God helps those who help themselves

Last updated

An illustration of the fable by Walter Crane in Baby's Own Aesop (1887) Hercules & Waggoner2.jpg
An illustration of the fable by Walter Crane in Baby’s Own Aesop (1887)

The phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is a motto that emphasizes the importance of self-initiative and agency. The phrase originated in ancient Greece as "the gods help those who help themselves" and may originally have been proverbial. It is illustrated by two of Aesop's Fables and a similar sentiment is found in ancient Greek drama. Although it has been commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the modern English wording appears earlier in Algernon Sidney's work.

Contents

The phrase is often mistaken as a scriptural quote, though it is not stated in the Bible. Some Christians consider the expression contrary to the biblical message of God's grace and help for the helpless, and its denunciation of greed and selfishness. [1] A variant of the phrase is addressed in the Quran (13:11). [2] [3]

Origin

Ancient Greece

The ghost of Darius appearing to Atossa in Aeschylus's tragedy The Persians Dariuslarge.jpg
The ghost of Darius appearing to Atossa in Aeschylus's tragedy The Persians

The sentiment appears in several ancient Greek tragedies. Sophocles, in his Philoctetes (c. 409 BC), wrote, "No good e'er comes of leisure purposeless; And heaven ne'er helps the men who will not act." [4]

Euripides, in the fragmentary Hippolytus Veiled (before 428 BC), mentions that, "Try first thyself, and after call in God; For to the worker God himself lends aid." [5] In his Iphigeneia in Tauris , Orestes says, "I think that Fortune watcheth o'er our lives, surer than we. But well said: he who strives will find his gods strive for him equally." [6]

A similar version of this saying "God himself helps those who dare," better translated as "divinity helps those who dare" (audentes deus ipse iuvat), comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses, 10.586. The phrase is spoken by Hippomenes when contemplating whether to enter a foot race against Atalanta for her hand in marriage. If Hippomenes were to lose, however, he would be killed. Hippomenes decides to challenge Atalanta to a race and, with the aid of Venus, Hippomenes was able to win the race. [7]

The same concept is found in the fable of Hercules and the Wagoner , first recorded by Babrius in the 1st century AD. In it, a wagon falls into a ravine, or in later versions becomes mired, but when its driver appeals to Hercules for help, he is told to get to work himself. [8] Aesop is also credited with a similar fable about a man who calls on the goddess Athena for help when his ship is wrecked and is advised to try swimming first. [9] It has been conjectured that both stories were created to illustrate an already existing proverb. [10]

The French author Jean de La Fontaine also adapted the first of these fables as Le chartier embourbé (Fables VI.18) and draws the moral Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera (Help yourself and Heaven will help you too). [11] A little earlier, George Herbert had included "Help thyself, and God will help thee" in his proverb collection, Jacula Prudentum (1651). [12] But it was the English political theorist Algernon Sidney who originated the now familiar wording, "God helps those who help themselves", [13] apparently the first exact rendering of the phrase. Benjamin Franklin later used it in his Poor Richard's Almanack (1736) and has been widely quoted. [14]

Old Testament

Several passages within the Tanakh imply a predispondence for blessing amongst those who work for themselves, including:

New Testament

While the term does not appear verbatim in Christian scriptures, these passages are used to suggest an ethic of personal agency, and taking initiative:

Reliance upon God is not mentioned, but is strongly implied in addition to helping one's self.

There is also a relationship to the Parable of the Faithful Servant, and the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which has a similar eschatological theme: be prepared for the day of reckoning.

Conversely with agency, in other instances the Bible emphasises reliance on God and examples of Jesus serving or healing those who lacked the ability to help themselves, implying that self-reliance and reliance on God are complementary (See Mark 6:34; Mark 1:30–31; and Mark 10:46–52.)

Islamic texts

A passage with similar sentiments can be found in the Quran:

Indeed Allah will not change the conditions of a population until they change what is in themselves.

—  Qur'an 13:11

Surely Allah is with those who shun evil and who do good deeds

— The Quran 16:128 Qur'an 16:128

Is there any reward for goodness except goodness?

— The Quran 16:128 Qur'an 55:60

It has a different meaning in that it implies that help in oneself is a prerequisite for expecting the help of God. An Arab proverb and reported saying of the Islamic prophet Muhammad with a similar meaning is "Trust in God But Tie Your Camel". According to Tirmidhi, one day Muhammad noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, "Why don't you tie down your camel?" The Bedouin answered, "I placed my trust in Allah." At that, Muhammad said, "Tie your camel and place your trust in Allah." [15]

Chinese idiom

The Chinese idiom 天道酬勤 (pinyin: tiān dào choú qín) also expresses a similar meaning, that "Heaven rewards the diligent".

Other historical uses

The French society Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera (Help yourself and Heaven will help you too) played an important role in bringing about the July Revolution of 1830 in France. [16]

The Canadian society Aide-toi, le Ciel t’aidera, founded by Louis-Victor Sicotte, is credited with introducing the celebration of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day for French Canadians.

