Nullius in verba
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Nullius in verba (Latin for "on the word of no one" or "Take nobody's word for it") is the motto of the Royal Society. John Evelyn and other Royal Society fellows chose the motto soon after the founding of the Society.[1] The current Royal Society website explains the motto thus:
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.[2]
The phrase came from Horace's Epistle to his benefactor Maecenas,[3][4] where he claims not to be devoted to any particular sect but is rather an eclectic by nature.[5]
These are the words, forming two hexameters in the original context: 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.")[6]
See also
- 11059 Nulliusinverba is the name of a main-belt minor planet named after this term.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Latin)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (English translation)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (see footnote)
- ↑ Horace: Epistles, Book I, epistle I, lines 14 and 15
