French saying for "all roads to hell are paved with good intentions"? I do not want a direct translation. But preferably a historical quotation or a native french saying or proverb that conveys the ve

eli tobbe

French saying for "all roads to hell are paved with good intentions"? I do not want a direct translation. But preferably a historical quotation or a native french saying or proverb that conveys the very same concept (in socio-political context).

Nov 15, 2017 12:58 PM

Answers · 3

Well, I guess this comes from the Bible or so and then the proverb would be similar in every language. But the oldest French version would probably be "L'enfer est plein de bonnes intentions" meaning "Hell is full of good intentions." (16th, maybe 17th century), then replaced by a version that's closer to yours a few centuries later: "L'enfer est pavé de bonnes intentions."

November 15, 2017

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