End justifies the means

Explore 8 quotes about End justifies the means

I must be cruel only to be kind.

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

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Topic

End justifies the means Justifications and rationales Cruelty Kindness

Speaker

Hamlet

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Hamlet

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 3, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 4.

For a good cause, wrongdoing is virtuous.

Publilius Syrus

Sententiae

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Topic

End justifies the means Wrongdoing Moral relativism

Author

Publilius Syrus

Source

Sententiae

Medium

Epigram

Language

Latin

Time

43 BC 40s BC 1st century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Publilius Syrus. Sententiae. c. 1st century BC.

The end justifies the means.

Hermann Busenbaum

More information about this quote

Topic

End justifies the means Justifications and rationales Moral relativism Moral theory Morality

Author

Hermann Busenbaum

Source

Medulla Theologiae Moralis

Genre

Religious literature Philosophical literature

Language

Latin

Time

1650 1650s 17th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Busenbaum, Hermann. Medulla Theologiae Moralis. 1650.

It is the object only of war that makes it honorable. And if there was ever a just war since the world began, it is this in which America is now engaged.

Thomas Paine

The American Crisis

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Topic

American Revolution Just war End justifies the means

Author

Thomas Paine

Source

The American Crisis

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1778 1770s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Paine, Thomas. The American Crisis: Number 5. Lancaster: John Dunlap, 1778.

Current Citation

Paine, Thomas. "The American Crisis, Number V, March 21, 1778." Common Sense, The Crisis, & Other Writings from the American Revolution. Library of America, 2015.

A means can be justified only by its end. But the end in its turn needs to be justified.

Leon Trotsky

More information about this quote

Topic

End justifies the means Justifications and rationales

Author

Leon Trotsky

Source

Their Morals and Ours Socialist Workers' Party's New International Magazine

Medium

Essay Magazine

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1938 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Trotsky, Leon. "Their Morals and Ours." The New International, June 1938.

The end cannot justify the means, for the simple and obvious reason that the means employed determine the nature of the ends produced.

Aldous Huxley

More information about this quote

Topic

End justifies the means Moral theory Morality

Author

Aldous Huxley

Source

Ends and Means

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

English

Time

1937 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Huxley, Aldous. Ends and Means (an Enquiry Into the Nature of Ideals and Into the Methods Employed for Their Realization). Chatto & Windus, 1937, ch. 1.

As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy.

Christopher Dawson

More information about this quote

Topic

End justifies the means Justifications and rationales

Author

Christopher Dawson

Source

The Judgment of the Nations

Genre

Historical literature

Language

English

Time

1942 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dawson, Christopher. The Judgment of the Nations. Sheed & Ward, 1942, pt. 1, ch. 1.

To do a great right, do a little wrong.

William Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice

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Topic

End justifies the means

Speaker

Bassanio

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Merchant of Venice

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1598 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. c. 1598, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 4, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Merchant of Venice." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 4, sc. 1.