proverb · Words worth keeping
Right or wrong, God aid our purpose.
Right or wrong, God aid our purpose.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Loyalty to a purpose is declared stronger than concern about whether it is right. The appeal for divine aid exposes a partisan wish, without establishing divine approval or excusing wrongful conduct.
What the words are saying
Right and wrong are both admitted possibilities, yet the request for help remains unchanged. The tension asks whether commitment has become detached from examining the purpose itself. In another setting, a group may demand loyalty before considering the consequences of its plan. A shared identity or religious appeal does not settle that examination. Ask what the objective involves and who may be affected. Read the line as revealing partiality rather than a rule that one’s side should always prevail.
Everyday example
A committee member asks whether a proposed shortcut is fair before supporting it merely because it benefits their own group.
When to use it
Use it to examine loyalty that continues without testing whether a purpose is right.
What it does not mean
The appeal does not prove divine endorsement or remove responsibility for a harmful goal.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 203; Spanish section, paragraph 4221; source wording: A tuerto ó á derecho, ayude Dios á nuestro concejo.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.