ProverbMorality
French origin
French originLa fin justifie les moyens
Meaning: A worthwhile goal excuses whatever it takes to reach it.
Literally: The end justifies the means
Example: “Pour gagner, il a triché ; pour lui, la fin justifie les moyens.” — He cheated to win; as far as he's concerned, the end justifies the means.
Equivalents in English, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, and 3 more languages
English: The ends justify the means
Spanish: El fin justifica los medios (literally: The end justifies the means)
Japanese: 目的のためには手段を選ばず (Mokuteki no tame ni wa shudan wo erabazu) (literally: For the goal, choose no means)
German: Der Zweck heiligt die Mittel (literally: The purpose sanctifies the means)
Italian: Il fine giustifica i mezzi (literally: The end justifies the means)
Dutch: Het doel heiligt de middelen (literally: The aim sanctifies the means)
Russian: Цель оправдывает средства (Tsel' opravdyvaet sredstva) (literally: The end justifies the means)
Polish: Cel uświęca środki (literally: The end sanctifies the means)
Origin: Universally attributed to Machiavelli, who never wrote the sentence — The Prince argues something narrower about outcomes being what men judge by. The formulation is a later compression of his reputation rather than his text.
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