proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t expect from others what you can’t promise them yourself.
Don’t expect from others what you can’t promise them yourself.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying asks for reciprocity between what one expects and what one can promise. It questions demanding commitments one would not make oneself.
What the words are saying
A useful reading can examine fairness without assuming everyone has equal capacities or identical responsibilities. Some roles involve different duties, and needing help is not invalid because a person cannot return the same service. The actual relationship and agreement matter more than literal symmetry.
Everyday example
Two collaborators discuss realistic mutual expectations while recognising their different capacities and roles.
When to use it
Use it to examine fairness with unequal needs and responsibilities considered.
What it does not mean
Reciprocity does not require identical ability or remove the right to needed support.
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
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 966; PDF page 135
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.