Per aspera ad astra

"Per aspera ad astra'", from Finland in the Nineteenth Century, 1894

Per aspera ad astra or Ad astra per aspera is a Latin phrase which means any of the following: "Through hardships to the stars", "A rough road leads to the stars" or "To the stars through difficulties". The phrase is one of many Latin sayings which use the expression Ad astra.

Uses

Various organizations and groups use this expression and its variants.

Literature

• In Hermann Hesse's Beneath the Wheel, the headmaster of Maulbronn says this to Lucius for his futile efforts towards music.
• Title of a play depicting the history of the fictional Maycomb County in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, in which the translation is given as from the mud to the stars.
• In James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the dean of studies of Trinity College, Dublin, uses this phrase with Stephen Dedalus when discussing whether or not Stephen will eventually show enough artistic talent to provide the college an answer to the "esthetic question".
• In Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan, it is the motto of the Martian Imperial Commandos.
• In Alan Moore's Watchmen, it is the motto of the Gila Flats Test Facility.
• It is the title of a popular Alternate History storyline.
• In Steven Gould's Exo, Cent says this to Cory, who responds with "maxime asperum".

Music

• The title of a song by Haggard (band) from their Eppur Si Muove album.
• The subtitle of Sergei Bortkiewicz's 3rd piano concerto.
• The subtitle of Moritz Moszkowski's set of fifteen Études de Virtuosité for piano, op. 72 (published 1903).
• The title of the first album by the German gothic rock band Aeon Sable.
• The title of the first album by Kansas Bible Company.
• The title of the second album by Abandon Kansas.
• The title of a piece by Greek composer Panayiotis Demopoulos for harp and percussion (2012).
• The Pee Wee Gaskins's album entitled "Ad Astra Per Aspera" and one instrumental in it called "To The Stars With All We've Got".
• Acceptance has an instrumental track on their Phantoms album titled "Ad Astra Per Aspera."
• Swedish heavy metal band Ghost has a track titled "Per Aspera ad Inferi" on their second album, Infestissumam.
• The song "Per Aspera Ad Astra" by Shawn Smith from his Home Recordings album.
• The title of the fourth album by ambient music duo Stars of the Lid.
• The first song "Aspera" on Erin McKeown's 2005 Album We Will Become Like Birds
• The title of a remix album released in 2011 by Wareika on the label Connaisseur Recordings.
• The song "Ad Astra" by Deerhunter from their Fading Frontier album.
• The song "Ad Astra" by Arcturus from their La Masquerade Infernale album.
• It is the name of an album by the band ASP.

Educational and research institutions

United States

• California State University East Bay, Hayward, California^[1]
• Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina^[2]
• Cornelia Strong College, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina
• East Hampton High School, East Hampton, CT
• Greenhill School, Dallas, Texas^[3]
• Kansas State Seal, State of Kansas
• Saint Joseph Academy, Brownsville, Texas
• Lake View High School, Chicago, Illinois
• Lyndon Institute, Lyndon Center, Vermont
• Macopin Middle School, West Milford, New Jersey
• Miami Central High School, Miami, Florida
• Midwood High School, Brooklyn, NY
• Mirman School, Los Angeles, California
• Morristown-Beard School, Morristown, New Jersey
• Mount Saint Michael Academy, Bronx, New York
• Satellite High School, Satellite Beach, Florida
• Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey^[4]
• Trinity Prep, Winter Park, Florida^[5]
• University High School, Fresno, California
• University of Tennessee Space Institute, Tullahoma, Tennessee

United Kingdom

• Colfe's School, Greenwich, London
• Mayfield Grammar School, Gravesend, Kent
• Dr. Challoner's Grammar School, Amersham, Buckinghamshire
• Jesus College, Cambridge Cambridgeshire

Australia

• Queenwood Girls School, Mosman NSW
• Woodville High School, Adelaide
• Albury High School, Albury, New South Wales^[6]
• Girton Grammar School, Bendigo, Victoria

Austria

• Universität Klagenfurt

Ecuador

• Instituto Nacional Mejía,Quito, Ecuador

Estonia

• Keila-Joa Boarding School, Türisalu^[7]
• Jakob Westholm Secondary School, Tallinn^[8]

Honduras

• Escuela Nacional de Música, Tegucigalpa
• Instituto Salesiano San Miguel, Tegucigalpa

India

• Clarence High School, Bangalore, Karnataka, India - Motto of Redwood House (Ad Astra)
• St.Augustine's High School, kalimpong, District:Darjeeling, India
• Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), New Delhi, India.
• The Frank Anthony Public School,Kolkata,India
• St Joseph's High School, Dharwad, Karnataka, India
• Antonio D'souza High School, Mumbai, India

Jamaica

• Immaculate Conception High School, St. Andrew
• Mount Alvernia High School, Montego Bay

Japan

St. Francis Church, Tokyo, West-Hachioji, Gnosis Essene (HP).

