α4098Ἀρχὴν ἰᾶσθαι πολὺ λώϊον ἠὲ τελευτήν
far better to heal a beginning than an end
The proverb shows that it is preferable to prevent suffering and anything else terrible as it is beginning rather than when it has fully developed and reached its conclusion.
Ἀρχὴν ἰᾶσθαι πολὺ λώϊον ἠὲ τελευτήν· δηλοῖ δὲ ἡ παροιμία, ὡς ἀρχομένου τινὸς καὶ πάθους καὶ ἄλλου τινὸς δεινοῦ μᾶλλον ἔστι κωλύειν ἢ ἐνακμάσαντος καὶ τελειωθέντος.