Keeping from falling is better than helping up.
Meaning: Prevention of harm requires less effort and causes less suffering than recovery from it.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Perseverance
- A famine in England begins at the horse-manger. — Poor grain management for livestock presages broader scarcity throughout the land.
- Every one puts his fault on the times. — People habitually blame circumstances and bad luck rather than acknowledging their own re…
- Have but few friends, though many acquaintances. — Quality relationships require intentional investment; shallow connections can be numerous…
- Get thy spindle and thy distaff ready, and God will send thee flax. — Prepare your tools and skills; opportunity arrives only for those already equipped to sei…
- A May flood never did good. — Spring floods destroy crops and infrastructure before harvest, making their destructive p…
- No one is a fool always; every one sometimes. — Foolish moments afflict everyone regardless of wisdom, so judge people by patterns, not i…
From our idioms
- hambre canina — Extreme, ravenous hunger.
- poner a los pies de los caballos — To betray or abandon someone to harm or ridicule.
- no pegar ni con cola — To be conspicuously out of place or unsuitable.