When Respect and Fear Were One
by Michael Feeley
We think of “revered” and “fear” as opposites—one noble, the other negative. But these words share ancient DNA. Both trace back to a Latin root meaning “to stand in awe of.” In earlier times, fear didn’t just mean dread—it encompassed that spine-tingling feeling before something vast and powerful. The “fear of God” wasn’t about cowering; […]