Among the mass of catchphrases, there are those that hide a deep philosophical meaning. Their use in colloquial speech can often cause intellectual debate. While maintaining the same meaning, some popular sayings can have several meanings. We will consider one of these expressions. Let's find out where it came from and what it means, as well as in what situations to use it.
The saying “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” is considered a proverb today. The difference is that it has an author, and more than one. An expression similar to the one above was used by many authors in their works.
Where did the saying come from?
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) recalls at least two people in whose works this phrase is present.
James Boswell, a writer who lived in the 18th century, cites a similar statement in one of his works. Even earlier, the English priest George Herbert said: “Hell is full of good intentions.” Both phrases are slightly different from the one in question. When we talk about the road to the underworld, we actually mean hell itself. However, an ordinary person is unlikely to perceive a significant semantic difference between the sayings.
Hieromonk Job deciphers in detail the famous statement, which is completely different from the philistine explanation. He argued that good intentions alone were not enough to please the Savior. Wishes will not connect us to the Lord. As a rule, intentions remain only desires that will never become reality. To please the Almighty, you must have unwavering faith. Only she is capable of leading a Christian through trials and thorns.
Thanks to the Lord and Our Lady for every good deed
Troparion
Give thanks to Your unworthy servants, Lord, for Your great blessings upon us; we glorify You, bless, thank You, sing and magnify Your compassion, and slavishly cry out to You We say to You: Our Benefactor, our Savior, glory to You.
Translation: Being grateful, Lord, for Your great benefits shown to us, we, Your unworthy servants, glorify, praise and bless You, thank, glorify and glorify Your mercy and slavishly, with love, we exclaim to You: “Benefactor, our Savior, glory You!"
Kontakion
We earnestly flow to You for Your blessings and gifts, as a servant of indifference, O Master, and we give thanks to You as much as we can, and we cry out to You as the Benefactor and Creator. : Glory to You, All-Bountiful God.
Translation: We, as unworthy servants, undeservedly honored with Your blessings and gifts, Master, turn to You with zeal and offer all possible thanksgiving and, glorifying You as the Benefactor and Creator, we exclaim: “Glory to You, All-Merciful God!”
Theotokos
Mother of God, Christian Helper, Thy servants, who have gained Thy intercession, gratefully cry out to Thee: Rejoice, Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, and through Thy prayers always deliver us from all our troubles, united at all times re presenting.
Translation: Mother of God, Helper of Christians, we, Your servants, having received Your help, exclaim to You with gratitude: Rejoice, Most Pure Virgin Mary, and through Your prayers deliver us from all troubles, One speedy Intercessor.
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Expression value
There are a wide variety of interpretations of the statement about good intentions paving the road to the underworld. A person constantly intends to do something good, useful, but that’s where it all ends. There are always excuses: either there is no opportunity, or there is time, or everyday affairs are dragging on. So these intentions remain just plans, turning into imperfect good deeds. Each of them is a stone in the mentioned road leading to the underworld, since imperfect good intentions provide space for bad deeds, that is, for sin. This is perhaps the most correct interpretation of this catchphrase.
Often the plans do not concern the other person - to care for, help, protect, but the goal is to become better yourself. Such intentions are the most difficult to fulfill. A good deed does not need to be planned, but rather acted upon. The saying is used when, trying to do good, a person gets the completely opposite result, usually with negative consequences.
Other proverbs
Moscow was not built in a day
Not everything works out right away, on the first try. Sometimes it takes a long time to achieve results.
Misfortune never comes alone
An unpleasant incident is often followed by another.
As it comes around, so it will respond
Any action leads to certain consequences.
Work is not a wolf - it won’t run into the forest
No matter how much you put off work, you will still have to do it.
All proverbs
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Why is it important to learn to separate lies from truth?
Today there are many religions, and people find it difficult to understand them.
Only correct faith can save a person from sinful ways. The Patriarchs of the Church talked a lot about this. As St. John Chrysostom asserted, correct faith will help to cope with any problems. In the modern world, many different false teachings have emerged that carry faith based on human pride or ignorance. All of them do not lead to God, but are precisely “good intentions.” There is only one path to the Almighty, and it is not easy.
An Orthodox person, in addition to faith, must have reason and reasoning. A believer must be able to distinguish lies from truth and see the tricks of dark forces. The clergy are convinced that the creators of all sects are demonic dark forces, the purpose of which is to lead souls astray from the path of the righteous. As a result, they can no longer be saved for the simple reason that it is very difficult to get a person out of the sect, and even more difficult to return him to the Church.
An Orthodox believer must constantly remember the apt expression about good intentions, so as not to forget how easily one can go astray from the true path.
There is an inversion of this phrase in Goethe's Faust
If in the aphorism itself we are talking about good intentions leading to a bad result, then Goethe describes the opposite situation: “So who are you, finally?” asks Faust. “I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good,” Mephistopheles answers.
It was this translation of phrases, closest to the original, that was probably made by M.A. Bulgakov himself for the epigraph to “The Master and Margarita.”
Good and evil are closely intertwined, like the legends about Archdeacon Theophilus.
