Suam quisque Homo Rem meminit.

Men are in general abundantly attentive to their own interest; if, therefore, you wish them to serve you with diligence, you must make it their interest to do so:

Hoc tibi sit argumentum, semper in promptu situm,
Ne quid expectes arnicos facere, quod per te queas. Be this your rule through life, never leave to others to perform any business for you, which you can do yourself: consonant to this we say, help yourself and your friends will love you.The lark, that had made her nest in a cornfield, was in no haste to quit her habitation so long as she heard that the farmer depended upon the assistance of his neighbours and friends to get in his harvest, but when her young ones told her that the master was coming himself with his sons the next day; now it is time, she said, to be gone, for the business will certainly be done. A Venetian nobleman, we are told, called upon Cosmo de Medicis, to inquire of him by what means he might improve his fortune, and received from him the following rules; «Never to do that by another which he could do himself; not to defer until to-morrow what might be done to-day; and not to neglect small concerns».