END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS --"The Greek playwright Sophocles wrote in Electra (c 409 B.C.), 'The end excuses any evil,' a thought later rendered sa pamamagitan ng the Roman poet Ovid as 'The result justifies the deed' in 'Heroides' (c. 10 B.C.)." From"Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New"by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993).
: Another pinagmulan explains the phrase as meaning:"Anything is acceptable if it leads to a successful result." First use in the United States:"Diary" (1657) sa pamamagitan ng Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705), American clergyman and poet. "The means justify the end" is a variation. From"Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" sa pamamagitan ng Gregory Y. Titel man (Random House, New York, 1996).
It is often used in a negative way. If the end justifies the means, then spurious ends, such as the supremacy of the third Reich, and justify unethical means, such asdestroying anyone who gets in the way of this end. Or, the if the glory of God and the fulfillment of His wishes is the end, then burning people who are in the way of this is justified. Or if spreading the word of the Gospel is the end, then using deceptive and other questionable means to achieve this end is justified.Thus, people may say, when disputing certain well-publicized efforts to pasulong goals they don't share,"Uh-huh. The end justifies the means." (That is, you are relying on the same arguments that have justified every horror known to man.)
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* the ends justify the means US
Morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary to achieve morally right outcomes; actions can only be considered morally right or wrong sa pamamagitan ng virtue of the morality of the outcome.
link Idioms: end justifies the means, the
A good outcome excuses any wrongs committed to attain it. For example, He's campaigning with illegal funds on the theory that if he wins the election the end will justify the means, or The officer tricked her into admitting her guilt--the end sometimes justifies the means. This proverbial (and controversial) observation dates from ancient times, but in English it was first recorded only in 1583.
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