Ever to Excel
{{Short description|English translation of an Ancient Greek phrase}}
{{Main|List of Greek phrases}}
"Ever to Excel" is the English translation of the Ancient Greek phrase '{{lang|grc|αἰὲν ἀριστεύειν}}' aièn aristeúein. It has been used as motto by a number of educational institutions.
Origin and etymology
{{Wikisource|1=The Iliad (Murray)/Book VI|2=The Iliad Book VI}}
The phrase is derived from the sixth book of Homer's Iliad, in which it is used in a speech Glaucus delivers to Diomedes. During a battle between the Greeks and Trojans, Diomedes is impressed by the bravery of a mysterious young man and demands to know his identity. Glaucus replies: "Hippolochus begat me. I claim to be his son, and he sent me to Troy with strict instructions: Ever to excel, to do better than others, and to bring glory to your forebears, who indeed were very great ... This is my ancestry; this is the blood I am proud to inherit."
Usage as a motto
Image:Bapst engraving of BC motto.jpg at Boston College]]
It is the motto of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. The phrase has also been used as the motto of a number of schools and universities, mainly in the United Kingdom, notably the University of St Andrews,{{cite web | url = http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/about/Universitycoatofarms/ | title = Coat of Arms | access-date = 2012-04-17 | publisher = University of St Andrews | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605095922/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/about/Universitycoatofarms/ | archive-date = 2011-06-05 }} but also in the United States and Canada. These include schools such as Caistor Grammar School, the Edinburgh Academy,{{cite web|title=Edin Acad|url=http://www.edinburghacademy.org.uk/About_the_Academy|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101115928/http://www.edinburghacademy.org.uk/About_the_Academy|archive-date=1 January 2013|url-status=dead}} Kelvinside Academy{{cite web|title=Kelvinside|url=http://www.kelvinsideacademy.org.uk/what-makes-us-special.html|access-date=30 January 2013}} and Old Scona Academic High School,{{cite web|title=Old scona|url=http://oldscona.epsb.ca/datafiles/Info_Guide_new_version.pdf|access-date=30 January 2013}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} as well as Boston College.{{cite web|title=Boston College|url=http://www.bc.edu/offices/pubaf/about/faq.html|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-date=21 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521000333/http://www.bc.edu/offices/pubaf/about/faq.html|url-status=dead}}
References
{{Iliad navbox|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ever To Excel}}