The path to paradise begins in hell.

Although widely attributed to Dante, this phrasing is best treated as a modern paraphrase of the narrative logic of the Divine Comedy: the pilgrim reaches beatitude only by first confronting sin, error, and suffering. Read this way, the line suggests that genuine moral or spiritual ascent often begins with an honest descent into what is most painful or disordered—recognizing one’s condition, enduring purgation, and learning discernment. “Hell” functions less as a destination than as a starting point for transformation: the journey toward “paradise” requires passing through darkness rather than denying it. The appeal of the quote lies in its compressed statement of a hard-won progress through adversity.