Maldives

• MNDF Fire and Rescue Services Training School, K.Viligili

Macau SAR, China

• Postgraduate Association of University of Macau, Macau, China

New Zealand

• Rotorua Boys' High School, Rotorua

Norway

• Stavanger Cathedral School, Stavanger
• Sortland videregående skole, Nordland

Nigeria

• Ilupeju College, Ilupeju, Lagos
• Lagos Secondary Commercial Academy, LASCA
• Kalabari National College, Buguma, Rivers State

Pakistan

• St Patrick's High School, Karachi

Philippines

• Far Eastern University - Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Quezon City, NCR
• St. John Paul II College of Davao, Davao City.

Romania

• Mihai Eminescu High School,^[9] Suceava
• Colegiul National "Andrei Saguna" Brasov^[10]
• Colegiul National "Doamna Stanca" Fagaras^[11]
• Alexandru Papiu Ilarian High School,^[12] Targu-Mures
• Andrei Mureşanu High School,^[13] Bistrița
• Márton Áron Gimnázium, Csíkszereda (Liceul Teoretic "Márton Áron", Miercurea-Ciuc)
• Ovidius High School,^[14] Constanta

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• Saint Vincent Grammar School, Kingstown

Slovakia

• Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies of Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava

Slovenia

• Prva gimnazija Maribor, Maribor
• Gimnazija Jesenice, Jesenice

South Africa

• Pietersburg Hoërskool^[15]

Sri Lanka

• St. Paul's Girls' School, Milagiriya, Colombo District, Western Province

Ukraine

• Space Museum dedicated to Korolyov in Zhytomyr
• Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

Governmental entities

• State of Kansas (Ad astra per aspera)^[16]
• Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin^[17]
• City of Gouda, Netherlands, in the city crest (Wapen van Gouda, in Dutch)
• City of Embu-Guaçu, Brazil
• Town of Coalhurst, Alberta
• Town of Roxboro, Quebec

Military and government

• National Defence Academy of Latvia
• Spanish Air Force
• Royal Canadian Air Force
• South African Air Force^[18]
• Military Technical Academy in Bucharest, Romania^[19]
• Quinto Grupo de Caza (5th Fighter Squadron), Argentine Air Force
• Department of Civil Aviation, Thailand^[20]
• Trenton Air Cadet Training Centre in Trenton, Ontario, Canada
• Navy Special Warfare Group, EAM, United States-ST10-1X0C

Fraternities and sororities

• Beta Sigma Psi National Lutheran Fraternity^[21]
• Sigma Gamma Phi – Arethusa Sorority^[22]
• Korp! Amicitia – Estonian student sorority.
• Freemasons-Knight's Templar, 32nd Degree
• K.Ö.St.V. Almgau Salzburg - Austrian Catholic Student Association^[23]

