“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 Shaw 413
Irish playwright 1856–1950Related quotes
Reported in Newsweek (January 23, 1978), p. 23.
“I wish it were as easy to buy time as it is to buy good books.”
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.”
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.”
No Compromise – No Political Trading (1899)
“Hell is paved with good intentions.”
April 14, 1775
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."
[alt.quotations, Earlier Attributions, Wilson, Robert, UseNet, 2009-01-06]
Note that "The road to Hell…" is not part of the quotation.
The Samuel Johnson web site suggests this entry is dated 16 April, but it appears to be part of the previous entry.
Samuel Johnson web site http://www.samueljohnson.com/road.html
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II
Source: The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Vol 2