Who originally said "The pathway to hell is paved with good intentions." ??? References would be helpful.

Answer 1

It is "THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS" It is a Phrase meaning -

Well-intended acts can have disastrous results, as in She tried to help by defending Dad's position and they haven't spoken since--the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This proverbial idiom probably derives from a similar statement by St. Bernard of Clairvaux about 1150, L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés ou désirs ("Hell is full of good intentions or wishes"), and has been repeated ever since. [Late 1500s] -

Answer 2

Good Intentions Quote

Answer 3

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Although many people believe that Samuel Johnson said "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," he shouldn't get credit for this one.

Johnson said something close, but he was following in others' footsteps. In Boswell's Life of Johnson, in an entry marked April 16, 1775, Boswell quotes Johnson as saying (on some other occasion), "Hell is paved with good intentions." Note, no prefatory "the road to..." Boswell's editor, Malone, added a footnote indicating this is a 'proverbial sentence,' and quoting an earlier 1651 source (yet still not in the common wording).

Robert Wilson, in the newsgroup alt.quotations, provided two other sources prior to Johnson. John Ray, in 1670, cited as a proverb "Hell is paved with good intentions." Even earlier than that, it's been attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), as "Hell is full of good intentions or desires." Just how it got to the road to Hell being paved this way, and not Hell itself, I don't know.

Answer 4

This quote is frequently attributed to Karl Marx and anonymous, but occurances of Samuel Johnson, Rita Disbennett, Delenn, Jane Austen and Richard Baxterand have been spotted as well. One source claimed it an Irish proverb. Here are some variations on a theme:

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions and littered with sloppy analysis." -anonymous
"The ends justify the means, thought Aziraphale. And the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. [Footnote: This is not actually true. The road to Hell is paved with frozen door-to-door salesmen. On weekends many of the younger demons go ice-skating down it.]" - Terry Pratchett / Neil Gaiman
"The road to Prague is paved with Russian tanks armed with the best intentions." - Guillermo Cabrera Infante
"The greatest harm can result from the best intentions." - Terry Goodkind
"The road to the patent office is paved with good inventions." - unknown
"The road to ignorance is paved with good editions." - unknown

Answer 5

This was a pro verbal phrase. Samuel Johnson wrote, "Hell is paved with good intentions." on Apr. 16, 1775. He took it from a man named John Ray quoted, "Hell is paved with good intentions." in 1670 who was referring to a quote by a man named Saint. Bernard of Clairvaux whom said, "Hell is full of good intentions and desires." Karl Marx would be the one that added three words, "The road to..." in front of the phrase that seemed to bring more color and meaning out. Could it be Karl Marx fell victim to his own quote? Marx fueled Communistic thinking...

Answer 6

I don't think he was the first, but Bartleby.com indicates that Senator Hubert Horatio Humphrey (1911–78) said "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. " This was reported in Newsweek, January 23, 1978, p. 23.

Answer 7

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
- Karl Marx (1818 - 1883), *Das Kapital

Answer 8

First time I ever heard it, in the 50's, I was being reprimended by a cathlic nun school teacher.
she was asking me why I didn't do what i was told and my excuse was I had to do something else first, but I had good intentions! Have never said it again!

Answer 9

Someone in the 16th c.

Answer 10

Will rogers