Popular culture

• Garrison Keillor routinely references the phrase as the only Latin phrase he cared to remember on A Prairie Home Companion.^[24][25]
• Per aspera ad astra is a Soviet Russian science fiction film by Richard Viktorov, written by Kir Bulychov.
• Rip Torn says this phrase to David Bowie in the film The Man Who Fell to Earth.
• Tomo Milicevic, of the band 30 Seconds to Mars, has a tattoo on his right forearm reading 'per aspera et astra', with the band's logo in the background in red.
• Aspera! Per aspera! Per ardua! Ad astra! is the refrain of the song "Aspera" by Erin McKeown on the album We Will Become Like Birds.
• American singer, rapper, dancer, actress, and songwriter Kiely Williams has "Per aspera ad astra" tattooed on her right forearm.
• At the end of the credits of a Half-Life 2 mod called Riot Act
• "Ad astra per aspera" replaces the name of a formerly deceased character on the memorial wall in the Mass Effect 3 "Happy Ending" mod, as seen in the mod's trailer.^[26]
• Said by Neil Patrick Harris in episode 18, season 4 of the TV show, Doogie Howser, M.D.
• Title of a play depicting the history of the fictional Maycomb County in To Kill a Mockingbird, in which the translation is given as from the mud to the stars.
• Title of a song by Haggard, from the album Eppur Si Muove.
• The name of an album by Abandon Kansas.
• A line from the song "On Thin Ice" by Evereve, from the album Tried and Failed.
• It is one of many hidden messages in the 2009 video game The Conduit.
• Motto of the Martian Imperial Commandos in Kurt Vonnegut novel, The Sirens of Titan.
• Title of a song by Seattle-based band Acceptance.
• Title of a song by Goasia, appearing on the album From Other Spaces (Suntrip records, 2007)
• Appears on right side shoulder patch in Star Trek Enterprise, on the "newer" uniform style shown on the series finale.
• The name of an album by Stars of the Lid
• The official motto of Solforce in the videogame Sword of the Stars.
• Title of a song by the band Spiritual Beggars from their album Ad Astra.
• Title of a song by the band Die Apokalyptischen Reiter from their album Samurai.
• The quote from Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• The final mission (Chapter 15) in the Mafia II video game
• Line in the Answer Page song Sunflower
• In a tattoo piece in The Raven
• The name of an album by Estonian band Põhja-Tallinn
• Phrase has been spoofed slightly by the band Ghost in the song "Per Aspera Ad Inferi" from their album Infestissumam^[27] literally meaning "Through hardships to hell."^[28]
• Used at the end of Bungie's "O Brave New World" vidoc after the final installment of Halo.
• Title of a background music from the Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire video games which plays during a voyage into space.

Others

• A plaque honoring the astronauts of Apollo 1 at the launch site where they perished.
• Inscribed on the crest of Pall Mall cigarettes packages^[29]
• The theme of "POR CC XXI" by Kolese Kanisius Jakarta
• Tradewinds Swiss^[30]
• Space Development Network^[31]
• Part three of the book "Jepp who Defied the Stars" by Katherine Marsh has the phrase as its title.^[32]

See also

• Per ardua ad astra ("Through adversity to the stars")
  • Per ardua ad astra, additional uses with reference to above article
• Ad astra per aspera, additional uses
• Per aspera ad astra, references this article

References

1. "California State University East Bay". Csueastbay.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
2. Campbell University: General Information Archived July 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
3. Greenhill School: Statement of Philosophy
4. "Stevens Institute of Technology: About Stevens". Stevens.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
5. "Trinity Prep School: myTPS Portal". Trinityprep.org. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
6. "Albury High School". Albury-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
7. "Keila-Joa Boarding School". Keila-joa.edu.ee. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
8. "Jakob Westholm Secondary School". westholm.ee. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
9. "Colegiul Național Mihai Eminescu". cn-eminescu.ro. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
10. "Colegiul Naţional "Andrei Şaguna", Braşov". Saguna.ro. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
11. "Colegiul Naţional "Doamna Stanca", Braşov". Doamnastanca.ro. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
12. "Colegiul Naţional Alexandru Papiu Ilarian". Papiu.ro. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
13. "Colegiul Național Andrei Mureșanu". Cnam.ro. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
14. "Liceul Teoretic Ovidius". liceulovidius.ro. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
15. "Pietersburg Hoerskool". Pieties.co.za. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
16. "The Great Seal of Kansas". Governor.ks.gov. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
17. Decorations of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
18. "The South African Air Force Emblems". Saairforce.co.za. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
19. "Academia Tehnica Militara". Mta.ro. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
20. Department of Civil Aviation Emblems Archived April 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
21. "Beta Sigma Psi 2006 National Convention, see page header". Convention.betasigmapsi.org. 2009-12-27. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
22. "Sigma Gamma Phi at SUNY Oneonta". Oneonta.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
23. Almgau, 2014 (7 May 2011). "Startseite - ALMGAU". K.ö.St.V. Almgau Salzburg im MKV.
24. "transcript from the September 17, 2011 episode of A Prairie Home Companion".
25. Rev. Andy Ferguson. "Church Street United Methodist Church: February 20, 2001". churchstreetumc.blogspot.com.
26. "Mass Effect 3: Official MEHEM trailer". Youtube.com. 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
27. "Ghost B.C. Store". Myplaydirect.com. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
28. "A Nameless Ghoul From Ghost B.C. Speaks About ‘Infestissumam,’ the Devil + More". Loudwire. Retrieved 2013-08-04.
29. "Pall Mall". History of Cigarette Brands. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
30. http://www.tradewinds-swiss.ch
31. http://www.spacedevnet.org
32. Jepp who Defied the Stars, p. 225, at Google Books