"Better never begin than never make an end"
About this Quote
Start without resolve, and the beginning becomes a betrayal. George Herbert, the Anglican priest and poet of the early 17th century, distilled a lifetime of pastoral wisdom into short proverbs. Among them, this line asks for moral seriousness about commitments. It echoes the old scriptural counsel: better not to vow than to vow and not pay, and count the cost before you build a tower lest you quit halfway and become a spectacle. The point is not hostility to initiative; it is a defense of integrity.
Completion, for Herbert, is not merely ticking a box but keeping faith with an end. A beginning makes a promise; an end redeems it. To start and then abandon leaves broken words, wasted resources, and eroded trust. The proverb therefore carries a double edge. First, pause before you undertake. Consider the time, sacrifice, and perseverance demanded. Do not be flippant with promises, especially where others will rely on you. Second, once begun, go on. Let the very act of starting bind you to the finish, so that effort accumulates rather than diffuses.
Applied broadly, the line exposes many modern temptations: the thrill of announcement over the grind of delivery, the quick pivot that masks failure as strategy, the creative project launched with fanfare and left to wither. It counsels fewer, better beginnings, and a culture that honors shipping, not merely ideating. Yet it need not stifle experimentation. Curiosity thrives when stakes are clear. Try things lightly when nothing is pledged; commit solemnly when a promise is made.
Herbert writes as a pastor who knows that character is formed as much by endings as by starts. To finish is to become whole, to align intention with action. In an age that prizes momentum, he reminds us that momentum without an end is motion without meaning. Better, then, to begin with the end in view, and to make good on what your beginning has declared.
Completion, for Herbert, is not merely ticking a box but keeping faith with an end. A beginning makes a promise; an end redeems it. To start and then abandon leaves broken words, wasted resources, and eroded trust. The proverb therefore carries a double edge. First, pause before you undertake. Consider the time, sacrifice, and perseverance demanded. Do not be flippant with promises, especially where others will rely on you. Second, once begun, go on. Let the very act of starting bind you to the finish, so that effort accumulates rather than diffuses.
Applied broadly, the line exposes many modern temptations: the thrill of announcement over the grind of delivery, the quick pivot that masks failure as strategy, the creative project launched with fanfare and left to wither. It counsels fewer, better beginnings, and a culture that honors shipping, not merely ideating. Yet it need not stifle experimentation. Curiosity thrives when stakes are clear. Try things lightly when nothing is pledged; commit solemnly when a promise is made.
Herbert writes as a pastor who knows that character is formed as much by endings as by starts. To finish is to become whole, to align intention with action. In an age that prizes momentum, he reminds us that momentum without an end is motion without meaning. Better, then, to begin with the end in view, and to make good on what your beginning has declared.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
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