The remedy is worse than the illness

Maxims and arrows →Go uptown A hearty collection of the JC’s pithiest adages. Index: Click ᐅ to expand: Maxim Tell me more Sign up for our newsletter — or just get in touch: for ½ a weekly 🍺 you get to consult JC. Ask about it here.

Aegrescit medendo
/aɪˈɡrɛskɪt mɛnˈɛndəʊ/ (max.)
The remedy worsens the illness.

A handy maxim dating back as far as that old duffer Virgil (“aegrescit medendo”) this is one well worth contemplating — yet rarely contemplated — before off-shoring, outsourcing, right-sizing, implementing regtech or otherwise wandering in a dogmatic stupor around the house with a hammer, looking for things that will pass for nails.

See also

• Scale paradox