The literal meaning of this proverb ‘A stitch in time saves nine’ is that as soon as a small tear in a piece of cloth is detected, a stitch or two, i.e a little use of needle and thread will mend it and make it last longer.
“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.”
By continued neglect the tear may even become too large for mending and the piece of cloth may become useless. So, we see that a little timely action now may save a lot of trouble later on. This holds well in all spheres of human life. For instance, a student who instead of attending to his studies regularly, neglects them will be quite at sea when the examination comes.
This proverb teaches us that we should take steps to put right some evil in its very beginning. So that it can be prevented from running to its full course. Little evils act as a little spark of fire or a little lick in a vessel that lead to greater losses. So, this is our duty as well as responsibility to identify the mistakes and mend all the defects as soon as possible.
When we take positive action to resolve a situation this proverb reminds us that we have achieved a great deal. Performance of daily duties brings success in life.
“A clever person does at once
What a fool does at last,
Both do the same things
Just at different times.”
