Road to hell is paved with good intentions

The concept behind this proverb meaning that good intentions on their own are not enough to avoid trouble or even damnation, is very old, but is thought to have first appeared in this particular form during the 17th century. It has appeared in several different formats. For example, ‘the streets of hell are paved with promises’ or ‘hell is full of good intentions’ and the earliest citation is attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153) in a letter to St Francis de Sales, “Hell is full of good intentions or desires.” It also appears in George Herbert’s Jacula Prudentum (1651), “Hell is full of good meanings and wishings” and John Ray’s English Proverbs (1670), “Hell is paved with good intentions.” It is often wrongly sourced to Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) who was merely using what was already a well-known proverb.