Il fine giustifica i mezzi in Italian
| Literal translation | The goal justifies the means |
| Meaning | What really counts is the end result and you shouldn’t worry about what you have to do to get there |
| IPA pronunciation | /il ˈfiːne d͡ʒusˈtifika i ˈmɛt͡tsi/ |
Il fine giustifica i mezzi
The end justifies the means
Where does this come from? It is thought that this proverb comes from the work The Prince (Il principe) by the Italian writer Niccolò Machiavelli‘s, who said: “Faccia adunque un principe conto di vincere e mantenere lo stato; i mezzi saranno sempre giudicati onorevoli e da ciascuno lodati.”
For example, you can say…
Non tutti prendono decisioni in base alla morale. Il fine giustifica i mezzi.
Not everyone makes decisions based on morality. The end justifies the means.
➡️ Related lessons
- Giustificare (to justify)
- Fine (end, goal)
- Mezzo (mean)
- Definite articles
- All Italian expressions
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