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The phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is a popular motto that emphasizes the importance of self-initiative and humanistic philosophy. The phrase originated in ancient Greece 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. The phrase is often mistaken as scriptural, but it appears nowhere in the Bible. Some Christians have criticized the expression as being contrary to the Bible's message of God's grace. A variant of the phrase, however, can be found in the Quran (13:11).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Quran - Surat Ar-Ra`d. Sahih translation )〕 == Origin == The sentiment appears in ancient Greek tragedies of which only fragments now remain. In his ''Philoctetes'' (c.409 BC), Sophocles wrote, "No good e'er comes of leisure purposeless; And heaven ne’er helps the men who will not act."〔As translated by E. H. Plumptre in ''Sophocles: Tragedies and Fragments'' volume 2, p165, fragment 288. Also fragment 302 states, "Chance never helps the men who do not work."〕 And in the ''Hippolytus'' (428BC) of Euripides appears the speech, "Try first thyself, and after call in God; For to the worker God himself lends aid."〔Fragment 435, from Bartlett 1955(?)〕 A similar version of this saying “God himself helps those who dare” better translated as "divinity helps those who dare" “audentes deus ipse iuuat” comes from Ovid, Metamorphoses, 10.586. The context of the quote is from the lips of Hippomenes (who once spoke arrogantly feeling superior to other mortals who had failed) now spoke with some trepidation to win a foot race against Atalanta and so win her as his bride (“But why,” he cries, “is my chance in the race untried? Divinity helps those who dare.”). Many more before him had tried failed and were put to death as the terms of the race decreed. In the endeavor Hippomenes wins the heart of Atalanta – though she was unaware of her own feelings for the concept of love was foreign to her. He won the race only by the aid of the goddess Venus and three golden apples plucked from the tree she showed him in the Field Tamasus in Cyprus. During the race (which he was sure to lose) Hippomenes tossed the golden apples as bait. Distracted by their beauty and value Atalanta ran off course chasing each one. Hippomenes finished the race first and Atalanta conceded to marry, something she in fact wanted but couldn't give herself to do without being defeated in the race. However, because he forgot to give his gifts of gratitude to Venus for helping him, she became angry and called upon Diana, the moon Goddess, to punish them both. One night Diana turned them into lions and they stayed that way forever.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Ov.+Met.+10.586&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028 )〕 *Moral #1: Don’t say you are better than someone because you could both get hurt. *Moral #2: When needed, don't be afraid to ask for help. *Moral #3: Abandon those habits and coping mechanisms which have outlasted their usefulness, learning to open your heart and mind. *Moral #4: Always show gratitude and honor those who give you aid along the path of life. 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.〔For other versions see (the Aesopica site )〕 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title="The Shipwrecked Man and Athena", Gibbs translation )〕 It has been conjectured that both stories were created to illustrate an already existing proverb.〔Francisco Rodríguez Adrados, ''History of the Graeco-latin Fable'' (vol.3, p.43 )〕 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).〔See Elizur Wright's translation (online )〕 A little earlier, George Herbert had included "Help thyself, and God will help thee" in his proverb collection, ''Jacula Prudentum'' (1651).〔George Herbert, ''Jacula Prudentum'', 1651, proverb 533〕 But it was the English political theorist Algernon Sidney who originated the now familiar wording, "God helps those who help themselves",〔Algernon Sidney, ''Discourses Concerning Government'', 1698, chapter 2 section 23 ((reprint ))〕 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.〔Wikiquote〕 A passage with similar sentiments can be found in the Quran, Chapter 13:11: "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Quran - Surat Ar-Ra`d. Sahih translation )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「God helps those who help themselves」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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