漫谈风俗习惯与英语典故|古德明：寻根究底（一）
64. 甚么是万恶根源？
我国有句成语：「为富不仁」。这话最初是春秋时代阳虎说的，原意是「恐为仁之害于富也」；后来孟子借用了这句话，意思却是「恐为富之害于仁也」。这是成语活用的一个例子。
耶稣门徒圣保罗也说过一句类似「为富不仁」的话：the love of money is the root of all evil（贪钱是万恶根源）。这话见于《圣经‧提摩太前书》，熟读《圣经》的英国人渐渐就用作成语，例如：when it came to be known that he had murdered his wife to get the us $500,000 insurance, people shook their head and said, "money （ 或 the love of money） is the root of all evil!"
成语不懂得活用，往往显得老套。名作家萧伯纳在《改革者箴言》（maxims for revolutionists）里说：lack of money is the root of all evil（无钱是万恶根源）——只易一字，腐朽就变得神奇了。