Who said “God helps those who help themselves”?

Andre Maurois
Andre Gide
Algernon Sidney
Swami Vivekananda

The correct answer is: C. Algernon Sidney.

Algernon Sidney was an English politician, writer, and soldier who was executed for treason in 1683. He is best known for his writings on political philosophy, including his Discourses Concerning Government (1698). In this work, Sidney argues that government is based on the consent of the governed and that people have the right to resist tyranny.

The phrase “God helps those who help themselves” is often attributed to Sidney, but there is no evidence that he actually said it. The phrase is more likely to have originated with the Roman poet Horace, who wrote “Dum spiro, spero” (“While I breathe, I hope”). This phrase was later translated into English as “God helps those who help themselves.”

Andre Maurois (1885-1967) was a French writer and biographer. Andre Gide (1869-1951) was a French novelist, essayist, and playwright. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) was an Indian Hindu monk and philosopher.

None of these men are known to have said the phrase “God helps those who help themselves.”