Aide-toi et Dieu t'aidera (Help yourself, and God will help you) was the motto on the ship's wheel of the famous UK-built Confederate sea raider CSS Alabama, captained by Raphael Semmes during the American Civil War.

Contemporary views and controversy

The belief that this is a phrase that occurs in the Bible, or is even one of the Ten Commandments, is common in the United States. [17] The beliefs of Americans regarding this phrase and the Bible have been studied by Christian demographer and pollster George Barna. To the statement "The Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves", across a series of polls, [18] 53% of Americans agree strongly, 22% agree somewhat, 7% disagree somewhat, 14% disagree strongly, and 5% stated they don't know. A poll in the late 1990s showed the majority (81%) believe the concept is taught by the Bible, [19] another stating 82%, [20] with "born-again" Christians less (68%) likely to agree than non "born-again" Christians (81%). [21] Despite not appearing in the Bible, the phrase topped a poll of the most widely known Bible verses. [22] [23] Five percent of American teenagers said they believed that it was the central message of the Bible. [24]

Barna see this as evidence of Americans' growing unfamiliarity with the Bible and believes that it reflects a shift to values conflicting with the doctrine of Grace in Christianity and "suggests a spiritual self-reliance inconsistent with Christianity". [25] Christian minister Erwin Lutzer argues there is some support for this saying in the Bible (2 Thessalonians 3:10, James 4:8); however, much more often God helps those who cannot help themselves, which is what grace is about (the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Ephesians 2:4–5, Romans 4:4–5). [26] The statement is often criticised as espousing a Semi-Pelagian model of salvation, which most Christians denounce as heresy. [27] [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

A proverb or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. Collectively, they form a genre of folklore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parable</span> Short didactic story which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles

A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters. A parable is a type of metaphorical analogy.

The idiom "the straw that broke the camel's back" describes a minor or routine action that causes an unpredictably large and sudden reaction due to the cumulative effect of previous small actions. It alludes to the proverb "it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back".

Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera, simply called Aide-toi, was a French society that aimed to stir up the electorate against the government during the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-Victor Sicotte</span> Canadian politician

Louis-Victor Sicotte, was a lawyer, judge and politician in Lower Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew 7:6</span> Bible verse from the book of Matthew

Matthew 7:6 is the sixth verse of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It refers to "casting pearls before swine".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Figs in the Bible</span>

Figs in the Bible include references to both the tree and its fruit in the Tanakh and the New Testament, which are sometimes symbolic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke 10</span> Chapter of the New Testament

Luke 10 is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the sending of seventy disciples by Jesus, the famous parable about the Good Samaritan, and his visit to the house of Mary and Martha. This Gospel's author, who also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, is not named but is uniformly identified by early Christian tradition as Luke the Evangelist.

The camel's nose is a metaphor for a situation where the permitting of a small, seemingly innocuous act will open the door for larger, clearly undesirable actions.

<i>Le Globe</i>

Le Globe was a French newspaper, published in Paris by the Bureau du Globe between 1824 and 1832, and created with the goal of publishing Romantic creations. It was established by Pierre Leroux and the printer Alexandre Lachevardière. After 1828, the paper became political and Liberal in tone.

Trust, but verify is a Russian proverb, which rhymes in Russian. The phrase became internationally known in English after Suzanne Massie, a scholar of Russian history, taught it to Ronald Reagan, then president of the United States, who used it on several occasions in the context of nuclear disarmament discussions with the Soviet Union.

Mongo, also called Nkundo or Mongo-Nkundu, is a Bantu language spoken by several of the Mongo peoples in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mongo speakers reside in the north-west of the country over a large area inside the curve of the Congo River. Mongo is a tonal language.

Luqman or Lokman, Lukman was a man after whom Luqman, the 31st surah (chapter) of the Qur'an, was named. There are many stories about Luqman in Persian, Arabic and Turkish literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamp under a bushel</span> Parable taught by Jesus of Nazareth according to Christian gospels

The parable of the lamp under a bushel is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in Matthew 5:14–15, Mark 4:21–25 and Luke 8:16–18. In Matthew, the parable is a continuation of the discourse on salt and light in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, whereas in Mark and Luke, it is connected with Jesus' explanation of the Parable of the Sower. The parable also appears in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas as saying 33.

The Durham Proverbs is a collection of 46 mediaeval proverbs from various sources. They were written down as a collection, in the eleventh century, on some pages of a manuscript that were originally left blank. The manuscript is currently in the collection of Durham Cathedral, to which it was donated in the eighteenth century. The Proverbs form the first part of the manuscript. The second part, to which it is bound, is a copy of Ælfric's Grammar. Each proverb is written in both Latin and Old English, with the former preceding the latter. Olof Arngart's opinion is that the Proverbs were originally in Old English and translated to Latin, but this has since been disputed in a conference paper by T. A. Shippey.

