What does this quote mean?

“Self-help is the best help.”

Asking for help does not replace the responsibility to make the effort that is already within one’s own power.

Source note: Moral printed after “Hercules and the Wagoner” in the Townsend translation; Hercules first tells the driver to help himself.

“Bitter for a free man is the bondage of debt.”

Debt can restrict future choices and independence, so borrowing is framed not only financially but also as a constraint on freedom.

Source note: The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, maxim 14, in Darius Lyman’s 1856 English rendering; maxim order can vary across editions.

“The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.”

Trying to minimize immediate cost can create a worse result when skill, care, or professional competence is what the task actually requires.

Source note: Moral printed after “The Widow and the Sheep”; the widow injures the sheep while trying to avoid the shearer’s expense.

“Misfortunes springing from ourselves are the hardest to bear.”

Harm is especially painful when our own choices, tools, or contributions helped create the conditions that made the loss possible.

Source note: Moral printed after “The Oak and the Woodcutters”; the oak laments wedges made from its own branches.

“Prosperity is a more severe ordeal than adversity, especially sudden prosperity.”

Sudden financial improvement can test restraint because rising income may encourage equally rapid expansion of spending, display, and recurring obligations.

Source note: The Art of Money Getting, economy section; Project Gutenberg #8581. Barnum introduces the line while describing lifestyle expansion after financial success.

“The better part of valour is discretion.”

Courage is balanced with judgment here: avoiding a needless danger can sometimes be wiser than performing bravery for appearance.

Source note: Act 5, Scene 4; Falstaff reframes survival as a form of judgment.