Gradually I came to realize that people will more readily swallow lies than truth, as if the taste of lies was homey, appetizing: a habit.
Martha GellhornRead
the ends never justify the means because IT never ends.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Using unethical methods to achieve a goal is misguided, as such methods create ongoing consequences.
Martha Gellhorn's quote highlights the idea that pursuing a goal through unethical means undermines the integrity of the process. It suggests that when we prioritize ends over means, we risk creating a cycle of negative outcomes that perpetuate suffering or injustice, indicating that the consequences of our actions often extend beyond the immediate goal.
Themes
EthicsMoralityConsequencesIntegrityProcess
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on ethical business practices, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of maintaining integrity.
More from Martha Gellhorn
All quotes βIt would be a bitter cosmic joke if we destroy ourselves due to atrophy of the imagination.
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Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own informed opinion and stand by it.
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I followed the war wherever I could reach it.
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Thousand got away to other countries; thousands returned to Spain tempted by false promises of kindness. By the tens of thousands, these Spaniards died of neglect in the concentration camps.
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By its existence, the Peace Movement denies that governments know best; it stands for a different order of priorities: the human race comes first.
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For everyone nowadays knows, absolutely is CERTAIN, that nothing bad will ever happen to ME. Others die, I go on. There are no consequences and no responsibilities. Except that there ARE. But let's not talk about them, eh? By the time the consequences catch up to you, it's too late, isn't it, Montag?
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Prayer is not a pious decoration of life but the breath of human existence.
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I don't mind a dirty girl. But what I find tragic is when we, as women, become not the subject of our own story but someone else's object.
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