The meaning of the expression is that unclean spirits perform their function in this world: they tempt, punish, lead astray. This is their natural need.
A deal with the devil forced Archdeacon Theophilus to take the spiritual path and achieve salvation
But at the same time, they commit many good deeds in this pursuit of evil.
Good and evil are too closely intertwined (this idea is developed by Bulgakov in Woland’s monologue about shadows and light).
A good example of how the described power does good is the legend about Archdeacon Theophilus. He made a deal with the devil, but repented and began to fervently pray to the Mother of God. This ultimately led him to salvation. Thus, evil became the incentive for victory over the sinful nature.
By the way, it was the legend about Theophilus that formed the basis of Faust.
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Expression options
In the Russian language, words can change, familiar expressions begin to sound differently, acquiring a different meaning, but at the same time maintaining the content, changing the verbal form. Thus, a statement about good intentions sometimes changes the verb form, leaving the meaning. In this case, the expression may sound like this: the road to hell is paved, paved, paved.
The road to the underworld can be as paved as it is paved with good intentions. There are other interesting options. One of them goes something like this: “Good intentions lead straight to hell.”
Synonyms
There is an interesting phenomenon regarding the phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” A fairly ancient saying, and even having a religious connotation, unexpectedly acquired a synonym in the 20th century in connection with economic problems in Russia.
“We wanted the best, but it turned out as always” - this expression of V. S. Chernomyrdin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation, has acquired a synonymous meaning of the phrase about good intentions in the sense that implies a desire to do a good deed, but its result turns out to be completely opposite to what was expected . In this context, we were talking about the characteristics of the progress of monetary reform in the country in 1993. The phrase soon became truly popular and is often used instead of “good intentions.”
Use of expression
The saying is often used not only in everyday life, it is actively used by journalists and writers. There is also a short version: “good intentions”, which has an ending with a similar meaning. In the biblical sense, the phrase is used no less often than in the everyday one. As the Apostle James said, faith without works is dead; in other words, good intentions that did not come true are the result of lack of faith and do not lead to salvation.
This point of view is also quite justified: in this expression, before the word “intentions,” “unrealized” is omitted. It’s like, for example, when raising a child, guided by good intentions, you do everything for him. At the same time, he can grow up to be a completely unworthy person. Before doing any good, you need to figure out what is truly good for a particular person.
Origin of the saying and its variants
There is a version that the phrase belongs to the writer from England Samuel Johnson, as mentioned by his biographer, the author of two volumes of memoirs about the writer.
However, there is another version of the origin of this expression. The author is believed to be the 17th-century priest and metaphysical poet George Herbert, whose phrase is: “Hell is full of good intentions and desires.” It seems to emphasize the meaning of a statement from the Bible, where it sounds like: “The path of sinners is paved with stones, but at the end of it is the pit of hell.” The second option is most likely, since the author seems to demonstrate with this expression one of the foundations of Protestant ethics. Its essence is that true faith is undoubtedly expressed in good deeds, and not in dreams about them.
History has many examples where good intentions led not only to negative results, but even to tragic events. Hiding behind the desire to improve the life of mankind, how many revolutions were carried out, parties and radical movements were created. As a result, everything led to the crusades, Bolshevism, fascism, the goal of which was to make happy, if not all of humanity, then at least certain races or peoples, in their opinion, worthy of it. Therefore, it is very important that good intentions lead only to good deeds.
How to revive faith in yourself?
Using the example of the heroine of the above story, we were convinced that even a church-going Christian can experience a cooling of faith. But by working hard on yourself, you can “reanimate” your faith and again feel God’s presence in your life. Metropolitan John (Popov) lists what needs to be done for this:
“If a person wishes to be spiritually renewed, then he must, first of all, pray a secret prayer, ask for God’s help. He must definitely confess that he was overcome by petrified insensibility. The next step after confession is helping your neighbor and showing compassion and empathy. This is something that will stir a person and make him look at the world in a new way.”
In prayer, that is, sincere repentant communication with the Creator, a Christian finds grace-filled protection from evil, consolation in sorrows, and purification of the mind. You should not wait for a special mood for a conversation with God. According to Saints Macarius and Peter of Damascus, the Almighty “gives prayer to the one who prays.” The Monk Macarius of Optina also speaks about this:
“You must force yourself to pray, even if your heart resists it. And the Lord, seeing our compulsion and effort to pray, gives His help” (“Letters to Monastics”).
Confession and Communion are the main Church Sacraments. The Lord established them so that we could join His nature and transform our body and soul. In this regard, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) calls the Sacraments an experience of heaven and a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. The Monk Paisius the Svyatogorets points out the great importance of regular participation in these sacred ceremonies:
“The devil does not have any power over a believer who goes to church, confesses, takes communion... The devil does not approach the pure creation of God” (“Words”, volume 1).
Works of mercy ennoble and pacify a person’s soul, eradicate selfishness in him. An example of such a good deed is giving alms. The Monk Isaac the Syrian calls on the Christian:
“Give alms. When it is found within you, then this holy beauty is depicted in you, by which you become like God” (“Ascetic Words”).
