Etiamsi omnes, ego non

Etiam si omnes, ego non is a Latin motto. The source is the Vulgate version of a phrase from the Gospel of Matthew 26:33: Et si omnes scandalizati fuerint in te ego numquam scandalizabor. Translated in English: "Even if all [others]... I will never".[Mat. 26:33] The Greek reads, "If all will take offence at you, I shall never take offence".[1]

It is the motto of the family of Clermont-Tonnerre;[2][3] the title of a poem by Ernest Myers[4] and the inscription on the tombstone of Italian philosopher Giuseppe Rensi. It is also the motto of the Italian army's C.O.F.S special unit.[5]

A variant is Et si omnes ego non, as written on the door of Philipp von Boeselager's home,[6] highlighting the necessity of maintaining one's own opinion and moral judgment, even in the face of a differing view held by the majority (in particular, it refers to von Boeselager's dissent and resistance against Hitler during the Nazi dictatorship). The last part of the phrase, in its German translation, is the title of an autobiographical work of Joachim Fest: Ich nicht.

See also

References

  1. Κατὰ Μαθθαῖον 26:33 in Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece, ed. 27 (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft), p.77:
    εἰ πάντες σκανδαλισθήσονται ἐν σοί, ἐγω οὐδέποτε σκανδαλισθήσομαι.
  2. Life of Prince Talleyrand: Accompanied with a portrait, by Charles Maxime Catherinet de Villemarest
  3. Clermont-Tonnerre website
  4. Myers, Ernest, Etsi omnes ego non (poem)
  5. For direct reference to the original site, please see Italian Ministry of Defence website on Special Forces
  6. Paolo, Valentino (2004-07-01), "La mia armata a cavallo per abbattere il nazismo", Corriere della Sera, p. 35


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, July 28, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.