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{{Short description|Latin phrase}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Italic title}}
[[File:Nec Pluribus Impar.jpg|thumb|The ''Nec pluribus impar'' motto and the sun-king emblem, on a [[de Vallière]] gun, 1745.]]
[[File:Nec Pluribus Impar.jpg|thumb|The ''Nec pluribus impar'' motto and the sun-king emblem, on a [[de Vallière]] gun, 1745.]]
[[File:1694 S Nec Pluribus Impar.jpg|thumb|The "S" letter (for Sun) with the motto ''Nec pluribus impar''. ''Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française'', 1694.]]
[[File:1694 S Nec Pluribus Impar.jpg|thumb|The "S" letter (for Sun) with the motto ''Nec pluribus impar''. ''Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française'', 1694.]]
'''''Nec pluribus impar''''' (literally: "Not unequal to many") is a [[Latin]] [[motto]] adopted by [[Louis XIV of France]] from 1658.<ref name="Berger"/> It was often inscribed together with the symbol of the "Sun King": a head within rays of sunlight.
'''''Nec pluribus impar''''' (literally: "Not unequal to many") is a [[Latin]] [[motto]] adopted by [[Louis XIV of France]] from 1658.<ref name="Berger"/> It was often inscribed together with the symbol of the "Sun King": a head within rays of sunlight. Apparently a play on the ancient motto ''[[List of Latin phrases|nec plus ultra]]'' ("beyond which (there is) nothing more") (''pluribus'' being the dative and ablative plural forms of ''plus'' and ''impar'' rhyming with ''ultra''), its meaning has always been obscure.


==Meaning==
==Meaning==
While the motto relates to the [[allegory]] of the "Sun King",<ref name="berger">
While the motto relates to the [[allegory]] of the "Sun King",<ref name="berger">
{{cite book |title=The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV |first=Robert W. |last=Berger |page=15, fn.22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJC4hE2SgncC&pg=PA15&dq=%22Nec+Pluribus+Impar%22#PPA15,M1 |publisher=[[Penn State Press]] |year=1993 |isbn=0-271-00847-4 }}
{{cite book |title=The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV |first=Robert W. |last=Berger |page=15, fn.22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJC4hE2SgncC&q=%22Nec+Pluribus+Impar%22&pg=PA15 |publisher=[[Penn State Press]] |year=1993 |isbn=0-271-00847-4 }}
</ref><ref name="riley">
</ref><ref name="riley">
{{cite book |title=A lust for virtue: Louis XIV's attack on sin in seventeenth-century France |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2001 |isbn=0-313-31708-9 |first=Philip F. |last=Riley |page=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOCQe_39FiAC&pg=PA25&dq=Not+unequal+to+many+suns}}
{{cite book |title=A lust for virtue: Louis XIV's attack on sin in seventeenth-century France |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2001 |isbn=0-313-31708-9 |first=Philip F. |last=Riley |page=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOCQe_39FiAC&q=Not+unequal+to+many+suns&pg=PA25}}
</ref> its precise meaning is obscure.<ref name="nandq"/><ref name="louis14"/> Philip F. Riley calls it "almost untranslatable".<ref name="riley"/> Historian [[Henri Martin (historian)|Henri Martin]] called it "very pompous and, above all, obscure and perplexing".<ref name="martin">
</ref> its precise meaning is obscure.<ref name="nandq"/><ref name="louis14"/> Philip F. Riley calls it "almost untranslatable".<ref name="riley"/> Historian [[Henri Martin (historian)|Henri Martin]] called it "very pompous and, above all, obscure and perplexing".<ref name="martin">
{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Henri |author-link=Henri Martin (historian) |translator=Mary Louise Booth |title=The Age of Louis XIV |publisher=Walker, Wise and co.|location=Boston|year=1865 |series=Martin's History of France |volume=Part VII|page=149, fn.1 |chapter=Vol 1, Chp 4 |oclc=1844549 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nW0PAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA149&dq=%22Nec+Pluribus+Impar%22 |accessdate=2009-06-14 }}
