Radix malorum est cupiditas

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Radix malorum est cupiditas or Radix omnium malorum est cupiditas is a Biblical quotation in Latin that literally means "root of evil is greed".

This Latin phrase is a translation of the original Greek manuscripts of the Bible. The Greek text reads "ῥίζα γὰρ πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία" (1Ti 6:10 BGT) - literally translated into English as "A root of all the evils is the fond love of money". Daniel Wallace states that ῥίζα (root) is qualitative, since it lacks an article.[1] A more idiomatic understanding of this phrase is, "For every possible kind of evil can be motivated by the love of money." Meaning, greed can lead to any number of different kind of evils, not that all evil is rooted in the love of money.

It is translated as "the love of money is the root of all evil" in King James Version).[2] It has frequently been rendered as "money is the root of all evil".[3]

The original source is 1 Timothy 6:10 (St Jerome's Vulgate translation). The word cupiditas is ambiguous, as it may also mean cupidity, or strong desire. The Latin phrase is itself a translation from Greek, where the original word philarguria can only mean love of money.

In the medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale in The Canterbury Tales, this lesson was illustrated. However, because of the Pardoner's dubious character, the Latin saying has ironic connotations.

The Modern English word cupidity is described by OED as etymologically cognate with Latin cupidus, eagerly desirous.[4] There can be no ambiguity nor misunderstanding of the force of the word as used by Catullus:[5]

Sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti
In vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua

The OED definition of cupidity is "Ardent desire, inordinate longing or lust; covetousness", placing the weight firmly on the lecherous side of the reference of this word, which came into English from Latin, and perhaps through French.

That its biblical reference is to the desire of filthy lucre seems established, but to the Latin-literate medieval people, the other cultural reference, to the desires of the flesh, would have suggested an alternative meaning.[citation needed]

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References[]

  1. ^ Wallace, Daniel (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. Zondervan. p. 265. ISBN 9780310218951. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  2. ^ "1 tim 6:10 KJV - For the love of money is the root of". Biblegateway.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  3. ^ [1] Song by the Andrews Sisters.
  4. ^ "Oxford Dictionaries entry for "cupidity"". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  5. ^ Wikiquote:Gaius Valerius Catullus
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