The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…