The road to hell is paved with good intentions

Meaning: Good plans are worthless without follow-through.

Example: “They meant to help by feeding the ducks bread, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Origin: A saying that hell is full of good intentions is often credited to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, but it is not found in his works. George Herbert's proverb collection (1651) has "Hell is full of good meanings and wishings," John Ray's of 1670 has "Hell is paved with good intentions," and Boswell recorded Samuel Johnson quoting that form in 1775. The "road to hell" wording appears in print by 1855.

Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Portuguese, and 2 more languages

French: L'enfer est pavé de bonnes intentions (literally: Hell is paved with good intentions)
Spanish: El camino al infierno está empedrado de buenas intenciones (literally: The road to hell is paved with good intentions)
Japanese: 地獄への道は善意で舗装されている (Jigoku e no michi wa zen'i de hosō sarete iru) (literally: The road to hell is paved with good intentions)
German: Der Weg zur Hölle ist mit guten Vorsätzen gepflastert (literally: The way to hell is paved with good resolutions)
Portuguese: De boas intenções está o inferno cheio (literally: Hell is full of good intentions)
Dutch: Met goede voornemens is de hel bevloerd (literally: Hell is floored with good intentions)
Russian: Благими намерениями вымощена дорога в ад (Blagimi namereniyami vymoshchena doroga v ad) (literally: The road to hell is paved with good intentions)