--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Resist beginnings: it is too late to…" description: "\"Resist beginnings: it is too late to employ medicine when the evil has grown strong by inveterate habit.\" — Ovid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/ovid-276_evil_resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-empl_3019169.png" --- # Resist beginnings: it is too late to employ medicine when… ![“Resist beginnings: it is too late to employ medicine when the evil has grown strong by inveterate habit.” quote by Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/ovid-276_evil_resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-empl_3019169.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/ovid-276_evil_resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-empl_3019169.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/ovid-276_evil_resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-empl_3019169.png) > “Resist beginnings: it is too late to employ medicine when the evil has grown strong by inveterate habit.” [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early intervention fails; once a habit becomes entrenched, medicine is ineffective. **In simple terms:** Bad habits become hard to cure later. Key Takeaway Address harmful habits early. Themes health habit formation prevention medicine Mood cautionary reflective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - public health campaigns - personal habit tracking - addiction treatment Key Concepts behavioral science ancient literature Questions to Reflect On - What early signs indicate a harmful habit? - How can society prevent entrenched habits? A Different Perspective Some habits may still be reversible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginnings Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings-late-2534410/) [Employ Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employ-medicine-4878462/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Medicine Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine-evil-3909636/) [Resist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resist/) [Resist Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resist-beginnings-4878463/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [“If collectivizing highly personal medical decisions is evil, then so follows that collectivized medicine is evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-samaan/if-collectivizing-highly-personal-medical-decisions-is-evil-then-so/) [A.E. Samaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-samaan/) > [In God, there is always a place of new beginnings. It is never too late to begin again!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/in-god-there-is-always-a-place-of-new-beginnings-it-is-never-too-late/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Meet the disorder in the outset, the medicine may be too late, when the disease has gained ground through delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/meet-the-disorder-in-the-outset-the-medicine-may-be-too-late-when-the/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Face troubles from their birth, for 'tis too late to cure When long delay has given the evil strength. Haste then; postpone not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/face-troubles-from-their-birth-for-tis-too-late-to-cure-when-long/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I couldn't resist the idea of doing 'Coronation Street.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-havers/i-couldn-t-resist-the-idea-of-doing-coronation-street/) [Nigel Havers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-havers/) > [We pledge to you in our name... that we will resist the invaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/we-pledge-to-you-in-our-name-that-we-will-resist-the-invaders/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [“It was more than any mortal man could resist, so he let go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/it-was-more-than-any-mortal-man-could-resist-so-he-let-go/) [Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/) > [What you resist will persist; what you befriend, you will transcend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/what-you-resist-will-persist-what-you-befriend-you-will-transcend/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“People tend to resist a change into something new and different. But after it's succeded, they easily say that the change is a must.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/people-tend-to-resist-a-change-into-something-new-and-different-but/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Lebanon was under Israeli occupation, up to its capital, but we did not consider that a disaster. Why? Because it was very clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/lebanon-was-under-israeli-occupation-up-to-its-capital-but-we-did-not/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [...when you resist what happens, your mind begins to race; the same thoughts that impinge upon you are actually created by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/when-you-resist-what-happens-your-mind-begins-to-race-the-same/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [“Life is a flow which we can either resist or go with it gracefully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonmoy-acharjee/life-is-a-flow-which-we-can-either-resist-or-go-with-it-gracefully/) [Tonmoy Acharjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tonmoy-acharjee/) > [We must resist the temptation of once again turning America into the traditional bogeyman of the left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-napolitano/we-must-resist-the-temptation-of-once-again-turning-america-into-the/) [Giorgio Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-napolitano/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [When you are what we call a 'minority writer,' a writer of color, a writer of any kind of difference, there is some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/when-you-are-what-we-call-a-minority-writer-a-writer-of-color-a/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) ## More by Ovid > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Time is generally the best doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/time-is-generally-the-best-doctor/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe there are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-convenient-that-there-be-gods-and-as-it-is-convenient-let-us/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The sea's vast depths lie open to the fish; Wherever the breezes blow the bird may fly; So to the brave man every land's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-sea-s-vast-depths-lie-open-to-the-fish-wherever-the-breezes-blow/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Rare is the virtue that's not ruled by Fortune, That stands unshaken even when Fortune flees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/rare-is-the-virtue-that-s-not-ruled-by-fortune-that-stands-unshaken/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Thus all things altered. Nothing dies. And here and there the unbodied spirit flies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/thus-all-things-altered-nothing-dies-and-here-and-there-the-unbodied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [How little is the promise of the child fulfilled in the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/how-little-is-the-promise-of-the-child-fulfilled-in-the-man/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Judgement of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/judgement-of-beauty-can-err-what-with-the-wine-and-the-dark/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Leave war to others; 'tis Protesilaus' part of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/leave-war-to-others-tis-protesilaus-part-of-love/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Remove but the temptations of leisure, and the bow of Cupid will lose its effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/remove-but-the-temptations-of-leisure-and-the-bow-of-cupid-will-lose/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) [Explore all 771 Ovid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Resist beginnings: it is too late to employ medicine when the evil has grown strong by inveterate habit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ovid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-employ-medicine-when-the-evil-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-employ-medicine-when-the-evil-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/ovid-276_evil_resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-empl_3019169.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/ovid-276_evil_resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-empl_3019169.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/ovid-276_evil_resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-empl_3019169.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Resist beginnings: it is too late to employ medicine when the evil has grown strong by inveterate habit.” — Ovid", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ovid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Resist beginnings: it is too late...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-employ-medicine-when-the-evil-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/resist-beginnings-it-is-too-late-to-employ-medicine-when-the-evil-has/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```