For the ancients, saying that the beginning is half the whole, advised that in all matters the greatest care should be taken to make a good beginning.
And although this dictum is thought to be exaggerated, in my own opinion it falls short of the truth. One may indeed confidently affirm that the beginning is not merely half of the whole, but reaches as far as the end.
For how is it possible to begin a thing well without having present in one's mind the completion of one's project, and without knowing its scope, its relation to other things, and the object for which one undertakes it?
And again how is it possible to sum up events properly without referring to their beginnings, and understanding whence, how, and why the final situation was brought about?
So we should think that beginnings do not only reach half way, but reach to the end, and both writers and readers of a general history should pay the greatest attention to them. And this I shall endeavour to do.
Walbank Commentary