What did he mean by this you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should be doing for themselves?

It is the same as the Old Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

It means that you really are not helping someone by doing things for them as much as you can help them by teaching them how to do it themselves. It is far better to give someone independence than to make them dependent upon you. This is best done by teaching them how to do what you would do for them.