Ill-gotten gains never prosper
Meaning: Money obtained through dishonesty ultimately fails to generate lasting wealth or security.
Origin: The thought is ancient: the Roman playwright Plautus wrote male partum male disperit — what is badly gained is badly lost. A Latin-English book of proverbs published in 1621 translates it as "evil gotten goods never proveth well."
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: bien mal acquis ne profite jamais
- Spanish: Bienes mal adquiridos a nadie han enriquecido (literally: Ill-acquired goods have enriched no one)
- Japanese: 悪銭身につかず (Akusen mi ni tsukazu) (literally: Ill-gotten money does not stay with you)
- German: Unrecht Gut gedeiht nicht (literally: Wrongfully gotten goods do not thrive)
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