God helps those who help themselves

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. Sophocles used it in the form of "No good e'er comes of leisure purposeless; And heaven ne'er helps the men who will not act", while Euripides portrays Orestes saying, "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." Ovid's version of the phrase is "divinity helps those who dare" (audentes deus ipse iuvat).

Although it has been commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the modern English wording appears earlier in Algernon Sidney's work. 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. A variant of the phrase is addressed in the Quran (13:11).

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