Non nobis solum
{{Short description|Latin for "not for ourselves alone"}}
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{{lang|la|Non nobis solum}} (English: "not for ourselves alone") is a Latin motto. Common variations are {{lang|la|non nobis, sed omnibus}} ("not for us, but for everyone") and {{lang|la|non nobis solum, sed omnibus}}. It means that people should contribute to the general greater good of humanity, apart from their own interests.
Origin
The motto is derived from a sentence in Cicero's most influential philosophical work, his treatise On Duties (Latin: De Officiis). In full, Cicero writes, "{{lang|la|non nobis solum nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vindicat, partem amici}}" ("Not for us alone are we born; our country, our friends, have a share in us"; De Officiis, 1:22). The sentence, as Cicero himself says, is a literal translation of a sentiment from Plato's Epistle to Archytas.Ps.-Plato, Epistle 9.358a In the context of the passage, the sentence means that "humans have been created for the sake of others of their kind, indeed, to benefit each other as much as possible".{{cite book | last = Dyck | first = Andrew R. | title = A Commentary on Cicero, De Officiis | year = 1996 | publisher = University of Michigan Press | location = Ann Arbor, MI | isbn = 978-0-472-10719-3 |pages=112–113}} Cicero associates this concept with the Stoic ideal of cosmopolitanism, according to which all men have a natural kinship with all other men and need to "contribute to the general good by an interchange of acts of kindness (officia), by giving and receiving."De officiis 1.22, transl. Walter Miller, 1913
Usage by organizations
The motto is used by numerous organizations, including the United States Army 1st Maintenance Company{{cite book |last1=Stein |first1=Barry Jason |last2=Capelotti |first2=Peter Joseph |date=1993 |title=U.S. Army Heraldic Crests: A Complete Illustrated History of Authorized Distinctive Unit Insignia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99fh34SJWr8C&pg=PA184 |publisher=University of South Carolina |page=184 |isbn=978-0-87249-963-8}} and schools including Massanutten Academy, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Pennthorpe School, Lower Canada College, University College, Durham,{{cite web|author=Durham University|author-link=Durham University|url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/university.calendar/volumei/arms_and_mottos/ |title=University Calendar: Arms and Mottos - Durham University |publisher=Durham University |date=2013-06-25 |access-date=2014-01-23}} University of Victoria's St. Joseph School of Nursing,{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonhistory.org/files/library/vogel_speech.pdf |title=Non nobis solum |last=Vogel |first=Theresa |date=2010-11-05 |website=Washington State History Museum |access-date=2014-01-23 }} Washburn University,{{Cite web|url=http://www.washburn.edu/about/facts/History/index.html|title=History|website=www.washburn.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-10-13}} Willamette University,{{cite web |url=http://www.willamette.edu/about/leadership/president/pdf/Strategic_Statement_2010.pdf |title=Non Nobis Solum Nati Sumus |last=Large |first=Larry |date=2010-05-15 |website=Willamette University |access-date=2014-01-23}} Swarthmore College (Class of 1918's motto),{{Cite web|date=2020-03-17|title=An Update on the Spring Semester|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/presidents-office/update-spring-semester|access-date=2020-07-29|website=www.swarthmore.edu|language=en}} and Camp Kanawana, a YMCA camp north of Montreal, Quebec.{{Cite news|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/terry-mosher-gets-pip-award-from-ymcas-camp-kanawana|title=Terry Mosher gets Pip award from YMCA's Camp Kanawana|date=2015-08-09|work=Montreal Gazette|access-date=2018-09-22|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/YKanawana/posts/camp-ymca-kanawanas-motto-is-non-nobis-solum-which-means-not-for-ourselves-alone/982598341811524/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/105464606191573/982598341811524 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Camp YMCA Kanawana|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2018-09-22}}{{cbignore}} It is the motto of the Baron Haden-Guest and appears in the Baron's coat of arms. The motto was also incorporated into the coat of arms for Frank Seiberling and appears over the entrance to Stan Hywet, their Akron, Ohio mansion built in the early 1900s.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stanhywet.org/history|title=History of Stan Hywet hall & gardens}} This motto was also part of the crest of the family of George Fosberry, soldier and arms designer. The crest and motto can be seen on the breech of the surviving example of his breechloading prototype rifle.{{Citation|last=Forgotten Weapons|title=Major Fosbery's Breechloading Prototype Rifle|date=2017-08-05|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUoSwXJJWqw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/CUoSwXJJWqw |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|access-date=2017-08-07}}{{cbignore}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{wiktionary-inline|non nobis solum}}
- {{wikiquote-inline|Cicero}}