proverb · Words worth keeping
To-day me, to-morrow thee.
To-day me, to-morrow thee.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A difficulty affecting one person today may affect someone else later. The saying invites fellow feeling rather than confidence that another person’s trouble is safely distant.
What the words are saying
The exchange of me and thee makes circumstances appear changeable between people. It can encourage help and humility when someone else is facing a burden. It does not predict that the same event must happen to everyone or require help as a bargain for future repayment. A useful reading recognises shared vulnerability while responding to the actual person and need in front of us.
Everyday example
Someone supports a neighbour through an unexpected setback without assuming that their own present comfort makes them immune to difficulty.
When to use it
Use it to encourage compassion across changing circumstances.
What it does not mean
Shared vulnerability does not mean that everyone faces identical risks or owes repayment for help.
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
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1629 · To-day
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English