ProverbWisdom
English originc. 1390
English originc. 1390You needn't lock the stable door when the steed is stolen.
Meaning: Prevention before loss occurs matters far more than remedies applied after damage is done.
Origin: One of the oldest warnings against acting too late. John Gower's Confessio Amantis (c. 1390) describes the man who, when the great steed is stolen, takes heed and makes the stable door fast, and John Heywood's 1546 collection has "When the steed is stolen, shut the stable door." Once the horse is gone, locking the stable accomplishes nothing.
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