Hell is paved with good intentions.
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April 14, 1775
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Malone added a footnote indicating this is a "proverbial sentence", quoting an earlier 1651 source. At least two other sources appear prior to Johnson. John Ray, in 1670, cited as a proverb, "Hell is paved with good intentions." Even earlier than that, it has been attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), as "Hell is full of good intentions or desires."
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Note that "The road to Hell…" is not part of the quotation.Samuel Johnson
» Samuel Johnson - all quotes »
The Senate is a place filled with goodwill and good intentions, and if the road to hell is paved with them, then it's a pretty good detour.
Hubert Humphrey
The way to Hell is paved with good intentions, and he might just as easily have intended to make money, without producing at all.
Karl Marx
The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.
Philip Roth
I don't know if I'm closer to Heaven but
It looks like Hell down there.
These streets have never been paved with gold.Kate Bush
All right. Have it your own way. Road to hell paved with unbought stuffed dogs. Not my fault.
Ernest Hemingway
Johnson, Samuel
Johnson, Susan (Australian)
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