The phrase out of the frying pan into the fire is used to describe the situation of moving or getting from a bad or difficult situation to a worse one, often as the result of trying to escape from the bad or difficult one. It was the subject of a 15th-century fable that eventually entered the Aesopic canon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hercules and the Wagoner</span> Aesops fable

Hercules and the Wagoner or Hercules and the Carter is a fable credited to Aesop. It is associated with the proverb "God helps those who help themselves", variations on which are found in other ancient Greek authors.

Physician, heal thyself, sometimes quoted in the Latin form, Medice, cura te ipsum, is an ancient proverb appearing in Luke 4:23. There, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, 'Physician, heal thyself': whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country." Commentators have pointed out the echo of similar skepticism in the taunts that Jesus would ultimately hear while hanging on the cross: "He saved others; himself he cannot save". The shortened Latin form of the proverb, Medice, cura te ipsum, was made famous through the Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, and so gained currency across Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proverbs 1</span> First chapter of the Old Testament book of Proverbs

Proverbs 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the first collection of the book.

References

  1. ↑ Haynes, Clarence L. Jr (7 July 2020). "Why 'God Helps Those Who Help Themselves' Is Presumed to Be Biblical". Christianity.com. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Quran – Surat Ar-Ra'd. Sahih translation". Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Quran Surah Ar-Ra'd (Verse 11)". Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Sophocles: Tragedies and Fragments. Vol. 2. Translated by E. H. Plumptre. p. 165. fragment 288. Also fragment 302 states, "Chance never helps the men who do not work."
  5. ↑ "Fragment 432| Euripides. Fragments: Aegeus-Meleager", Loeb Classical Library 504 (in Hebrew), Edited and translated by Christopher Collard, Martin Cropp, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008, αὐτός τι νῦν δρῶν εἶτα δαίμονας κάλει· | τῷ γὰρ πονοῦντι καὶ θεὸς συλλαμβάνει{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ↑ IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS OF EURIPIDES. Translated by Theodore Alois. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2018. lines 910–913
  7. ↑ "ATALANTA". Perseus Digital Library. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  8. ↑ For other versions see: "Perry's Index to the Aesopica". Aesopica. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "'The Shipwrecked Man and Athena', Gibbs translation". MythFolklore.net. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  10. ↑ Francisco Rodríguez Adrados (1999). History of the Graeco-latin Fable. Vol. 3. BRILL. p. 43. ISBN   9004118918. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  11. ↑ "The Carter in the Mire". Jean de La Fontaine Fables. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
  12. ↑ George Herbert (1651). Jacula Prudentum. proverb 533
  13. ↑ Sidney, Algernon (1698). "chapter 2". Discourses Concerning Government. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2010. section 23)
  14. ↑ Wikiquote: Poor Richard's Almanack
  15. ↑ "Tie your Camel (Hadith)". Mohamed 2.0: Disruption Manifesto. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2014– via muxlim.com.
  16. ↑ Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Aide-toi et le ciel t'aidera"  . New International Encyclopedia . Vol. 1 (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
  17. ↑ Woodrow M. Kroll (2007). Taking Back the Good Book: How America Forgot the Bible and Why It Matters to You. Crossway Books. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011. Five Decades of Decline, posted on Worldview Weekend
  18. ↑ Americans' Bible Knowledge is in the Ballpark, But Often Off Base. Barna Research Online. 12 July 2000. As cited in Marvin Hunt. "Americans' Bible Knowledge... Off Base". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011.
  19. ↑ Barna poll in 1997 and 1998, as cited on websites. Additionally, "Researcher Predicts Mounting Challenges to Christian Church". Barna Update. 16 April 2001. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2010. describes it as a majority
  20. ↑ Barna, George (1998). The Second Coming of the Church. Nashville: Word. pp. 21–22. as cited in Michael S. Horton. "Are Churches Secularizing America?". Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  21. ↑ George Barna; Mark Hatch (2001). Boiling Point: How Coming Cultural Shifts will Change Your Life. Regal Books. p. 90. From a survey taken somewhere between 1997 and 2000 (see p205, point 2)
  22. ↑ George Barna (2001). Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ. The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group.
  23. ↑ "Discipleship Insights Revealed in New Book by George Barna". Barna Research Online. Archived from the original on 12 June 2004., As cited in Michael J. Vlach. "Crisis in America's Churches: Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low". Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  24. ↑ Barna poll in 1997, according to one website; c.2006 according to another; and Barna, "The Bible," 2000, according to another
  25. ↑ Bill Broadway (2 September 2000). "article". Lexington Herald-Leader . as cited in , "Re: "God helps those who help themselves". The Phrase Finder. 31 October 2002. Archived from the original on 8 December 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  26. ↑ Erwin W. Lutzer (2000). "Lie 10: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves". Ten Lies About God. Nashville, TN: Word. pp. 173–185.
  27. ↑ Christian History Project. Darkness Descends : A.D. 350 to 565, the Fall of the Western Roman Empire. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  28. ↑ Roger Olson (2002). "Chapter 12". The Mosaic of Christian Belief. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.