Megillah 6B

גרממיא של אדום, שאלמלי הן יוצאין, מחריבין כל העולם כולו.

Germamya of Edom, i.e., Germany, which is near the land of Edom, i.e., Rome. As, if the Germans would go forth, they would destroy the entire world.

ואמר רבי חמא בר חנינא: תלת מאה קטירי תגא איכא בגרממיא של אדום, ותלת מאה ושיתין וחמשה מרזבני איכא ברומי, ובכל יומא נפקי הני לאפי הני ומקטיל חד מינייהו, ומיטרדי לאוקמי מלכא.

And R' Ḥama Bar Ḥanina said: There are 300 young princes with crowns tied to their heads in Germamya of Edom, and there are 365 chieftains [marzavnei] in Rome. Every day these go out to battle against those, and one of them is killed, and they are preoccupied with appointing a new king in his place. Since neither side is united, neither side is able to achieve a decisive victory. It is these wars between Rome and the Germanic tribes that act as a muzzle upon Esau-Edom-Rome and prevent it from becoming too strong.

ואמר רבי יצחק, אם יאמר לך אדם: יגעתי ולא מצאתי ⁠— אל תאמן. לא יגעתי ומצאתי ⁠— אל תאמן. יגעתי ומצאתי ⁠— תאמן.

§ R' Yitzḥak said in the style of a previous passage: If a person says to you: I have labored and not found success, do not believe him. Similarly, if he says to you: I have not labored but nevertheless I have found success, do not believe him. If, however, he says to you: I have labored and I have found success, believe him.

הני מילי בדברי תורה, אבל במשא ומתן ⁠— סייעתא הוא מן שמיא. ולדברי תורה לא אמרן אלא לחדודי, אבל לאוקמי גירסא ⁠— סייעתא מן שמיא היא.

The Talmud comments: This applies only to matters of Torah, as success with respect to Torah study is in accordance with the toil and effort invested. But with regard to success in business, it all depends upon assistance from Heaven, as there is no correlation between success and effort. And even with regard to matters of Torah, we said this only with regard to sharpening one’s understanding of Torah, as the more one labors, the deeper the understanding of the material he achieves. However, to preserve what one has learned, it is dependent upon assistance from Heaven. Not everyone achieves this, even with much effort.