--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The pathways of hell are hardly foreign…" description: "\"“The pathways of hell are hardly foreign; we shall end up there one day if we tarry too long. From a passageway to a pathway: it is an easy fall, witho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d0/muriel-barbery-1092_every-day_the-pathways-of-hell-are-hardly-foreign_348971.jpg" --- # The pathways of hell are hardly foreign; we shall end up… ![“The pathways of hell are hardly foreign; we shall end up there one day if we tarry too long. From a passageway to a pathway: it is an easy fall, without shock or surprises. Every day we are reacquainted with the sadness of the passageway and step by step we clear the path toward our mournful doom.” quote by Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d0/muriel-barbery-1092_every-day_the-pathways-of-hell-are-hardly-foreign_348971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d0/muriel-barbery-1092_every-day_the-pathways-of-hell-are-hardly-foreign_348971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d0/muriel-barbery-1092_every-day_the-pathways-of-hell-are-hardly-foreign_348971.jpg) > ““The pathways of hell are hardly foreign; we shall end up there one day if we tarry too long. From a passageway to a pathway: it is an easy fall, without shock or surprises. Every day we are reacquainted with the sadness of the passageway and step by step we clear the path toward our mournful doom.”” [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that complacency and small, unnoticed declines can lead to inevitable ruin if we linger too long. **In simple terms:** Ignoring small problems leads to big disaster. Key Takeaway Address issues early before they accumulate. Themes complacency decline doom awareness Mood somber reflective Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - career stagnation - health neglect - financial planning Key Concepts existentialism psychology risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What small habits are you ignoring? - How can you break the cycle of gradual decline? A Different Perspective It assumes all decline is inevitable, ignoring possibilities of recovery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Passageway Pathway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passageway-pathway-3227748/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Path Mournful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path-mournful-3227749/) [Pathway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathway/) [Pathways Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathways-hell-3227747/) [Step By Step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/step-by-step/) [Too long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-long/) ## Related quotes > [It's not just a question of conquering a summit previously unknown, but of tracing, step by step, a new pathway to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/it-s-not-just-a-question-of-conquering-a-summit-previously-unknown/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [Lies can be verbal or nonverbal, kindhearted or self-serving, devious or bald-faced; they can be lies of omission or lies of commission; they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/lies-can-be-verbal-or-nonverbal-kindhearted-or-self-serving-devious/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) > [Now, let me say this about education. I've said it till I'm blue-green. Not everybody is cut out for the traditional pathway of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/now-let-me-say-this-about-education-i-ve-said-it-till-i-m-blue-green/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [MY PATHWAY IS WELL LIT... MY WAY HAS BEEN CHOSEN... MY JOURNEY HAS JUST BEGUN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-taylor/my-pathway-is-well-lit-my-way-has-been-chosen-my-journey-has-just/) [George a Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-taylor/) > [When you start to care and think more about someone than yourself. That needs to be changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalyn/when-you-start-to-care-and-think-more-about-someone-than-yourself/) [Magdalyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalyn/) > [“The pathway to freedom begins when we face the problem without making excuses for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/the-pathway-to-freedom-begins-when-we-face-the-problem-without-making/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [It is clear to me that creating a pathway for decryption only for good guys is technologically stupid. You just can't do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/it-is-clear-to-me-that-creating-a-pathway-for-decryption-only-for/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [I don't want stuff that's compromising to me as a person, but as long as it has a pathway to redemption and has meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harney/i-don-t-want-stuff-that-s-compromising-to-me-as-a-person-but-as-long/) [Michael Harney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harney/) > [Content is not the pathway to great deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/content-is-not-the-pathway-to-great-deeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [The wonderful thing about maths is it's a totally logical subject, and a pathway has been marked out. 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You can say, 'Oh, I want a cure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/instead-of-studying-what-biology-has-already-made-we-have-to-imagine/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [Many are obstinate with regard to the pathway once they have set upon it, few with regard to the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pathway-once-they-have-set-upon/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The pathway to enlightenment is happiness. It doesn't really matter if you're successful, if you're in prison, if you're dying - if you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-pathway-to-enlightenment-is-happiness-it-doesn-t-really-matter-if/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Muriel Barbery > [“Those who can, do; those who can't, teach; those who can't teach, teach the teachers; and those who can't teach the teachers go into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/those-who-can-do-those-who-can-t-teach-those-who-can-t-teach-teach/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [What is writing, no matter how lavish the pieces, if it says nothing of the truth, cares little for the heart, and is merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/what-is-writing-no-matter-how-lavish-the-pieces-if-it-says-nothing-of/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built. 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But those roses . They were something else. 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