--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Keen at the start, but careless at the end." description: "\"Keen at the start, but careless at the end.\" — Tacitus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/tacitus-1552_careless_keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-en_1676362.jpg" --- # Keen at the start, but careless at the end. ![“Keen at the start, but careless at the end.” quote by Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/tacitus-1552_careless_keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-en_1676362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/tacitus-1552_careless_keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-en_1676362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/tacitus-1552_careless_keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-en_1676362.jpg) > “Keen at the start, but careless at the end.” [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early enthusiasm fades into careless endings. **In simple terms:** Start strong, finish careful. Key Takeaway Maintain diligence throughout projects. Themes motivation carefulness consistency Mood reflective practical Type motivational analytical When to use this quote - sports - business - creative work - education - personal goals Key Concepts psychology project management habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain attention to detail? - What habits prevent careless endings? A Different Perspective Initial vigor can lead to negligence later. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Careless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careless/) [Careless End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careless-end-912122/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keen/) [Keen Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keen-start-912124/) [Start Careless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-careless-912123/) ## Related quotes > [Zealous in the commencement, careless in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/zealous-in-the-commencement-careless-in-the-end/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [In careless ignorance they think it civilization, when in reality it is a portion of their slavery...To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/in-careless-ignorance-they-think-it-civilization-when-in-reality-it/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [If you're not keen on crowds, it might be best to give Edinburgh a miss during festival time when it can get extremely busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-fletcher/if-you-re-not-keen-on-crowds-it-might-be-best-to-give-edinburgh-a/) [Dexter Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-fletcher/) > [“The smell of the sweat is not sweet, but the fruit of the sweat is very sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/the-smell-of-the-sweat-is-not-sweet-but-the-fruit-of-the-sweat-is/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I mention this fact as tending to support what I have often heard stated, namely, that a shark's sense of smell is so keen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grey/i-mention-this-fact-as-tending-to-support-what-i-have-often-heard/) [George Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grey/) > [When I started, my mother was already an actress and I wasn't keen on being one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/supriya-pathak/when-i-started-my-mother-was-already-an-actress-and-i-wasn-t-keen-on/) [Supriya Pathak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/supriya-pathak/) > [They were keen for me still to play the piano, which I was going to, but 45 minutes of piano would be extremely boring.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-emerson/they-were-keen-for-me-still-to-play-the-piano-which-i-was-going-to/) [Keith Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-emerson/) > [I am always keen to discover something new, but my advice is always to exfoliate. Get rid of those dead, dry cells; then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lulu/i-am-always-keen-to-discover-something-new-but-my-advice-is-always-to/) [Lulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lulu/) > [There are many Israelis who are not keen on Barack Obama - they did not want to see him elected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/there-are-many-israelis-who-are-not-keen-on-barack-obama-they-did-not/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [...No one died from infection under Keen. ...He (Keen) began to chronicle the results in statistical articles. He was threatened with expulsion from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-douglas/no-one-died-from-infection-under-keen-he-keen-began-to-chronicle-the/) [Paul Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-douglas/) > [When I was in my teens, I was very, very keen on being the author of a book. What the book was was secondary.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-was-very-very-keen-on-being-the-author-of-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Remember that when you meet your antagonist, to do everything in a mild agreeable manner. Let your courage be keen, but, at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/remember-that-when-you-meet-your-antagonist-to-do-everything-in-a/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [A significant number of women who have been ill or had marital issues feel they have no value, and society is so keen on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/a-significant-number-of-women-who-have-been-ill-or-had-marital-issues/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [I am very keen to do a film that's female-led.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hillcoat/i-am-very-keen-to-do-a-film-that-s-female-led/) [John Hillcoat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hillcoat/) ## More by Tacitus > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Rumor does not always err; it sometimes even elects a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/rumor-does-not-always-err-it-sometimes-even-elects-a-man/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [ None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it \[a death\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/none-mourn-more-ostentatiously-than-those-who-most-rejoice-at-it-a/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Be assured those will be thy worst enemies, not to whom thou hast done evil, but who have done evil to thee. And those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/be-assured-those-will-be-thy-worst-enemies-not-to-whom-thou-hast-done/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Christianity is a pestilent superstition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/christianity-is-a-pestilent-superstition/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Indeed, the crowning proof of their valour and their strength is that they keep up their superiority without harm to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/indeed-the-crowning-proof-of-their-valour-and-their-strength-is-that/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/formerly-we-suffered-from-crimes-now-we-suffer-from-laws/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [ None mourn more ostentatiously over the death of Germanicus than those who most rejoice at it \[a death\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/none-mourn-more-ostentatiously-over-the-death-of-germanicus-than/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Once killing starts, it is difficult to draw the line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/once-killing-starts-it-is-difficult-to-draw-the-line/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [The lust of dominion burns with a flame so fierce as to overpower all other affections of the human breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-lust-of-dominion-burns-with-a-flame-so-fierce-as-to-overpower-all/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“It is a principle of nature to hate those whom you have injured.