proverb · Words worth keeping
Expect not at another’s hand what you can do by your own.
Expect not at another’s hand what you can do by your own.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
When a task is within your own capacity, waiting for another person may needlessly delay it. The saying encourages taking an available step without making assistance or cooperation signs of weakness.
What the words are saying
The contrast is between what one can do alone and what one expects from another’s hand. A person may postpone an available action while waiting for someone else to begin it. Consider whether there is a useful step you can take and whether shared responsibilities have already been agreed. The saying does not require doing every task alone or pretending to have abilities, access or authority that are absent. Independence and cooperation can support each other. Its emphasis is on an actual capacity, not a demand that everyone need no help.
Everyday example
A member sends the information they already have instead of waiting for a colleague to repeat the same simple step.
When to use it
Use it to identify an available action that need not await someone else.
What it does not mean
Seek assistance when useful or necessary, and respect responsibilities that require agreement or shared work.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 197; Spanish section, paragraph 4110; source wording: A lo que puedes solo, no esperes á otro.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.