The Unknown; A Play in Three Acts

by W. Somerset Maugham

D’you think.... Perhaps a miracle would have taken place in him, too. Perhaps he would have believed.

Mrs. Wharton.

I must go upstairs.

[An idea seizes Sylvia, and she gives a strange little gasp. As Mrs. Wharton is about to leave the room she stops her with a sudden question.

Sylvia.

Mrs. Wharton ... Mrs. Wharton, do you think the end can ever justify the means?

Mrs. Wharton.

My dear, what an extraordinary question! It can never be right to do evil that good may come.

Sylvia.

Are you quite sure that that’s so always? After all, no one would hesitate to tell a lie to save another’s life.