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/it-is-a-principle-of-nature-to-hate-those-whom-you-have-injured/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Kindness, so far as we can return it, is agreeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/kindness-so-far-as-we-can-return-it-is-agreeable/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Posterity gives every man his true value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/posterity-gives-every-man-his-true-value/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [The most detestable race of enemies are flatterers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-most-detestable-race-of-enemies-are-flatterers/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) [Explore all 227 Tacitus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) ## More Careless quotes > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [“The rich eat life, the poor eat death; so what is the problem they ask?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-rich-eat-life-the-poor-eat-death-so-what-is-the-problem-they-ask/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [the greater part of the suffering in the world is caused not by wicked intents and hard hearts, but by the careless desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marah-ellis-ryan/the-greater-part-of-the-suffering-in-the-world-is-caused-not-by/) [Marah Ellis Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marah-ellis-ryan/) > [It is the habit of mankind to entrust to careless hope what they long for, and to use sovereign reason to thrust aside what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/it-is-the-habit-of-mankind-to-entrust-to-careless-hope-what-they-long/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [And hast thou sworn on every slight pretence, Till perjuries are common as bad pence, While thousands, careless of the damning sin, Kiss the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/and-hast-thou-sworn-on-every-slight-pretence-till-perjuries-are/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [Sunday morning, before we go to hear the Word of God preached...let us not rush into God’s presence careless, reckless, and unprepared, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/sunday-morning-before-we-go-to-hear-the-word-of-god-preached-let-us/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Being carefree, you can fit in anywhere. If you’re not carefree you keep on bumping up against things. Your life becomes so narrow, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsoknyi-rinpoche/being-carefree-you-can-fit-in-anywhere-if-you-re-not-carefree-you/) [Tsoknyi Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsoknyi-rinpoche/) > [The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life even in order to keep it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-paradox-of-courage-is-that-a-man-must-be-a-little-careless-of-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Phaedra shook her head. “If your people mean no offense, they should not speak their thoughts out loud in front of their children, Tesadora.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/phaedra-shook-her-head-if-your-people-mean-no-offense-they-should-not/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [Galvanized people can do careless things. It is in the extreme and emotion-laden moments that distance and coolness are most required. I am tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/galvanized-people-can-do-careless-things-it-is-in-the-extreme-and/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [You don't have to give way to careless speech or complaining. You don't have to let your feelings get in the way of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/you-don-t-have-to-give-way-to-careless-speech-or-complaining-you-don/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Take good care of the things you have. Careless people spend more for a given standard of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/take-good-care-of-the-things-you-have-careless-people-spend-more-for/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [A lot of white men in the music industry are promoting and participating in black culture in a way that is pretty careless. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelela/a-lot-of-white-men-in-the-music-industry-are-promoting-and/) [Kelela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelela/) > [That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, lest you should think he never could recapture the first fine careless rapture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/that-s-the-wise-thrush-he-sings-each-song-twice-over-lest-you-should/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) [Browse all 450 Careless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careless/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Keen at the start, but careless at the end.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tacitus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-end/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Careless" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-end/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/tacitus-1552_careless_keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-en_1676362.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/tacitus-1552_careless_keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-en_1676362.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/tacitus-1552_careless_keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-en_1676362.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Keen at the start, but careless at the end.” — Tacitus", "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": "Tacitus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Keen at the start, but careless...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-end/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/keen-at-the-start-but-careless-at-the-end/#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 } } ] } ```