Codependency: When the road to hell is paved with good intentions. What does the saying “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” mean?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions
From English: Hell is paved with good intentions.
According to Boswell, biographer of the English writer, critic, essayist and lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), it is precisely because
the latter once said this phrase: “Hell is paved with good intentions.”
But she apparently has a primary source, which, one might assume, was well known to S. Johnson. This idea, although in a slightly different form, first appears in English literature by the theologian George Herbert (d. 1632) in his book Jacula prudentium. There he wrote: “Hell is full of good meaning and wishes.”
The words of George Herbert would become widely known in the 19th century, when in the novel “The Bride of Lamermoor” (1819) Walter Scott forced one of his characters, an English theologian, to repeat them, whose prototype was obviously J. Herbert.
Considering that in the Bible, in the book of Jesus, son of Sirach (chapter 21 v. 11) there is a phrase: “The path of sinners is paved with stones, but at the end of it is the pit of hell,” it is possible that Samuel Johnson’s phrase was born on the basis of this biblical image, and the thoughts of George Herbert.
Allegorically: about good, but poorly executed intentions, which usually leads to the opposite result.

Encyclopedic dictionary of popular words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

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Where does the expression “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” come from? Is it true?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

This expression is now a proverb. Its closest source is the two-volume memoir-biographical book by James Boswell (1740-1795), “Life of Samuel Johnson,” published in 1791. The author claims that S. Johnson (Johnson; 1709-1784) in 1775 said: “Hell is paved with good intentions.” The only difference is that the proverb talks about the road to hell, and S. Johnson talks about hell itself. Apparently, the author of the aphorism - an English critic, lexicographer, essayist and poet - relied on a saying made earlier by the Anglican priest and metaphysical poet George Herbert (Herbert; 1593-1633) in the book “Jacula prudentium” (lat.: “Witticisms of the Wise Men”) "): "Hell is full of good meanings and wishes" - "Hell is full of good intentions and desires."

All three statements are united by the common idea that desires and intentions alone are not enough for salvation. This is entirely consistent with patristic teaching. First of all, you must have faith: “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). According to St. Ephraim the Syrian, “without oil the lamp will not burn; and without faith no one acquires a good thought.” There were so many utopias, radical movements, revolutionary programs, etc., in the world, the leaders and participants of which, without God and against God, relying on their fallen minds, wanted to bring “happiness” to humanity. History keeps a sad and tragic memory of this. Likewise, an individual person who is in the blindness of unbelief, wanting to fulfill his intentions, which seem good to him, often causes evil and pain to others.

Faith is necessary, but it must be correct. There can be many mistakes and misconceptions, but the truth is always one. People who are carried away by erroneous religious teachings, are confident that they have good intentions, but the false spirituality in which they find themselves leads them to destruction. All religious substitutions are carried out with the participation of demonic forces.

Saint John Chrysostom says: “Faith is, as it were, a strong rod and a safe harbor, delivering from errors of judgment and calming the soul in great silence.” However, the same universal teacher warns: “Let us not consider faith alone to be sufficient for our salvation, but let us also take care of our behavior, let us lead and best life so that both will contribute to us achieving perfection.” The Holy Fathers persistently emphasize that a Christian must have a spiritually enlightened mind. Without it, dangerous errors can occur. St. Anthony the Great considered reasoning to be the main virtue of a Christian:

“Reflection is the eye of the soul and its lamp, just as the eye is the lamp of the body; so if this eye is light, then the whole body (of our deeds) will be light, but if this eye is dark, then the whole body will be dark, as the Lord said in the Holy Gospel (see: Matt. 6: 22-23 ). By reasoning, a person sorts out his desires, words and deeds and retreats from all those that remove him from God. Through reasoning, he thwarts and destroys all the machinations of the enemy directed against him, correctly distinguishing between what is good and what is bad.”

Origin

The authorship of the expression is often attributed to the English writer Samuel Johnson. His biographer James Boswell in his memoirs he says that in 1755 Johnson said “ Hell paved with good intentions." However Walter Scott in the novel “The Bride of Lamermoor” (1819) attributes its origin to one of the English theologians.

The most likely original author of the saying is considered to be English. theologian XVII century George Herbert, in whose book “Jacula prudentium” there is a phrase “Hell is full of good meaning and wishes” - “Hell is full of good intentions and desires.” With this saying, Herbert illustrated one of the main ideas of Protestant ethics, according to which the reality of faith certainly leads to the performance of good deeds. This saying echoes a saying from the Bible - in the book of Jesus, son of Sirach (chapter 21, v. 11) there is a phrase: “The path of sinners is paved with stones, but at the end of it is the abyss of hell.”

Thus, from a theological point of view, the meaning of this saying is that there are much more good intentions than good deeds, therefore people who have good intentions, but do not carry them out, cannot be considered righteous and thus cannot yet count on getting into paradise.

Other options

The path to hell is paved with good intentions
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
Hell is paved with good intentions
Fifteen years of hell, which is paved with good (good) intentions
Good intentions lead straight to hell

Notes

Literature

Walter Scott. Bride of Lammermoor.
A. Kirsanova. Explanatory dictionary of popular words and expressions. - M.: Martin, 2004. - 448 p. - 1500 copies. - ISBN 5-8475-0154-4

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” means in other dictionaries:

From English: Hell is paved with good intentions. According to Boswell, biographer of the English writer, critic, essayist and lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), it was the latter who once said this phrase: “Hell is paved with good intentions.”... ... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

The road to hell is paved with good intentions- last about the undesirable or severe consequences of attempts to implement an attractive, but insufficiently thought-out plan...

HELL, ah, about hell, in hell, husband. 1. In religious beliefs: a place where the souls of sinners after death are given over to eternal torment. The torment of hell (also translated). The road to hell is paved with good intentions (that good intentions are often forgotten, giving way... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

- “We wanted the best, but it turned out as always” is a catch phrase said by Viktor Chernomyrdin, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation on August 6, 1993 at a press conference, telling how the monetary reform of 1993 was prepared... ... Wikipedia

Developer 2K Marin 2K Australia Digital Extremes (Multiplayer) 2K China Arkane Studios (level design assistance) Publishers ... Wikipedia

Noun, m., used. compare often Morphology: (no) what? hell, what? hell, (see) what? hell, what? hell, about what? about hell and in hell 1. In various religions, hell is the place (it is generally believed that it is located somewhere deep underground) where after... ... Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary

Books

Stealing darkness, Ksenia Bazhenova. Even several years later, Katya could not forget this nightmare: she got rid of the child at the request of his father! However, despite this, the girl, it seems, still continued to love Sergei... Stas...