Today, I wanted to share an article from the archive of London Review of Books about the roots and (mis)usage of the word freedom. It’s a bit silly, in parts, but it makes some good points. Enjoy!
“The first recorded use of the word ‘freedom’ in English comes in the penultimate chapter of Alfred the Great’s translation of Boethius’ De consolatione philosophiae (c.888), in a discussion of free will: ‘Þu segist þæt God sylle ællcum freodom swa god to donne swa yfel’ – ‘You say that God gives to everyone the freedom to do both good and evil.’…”