At the beginning of the cask and the end take thy fill but be saving in the middle; for at the bottom the savings comes too late.
HesiodBadness you can get easily, in quantity. The road is smooth and lies close by. But in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to do it, and rough at first. But when you come to the top, then it is easy, even though it is hard.
Hesiod