“What I called the perplexed jungle of Paganism sprang, we may say, out of many roots: every admiration, adoration of a star or natural object, was a root or fibre of a root; but Hero-worship is the deepest root of all; the tap-root, from which in a great degree all the rest were nourished and grown.”

“So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of all money?”

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) Russian-American novelist and philosopher

“If the love of money is the root of all evil, the need of money is most certainly the root of all despair.”

Isaac Asimov book Half-Breed

“The word hero derives from the root *ser-, from which we also get the word “servant.””

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

“I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are.”

Frances Moore Lappé (1944) activist against world hunger

“We came from many roots, and we have many branches.”

Gerald Ford (1913–2006) American politician, 38th President of the United States (in office from 1974 to 1977)

“Idleness, we are accustomed to say, is the root of all evil. To prevent this evil, work is recommended…. Idleness as such is by no means a root of evil; on the contrary, it is truly a divine life, if one is not bored….”

Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism

“That's the reason I always say about music, the blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. Without the roots, you have no fruits so it's better keeping the roots alive because it means better fruits from now on.”

Willie Dixon (1915–1992) American blues musician

“We lack emotional connection even when we are surrounded by other people. This feeling of being profoundly alone is the root cause of unhappiness in the human race. It is the root cause of addictions. It is the root cause of suicide. It is the root cause of acts of terror. And it is the root of the dysfunction in the way society is structured.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

“Expectation is the root of all heartache.”

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English playwright and poet