66. See to it that things end well #TAOWW
See to it that things end well. Some regard more the rigor of the game than the winning of it, but to the world the discredit of the final failure does away with any recognition of previous diligence. The victor need not explain. The world does not notice the details of the measures employed, but only the good or bad result. You lose nothing if you gain your end. A good end gilds everything, however unsatisfactory the means. Thus at times it is part of the art of life to transgress the rules of the art if you cannot end well otherwise.
THE ART OF WORLDLY WISDOM BY BALTHASAR GRACIAN
TRANSLATED BY JOSEPH JACOBS 1892