“The road to ignorance is paved with good editions. Only the illiterate can afford to buy good books now.”
As quoted in Days with Bernard Shaw (1949) by Stephen Winsten
1940s and later
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George Bernard Shaw413
Irish playwright 1856–1950Related quotes
Delores Phillips (1950–2014) American writer
Source: The Darkest Child
Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978) Vice-President of the USA under Lyndon B. Johnson
Reported in Newsweek (January 23, 1978), p. 23.
“I wish it were as easy to buy time as it is to buy good books.”
Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author
Cassandra Clare book City of Heavenly Fire
Alex Lightwood, Simon Lewis, and the Seelie Queen, pg. 353-354
Source: The Mortal Instruments, City of Heavenly Fire (2014)
Context: There,' he said, pointing to the leafy tunnel. 'That goes farther into Faerie. And that'--he pointed ahead--'is the road to Hell. That's where we're going.'
'I always heard it was paved with good intentions,' said Simon.
'Place your feet upon the way and find out, Daylighter,' said the Queen.
“buying books would be a good thing if we also could buy the time to read them.”
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
Arthur Schopenhauer book Parerga and Paralipomena
Vol. 2, Ch. 23, § 296a
Parerga and Paralipomena (1851), Counsels and Maxims
Source: Counsels and Maxims (The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer)
“If the way to hell is paved with good intentions, the way to defeat is paved with illusions.”
Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900) German socialist politician
No Compromise – No Political Trading (1899)
“Hell is paved with good intentions.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer
April 14, 1775 <br class="br">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." <br class="br">[alt.quotations, Earlier Attributions, Wilson, Robert, UseNet, 2009-01-06] <br class="br">Note that "The road to Hell…" is not part of the quotation. <br class="br">The Samuel Johnson web site suggests this entry is dated 16 April, but it appears to be part of the previous entry. <br class="br"> Samuel Johnson web site http://www.samueljohnson.com/road.html <br class="br">Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II <br class="br">Source: The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Vol 2