---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men throw themselves on foreign…"
description: "\"Men throw themselves on foreign assistances to spare their own, which, after all, are the only certain and sufficient ones.\" — Michel de Montaigne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/michel-de-montaigne-142_assistance_men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistan_2786462.jpg"
---

#  Men throw themselves on foreign assistances to spare their…

![“Men throw themselves on foreign assistances to spare their own, which, after all, are the only certain and sufficient ones.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/michel-de-montaigne-142_assistance_men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistan_2786462.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/michel-de-montaigne-142_assistance_men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistan_2786462.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/michel-de-montaigne-142_assistance_men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistan_2786462.jpg)

> “Men throw themselves on foreign assistances to spare their own, which, after all, are the only certain and sufficient ones.”

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People rely on foreign aid to protect themselves, but only their own resources are truly reliable.

**In simple terms:** Self‑reliance is the only certainty.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate personal resilience.

Themes

self‑reliance dependence security

Mood

thoughtful philosophical

Type

inspirational cautionary

When to use this quote

- financial planning
- emergency preparedness
- personal development

Key Concepts

philosophy human nature

Questions to Reflect On

- What personal resources can you strengthen?
- When is seeking help advantageous?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on self‑reliance can ignore beneficial collaboration.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Assistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistance/) [Assistances Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistances-spare-3348546/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Foreign Assistances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-assistances-3348545/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Throw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-throw-952703/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Spare Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-certain-3348547/) [Spares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spares/) [Sufficient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufficient/) [Sufficient Ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufficient-ones-3348548/)

## Related quotes

> [Men throw broken things away, but God never uses anything until he first breaks it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/men-throw-broken-things-away-but-god-never-uses-anything-until-he/)

[Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/)

> [Men never throw sticks at trees that do not have fruit on them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/men-never-throw-sticks-at-trees-that-do-not-have-fruit-on-them/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [We haven't time to spare to hear whether it was between Italy and Sicily that he ran into a storm or somewhere outside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/we-haven-t-time-to-spare-to-hear-whether-it-was-between-italy-and/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [Spare me the articles about how nice Shawcross is because that was a horrendous tackle. People say we don't fancy the physical side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-wenger/spare-me-the-articles-about-how-nice-shawcross-is-because-that-was-a/)

[Arsene Wenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-wenger/)

> [Getting started as a volunteer anywhere can be a challenge to a lot of people. The biggest hurdle is that people think they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-joyner-kersee/getting-started-as-a-volunteer-anywhere-can-be-a-challenge-to-a-lot/)

[Jackie Joyner-Kersee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-joyner-kersee/)

> [What is this Charity, this clinking of money between strangers, and when did Charity cease to be a comforting and secret thing between one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-benson/what-is-this-charity-this-clinking-of-money-between-strangers-and/)

[Stella Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-benson/)

> [Spare the rod and spoil the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [Love in modern times has been the tailor's best friend. Every suitor of the nineteenth century spends more than his spare cash on personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-augustus-henry-sala/love-in-modern-times-has-been-the-tailor-s-best-friend-every-suitor/)

[George Augustus Henry Sala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-augustus-henry-sala/)

> [I can spare a dime, brother, but in these morally inflationary times, a dime goes a lot farther if it's demanding work rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/i-can-spare-a-dime-brother-but-in-these-morally-inflationary-times-a/)

[Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/)

> [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [The pious farmer, who ne'er misses pray'rs, With patience suffers unexpected rain; He blesses Heav'n for what its bounty spares, And sees, resign'd, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/the-pious-farmer-who-ne-er-misses-pray-rs-with-patience-suffers/)

[Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/)

> [I didnt write Snow White for any class, but I got bitten by the screenwriting bug and wrote a couple of scripts in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-daugherty/i-didnt-write-snow-white-for-any-class-but-i-got-bitten-by-the/)

[Evan Daugherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-daugherty/)

> [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/)

[Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/)

> [Age shakes Athena's tower, but spares gray Marathon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/age-shakes-athena-s-tower-but-spares-gray-marathon/)

[Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/)

> [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

## More by Michel de Montaigne

> [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/)

[Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

[Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## More Assistance quotes

> [Even during my youth, I can recall very few black people living on any kind of public assistance. People were working, doing some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-smith/even-during-my-youth-i-can-recall-very-few-black-people-living-on-any/)

[Ed Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-smith/)

> [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/)

[Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/)

> [Student loans have been helpful to many. But they offer neither incentive nor assistance to those students who, by reason of family or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/student-loans-have-been-helpful-to-many-but-they-offer-neither/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [The Republicans have chosen to neglect young Americans who need assistance with the costs of higher education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-conyers/the-republicans-have-chosen-to-neglect-young-americans-who-need/)

[John Conyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-conyers/)

> [In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/in-terms-of-the-unemployed-of-which-we-have-over-a-million-and-a-half/)

[Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/)

> [Nearly all the Gauls are of a lofty stature, white, and of ruddy complexion; terrible from the sternness of their eyes, very quarrelsome, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammianus-marcellinus/nearly-all-the-gauls-are-of-a-lofty-stature-white-and-of-ruddy/)

[Ammianus Marcellinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammianus-marcellinus/)

> [The longer people receive economic assistance, the worse their social condition and behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-longer-people-receive-economic-assistance-the-worse-their-social/)

[James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/)

> [We hope that more assistance will be available to the nations of the region, to include Egypt, on the three pillars that I discussed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/we-hope-that-more-assistance-will-be-available-to-the-nations-of-the/)

[Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/)

> [... happily the Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/happily-the-government-of-the-united-states-gives-to-bigotry-no/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [Now one of the most essential branches of English liberty, is the freedom of one's house. A man's house is his castle; and while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-otis/now-one-of-the-most-essential-branches-of-english-liberty-is-the/)

[James Otis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-otis/)

> [The lower the family income, the higher the probability that the mother must work. Today, 1 out of 5 of these working mothers has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-lower-the-family-income-the-higher-the-probability-that-the/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [China has established friendship with many African countries, and is opening itself up to Africa and providing assistance. It is cooperating with African countries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wen-jiabao/china-has-established-friendship-with-many-african-countries-and-is/)

[Wen Jiabao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wen-jiabao/)

> [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/)

[Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/)

> [I suppose it's part of being a good politician to be able to spot the most important men in any group without outside assistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-ford/i-suppose-it-s-part-of-being-a-good-politician-to-be-able-to-spot-the/)

[Leslie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-ford/)

> [Many of these Americans who are struggling to survive are Americans of color, .. Their cries for assistance confront America with a test of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-cummings/many-of-these-americans-who-are-struggling-to-survive-are-americans/)

[Elijah Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-cummings/)

[Browse all 522 Assistance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistance/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Men throw themselves on foreign assistances to spare their own, which, after all, are the only certain and sufficient ones.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michel de Montaigne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistances-to-spare-their-own-which/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Assistance"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistances-to-spare-their-own-which/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/michel-de-montaigne-142_assistance_men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistan_2786462.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/michel-de-montaigne-142_assistance_men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistan_2786462.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/michel-de-montaigne-142_assistance_men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistan_2786462.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Men throw themselves on foreign assistances to spare their own, which, after all, are the only certain and…” — Michel de Montaigne",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Michel de Montaigne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Men throw themselves on foreign assistances...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistances-to-spare-their-own-which/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/men-throw-themselves-on-foreign-assistances-to-spare-their-own-which/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```