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Etiam si omnes, ego non

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Latin motto "Etiam si omnes ego non!" above the door of the listed building at Schlosspark 23 on the grounds of the former Pirna-Sonnenstein sanatorium and nursing home.
Latin motto "Etiam si omnes ego non!" above the door of the listed building at Schlosspark 23 on the grounds of the former Pirna-Sonnenstein sanatorium and nursing home.

Etiam si omnes, ego non is a Latin phrase often used as a motto, which translates into English approximately as "Even if all others [do], I [will] not".

It is the motto of the family of Clermont-Tonnerre;[1][2] the title of a poem by Ernest Myers[3] and the inscription on the tombstone of Italian philosopher Giuseppe Rensi. It is also the motto of the Italian Joint Special Forces Operations Headquarters.[4]

A variant is Latin: Et si omnes ego non, as written on the door of Philipp von Boeselager's home,[5][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.

A longer variant of the phrase can be seen in a passage from the Vulgate Gospel of Matthew 26:33: Latin: "Respondens autem Petrus ait illi et si omnes scandalizati fuerint in te ego numquam scandalizabor.", lit. 'Peter replied, 'All the others may turn away because of you. But I never will.[7] (Greek: Εἰ πάντες σκανδαλισθήσονται ἐν σοί, ἐγὼ οὐδέποτε σκανδαλισθήσομαι, Ei pantes skandalisthēsontai en soi, egō oudepote skandalisthēsomai.)

See also

References

  1. Back to citation de Villemarest, Charles-Maxime (24 May 2016) [1923]. Life of Prince Talleyrand: Accompanied with a Portrait. Vol. 1. ISBN 978-1359170309.
  2. Back to citation "Histoire - Les devises". Maison de Clermont-Tonnerre (in French). n.d. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  3. Back to citation Myers, Ernest (9 September 2022). "Etsi omnes ego non (poem)". Bartleby.com.
  4. Back to citation For direct reference to the original site, please see Italian Ministry of Defence website on Special Forces
  5. Back to citation Samuelson, Sharon G. (Spring 2007). "Even If All, Not I". Y Magazine. OCLC 46640168. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2022. “The saying is carved in a timber beam on the outside of Philipp's family home in Germany.”
  6. Back to citation Paolo, Valentino (1 July 2004). "La mia armata a cavallo per abbattere il nazismo". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). p. 35.
  7. Back to citation Matthew 26:33
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