Prevent defect and you will avoid success.
Prevent defect and you will avoid success.
Meaning in plain English
The wording connects preventing a defect with avoiding success. Its unexpected relation is preserved as an unresolved statement rather than replaced with a familiar improvement maxim.
Example
A reader notices the unexpected relation and keeps the intended lesson uncertain instead of substituting different words.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The supplied PDF page prints this exact wording, so the anomaly is not silently repaired as an extraction error. A possible tension between perfection and accomplishment is only a tentative reading, not a verified intended meaning. The source gives insufficient context to settle it and does not justify deliberately causing defects.
When to use it
Use it only with the wording anomaly and unresolved meaning clearly acknowledged.
Keep in mind
The intended traditional meaning is unresolved; no endorsement of defects or guaranteed failure from prevention is established.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Country attributed by the collection
China · source-attributed; earliest origin unverified
- Source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference
Supplied reference B; unit 245; PDF page 29; collection label: China
Reuse and collection notes ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · supplied collection
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Contributor-confirmed reuse permission
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