“The motive will determine the quality of the act.”
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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Attributed to Gandhi (means-and-ends ethics of motive); batch bookTitle 'Third class in Indian railways' is likely a mis-scrape; no dated primary confirmed.
About this quote
Two people can perform the identical action, and one deed is decent while the other is corrupt, because what drives them differs. Before weighing any act, look at why it was done; the same generosity can spring from real care or from a hunger to be seen.
When to use it
- A manager praises a junior colleague loudly in a meeting, genuinely to lift them rather than to look generous to the boss.
- Two people both donate to a shelter; one wants the plaque, the other never mentions it.
- A parent apologizes to a child not to end the argument but because they truly see they were wrong.