Old houses mended, Cost little less than new before they're ended.

Cibber’s couplet uses a homely economic observation—repairs to an old house can approach the cost of rebuilding—to comment on the hidden expense of patchwork solutions. The rhyme implies that “mending” often uncovers further defects, so the final bill (“before they’re ended”) rivals starting anew. Read more broadly, it can apply to institutions, habits, or relationships: incremental fixes may be emotionally easier than radical change, but they can consume comparable resources while prolonging uncertainty. The line’s neat balance and proverbial tone suggest it was meant to sound like practical wisdom rather than a purely poetic flourish.