heaven helps those who help themselves

English

Alternative forms

• God helps those who help themselves
• heaven helps those that help themselves

Etymology

Phrase originates from Aesop, an Ancient Greek author. It was first translated into Latin, then into French by Pierre Millot in 1646. The phrase originates as the opening sentence of Samuel Smiles' book Self-Help from 1859. It is a variation of the pre-existing maxim God helps them that help themselves which also appeared in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack which was published in the first half of the 18th century.

Proverb

heaven helps those who help themselves

1. A maxim encouraging people to attempt to solve their own problems.

Translations

a maxim encouraging people to attempt to solve their own problems

• Arabic: اسعى يا عبدي وأنا أسعى معاك
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 自助者天助 (zìzhùzhě tiānzhù), 皇天不負苦心人／皇天不负苦心人 (zh) (Huángtiān bùfù kǔxīnrén)

• Czech: please add this translation if you can
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: Jumala auttaa niitä, jotka auttavat itseään
• French: aide-toi, le ciel t’aidera (fr)
• German: hilf dir selbst, dann hilft dir Gott
• Hungarian: segíts magadon, s az Isten is megsegít (hu)
• Italian: aiutati che Dio t'aiuta
• Japanese: 天は自ら助くる者を助く (てんはみずからたすくるものをたすく, ten wa mizukara tasu kuru mono o tasuku)
• Korean: 자구다복(自求多福) (jagudabok), 하늘은 스스로 돕는 자를 돕는다 (ko) (haneur-eun seuseuro domneun ja-reul domneunda)
• Polish: Bóg pomaga tym, co sami sobie pomagają (pl)
• Portuguese: Deus ajuda quem se ajuda
• Russian: Бог-то бог, да и сам не будь плох (Bog-to bog, da i sam ne budʹ plox), на бо́га наде́йся, а сам не плоша́й (na bóga nadéjsja, a sam ne plošáj)
• Spanish: la caridad bien entendida empieza por uno mismo
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

See also

• God works in mysterious ways