{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Henri |author-link=Henri Martin (historian) |translator=Mary Louise Booth |title=The Age of Louis XIV |publisher=Walker, Wise and co.|location=Boston|year=1865 |series=Martin's History of France |volume=Part VII|page=149, fn.1 |chapter=Vol 1, Chp 4 |oclc=1844549 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nW0PAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Nec+Pluribus+Impar%22&pg=PA149 |accessdate=2009-06-14 }}
</ref> [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Louvois]], Louis' [[Secretary of State for War (France)|War Secretary]], interpreted it as ''seul contre tous'' — "alone against all";<ref name="nandq">
</ref> [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Louvois]], Louis' [[Secretary of State for War (France)|War Secretary]], interpreted it as ''seul contre tous'' — "alone against all";<ref name="nandq">
{{cite journal|last=Tiedeman |first=H. |date=29 February 1868 |title=The French King's Device: "Nec Pluribus Impar" (3rd Ser. xii. 502) |journal=[[Notes and Queries]] |pages=203–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z0oAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA203&dq=%22don+carlos%22+%22Die+Sonne+geht+in+meinem+Staat+nicht+unter%22 |accessdate=2009-05-14}}
{{cite journal|last=Tiedeman |first=H. |date=29 February 1868 |title=The French King's Device: "Nec Pluribus Impar" (3rd Ser. xii. 502) |journal=[[Notes and Queries]] |pages=203–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z0oAAAAAYAAJ&q=%22don+carlos%22+%22Die+Sonne+geht+in+meinem+Staat+nicht+unter%22&pg=PA203 |accessdate=2009-05-14}}
</ref> lexicographer [[Pierre Larousse]] suggested ''au-dessus de tous (comme le soleil)'' — "above all (like the sun)".<ref name="nandq"/> John Martin says "[Louis'] matchless
</ref> lexicographer [[Pierre Larousse]] suggested ''au-dessus de tous (comme le soleil)'' — "above all (like the sun)".<ref name="nandq"/> John Martin says "[Louis'] matchless
splendour was expressed by the motto Nec Pluribus Impar - not unequal to many
splendour was expressed by the motto Nec Pluribus Impar - not unequal to many
suns.".<ref>
suns.".<ref>
{{cite book |title=Baroque |first=John Rupert |last=Martin |page=242 |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1977 |isbn=0-06-435332-X }}
{{cite book |title=Baroque |first=John Rupert |last=Martin |page=[https://archive.org/details/baroque00mart/page/242 242] |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1977 |isbn=0-06-435332-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/baroque00mart/page/242 }}
</ref> [[Yves-Marie Bercé]] gives ''Suffisant (seul) a tant de choses'' ("Sufficient (alone) for so many things") or ''Tout lui est possible'' ("Everything is possible for him"), ''i.e.'', "[[Litotes|not unequal]] to many [tasks]".<ref>
</ref> [[Yves-Marie Bercé]] gives ''Suffisant (seul) a tant de choses'' ("Sufficient (alone) for so many things") or ''Tout lui est possible'' ("Everything is possible for him"), ''i.e.'', "[[Litotes|not unequal]] to many [tasks]".<ref>
{{cite book |last=Bercé |first=Yves-Marie |title=Louis XIV |publisher=Le Cavalier Bleu|year=2005 |page=5 |isbn=2-84670-122-9 |language=French |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rrdk2vGNc4sC&pg=PA5&dq=+%22Nec+pluribus+impar%22#PPA5,M1 }}
{{cite book |last=Bercé |first=Yves-Marie |title=Louis XIV |publisher=Le Cavalier Bleu|year=2005 |page=5 |isbn=2-84670-122-9 |language=French |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rrdk2vGNc4sC&q=+%22Nec+pluribus+impar%22&pg=PA5 }}
</ref> Louis himself wrote:<ref name="louis14">
</ref> Louis himself wrote:<ref name="louis14">
{{cite book |author=Louis XIV |authorlink=Louis XIV of France |title=Louis xiv King of France and of Navarre : Memoires for the instruction of the Dauphin |others=introduction, translation, and notes by Paul Sonnino |location=New York |year=1970 |origyear=1662 |publisher=[[Free Press (publisher)|Free Press]] |page=104 |oclc=254475643}}; quoted in Berger.
