the end justifies the means

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Falsely attributed to Machiavelli's The Prince, which does not use the phrase in the work. A possible source is Ovid's Heroides (ca. 10 BCE), which says exitus ācta probat (“the outcome justifies the deeds”). However, its use there is quite likely to have an opposite meaning of outcome proving means were unjustified, based on its context.

44 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Afrikaans: die doel heilig die middele — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Arabic: الْغَايَةُ تُبَرِّرُ الْوَسِيلَةَ (al-ḡāyatu tubarriru l-wasīlata) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Bulgarian: целта́ оправда́ва сре́дствата (celtá opravdáva srédstvata) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Catalan: els fins justifiquen els mitjans — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Chinese Mandarin: 只要目的正當,可以不擇手段 /只要目的正当 — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Chinese Mandarin: 可以不择手段 (zhǐyào mùdì zhèngdàng, kěyǐ bùzéshǒuduàn) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Czech: účel světí prostředky — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Danish: målet helliger midlet — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Dutch: het doel heiligt de middelen — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Finnish: tarkoitus pyhittää keinot — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• French: la fin justifie les moyens — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• French: qui veut la fin veut les moyens — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Galician: o fin xustifica os medios — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Georgian: მიზანი ამართლებს საშუალებას (mizani amartlebs sašualebas) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• German: der Zweck heiligt die Mittel — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Greek: ο σκοπός αγιάζει τα μέσα (o skopós agiázei ta mésa) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Hebrew: הַמַּטָּרָה מְקַדֶּשֶׁת אֶת הָאֶמְצָעִים (ha-mattará meqaddéshet et ha-emtza'ím) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Hebrew: כָּל הָאֶמְצָעִים כְּשֵׁרִים (kol ha-emtza'ím ksherím) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Hungarian: a cél szentesíti az eszközt — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Icelandic: tilgangurinn helgar meðalið — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Indonesian: tujuan menghalalkan cara — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Italian: il fine giustifica i mezzi — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Japanese: 目的のためには手段を選ばない (mokuteki no tame ni wa shudan o erabanai) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Japanese: 嘘も方便 — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Japanese: うそも方便 (uso mo hōben) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Korean: 목적이 수단을 정당화한다 (mokjeogi sudaneul jeongdanghwahanda) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Latin: exitus ācta probat — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Macedonian: целта ги оправдува средствата (celta gi opravduva sredstvata) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Malay: matlamat menghalalkan cara — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Norwegian: målet helliggjør midlene — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Persian: هدف وسیله را توجیه میکند — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Polish: cel uświęca środki — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Portuguese: os fins justificam os meios — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Portuguese: não se faz omelete sem se quebrar alguns ovos — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Romanian: scopul scuză mijloacele — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Russian: цель опра́вдывает сре́дства (celʹ oprávdyvajet srédstva) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Serbo-Croatian: ци̑љ опра̀вда̄ва̄ срѐдство — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Serbo-Croatian: cȋlj opràvdāvā srèdstvo — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Slovak: účel svätí prostriedky — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Spanish: el fin justifica los medios — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Swedish: ändamålet helgar medlen — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Turkish: amaca giden her yol mübahtır — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Ukrainian: мета виправдовує засоби (meta vypravdovuje zasoby) — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary
• Vietnamese: cứu cánh biện minh cho phương tiện — morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary