the end justifies the means

短语

只要目的正当，可以不择手段

发音

其它

别名

the ends justify the means

释义与例句

prov.
  1. 1.

    Morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary to achieve morally right outcomes; actions can be considered morally right or wrong only by virtue of the morality of the outcome.

    只要目的正当，可以不择手段

    可以不择手段

词源

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.

来源：wiktionary