Surely
the organisation with absolutely the best motto is the Royal Society? Nullius in verba, according to the Wikipedia, means “Take
nobody’s word for it”; it is Latin for “on the word of no-one”. John Evelyn and
other Fellows of the Royal Society choose the motto soon after the Society was
founded, 350 years ago. The Royal Society explains the motto this way:
It
is an expression of the determination of Fellows to withstand the domination of
authority and to verify all statements by an appeal to facts determined by
experiment.
Nullius addictus
iurare in verba magistri, – quo me cumque rapit
tempestas, deferor hospes.
("(being) not obliged to swear allegiance to a master, wherever the storm drags me to, I turn in as a guest.")
("(being) not obliged to swear allegiance to a master, wherever the storm drags me to, I turn in as a guest.")
It is hard
to think of a better motto – a challenge to make us all sit up and think, as
the Royal Society says.