{{cite book |author=Louis XIV |author-link=Louis XIV of France |title=Louis xiv King of France and of Navarre : Memoires for the instruction of the Dauphin |others=introduction, translation, and notes by Paul Sonnino |location=New York |year=1970 |orig-year=1662 |publisher=[[Free Press (publisher)|Free Press]] |page=104 |oclc=254475643}}; quoted in Berger.
</ref>
</ref>
{{quote|Those who saw me managing the cares of royalty with such ease and with such confidence induced me to add [to the image of the sun] the sphere of the earth, and as its motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR, by which they meant to flatter the ambitions of a young king, in that with all my capacities, I would be just as capable of ruling still other empires as would the sun of illuminating still other worlds with its rays. I know that some obscurity has been found in these words, and I have no doubt that the same symbol might have suggested some happier ones. Others have been presented to me since, but this one having already been used in my buildings and in an infinite number of other things, I have not deemed appropriate to change it.|Louis XIV, 1662.<ref name="Berger">''The palace of the sun: the Louvre of Louis XIV'' Robert W. Berger, p.15 [https://books.google.com/books?id=1IkUHp8efo4C&pg=RA1-PA15]</ref>}}
{{quote|Those who saw me managing the cares of royalty with such ease and with such confidence induced me to add [to the image of the sun] the sphere of the earth, and as its motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR, by which they meant to flatter the ambitions of a young king, in that with all my capacities, I would be just as capable of ruling still other empires as would the sun of illuminating still other worlds with its rays. I know that some obscurity has been found in these words, and I have no doubt that the same symbol might have suggested some happier ones. Others have been presented to me since, but this one having already been used in my buildings and in an infinite number of other things, I have not deemed appropriate to change it.|Louis XIV, 1662.<ref name="Berger">''The palace of the sun: the Louvre of Louis XIV'' Robert W. Berger, p.15 [https://books.google.com/books?id=1IkUHp8efo4C&pg=RA1-PA15]</ref>}}


==Origin and use==
==Origin and use==
The first use of the motto and symbol is usually given as the great ''Carrousel'' of 1662, in what is now the [[Place du Carrousel]], to celebrate the birth of [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1661–1711)|his son Louis]], the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]].<ref name="martin"/> However, the motto appeared as early as 1658 on a [[medal]].<ref name="berger"/> [[Voltaire]] attributes the motto and emblem to Louis Douvrier, who derived them from a device of [[Philip II of Spain]], of whom it was said [[the empire on which the sun never sets|the sun never set on his dominions]].<ref name="nandq"/> Polemicists in the [[Spanish Netherlands]] pointed out the unoriginal nature of the symbol.<ref name="nandq"/> Louis XIV himself was not enamoured of them, but they proved popular with the public and so he tolerated them.<ref name="nandq"/><ref name="louis14"/>
The first use of the motto and symbol is usually given as the great ''Carrousel'' of 1662, in what is now the [[Place du Carrousel]], to celebrate the birth of [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1661–1711)|his son Louis]], the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]].<ref name="martin"/> However, the motto appeared as early as 1658 on a [[medal]].<ref name="berger"/> [[Voltaire]] attributes the motto and emblem to Louis Douvrier, who derived them from a device of [[Philip II of Spain]], of whom it was said [[The empire on which the Sun never sets|the sun never set on his dominions]].<ref name="nandq"/> Polemicists in the [[Spanish Netherlands]] pointed out the unoriginal nature of the symbol.<ref name="nandq"/> Louis XIV himself was not enamoured of it, but it proved popular with the public and so he tolerated it.<ref name="nandq"/><ref name="louis14"/>


The motto and sun-king device appeared on many buildings, as well as on [[cannons]]. The classical [[de Vallière]] guns in particular bear the motto and the symbol, even for those founded long after Louis XIV's death.
The motto and sun-king device appeared on many buildings, as well as on [[cannon]]s. The classical [[de Vallière]] guns in particular bear the motto and the symbol, even for those founded long after Louis XIV's death.


Many of Louis' subordinates adopted emblems and mottos playing off those of the sovereign. [[César of Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme|César de Beaufort]], [[Admiral of France]], adopted a moon with motto ''Elle obéit au soleil et commande aux flots'' ("It obeys the sun and commands the waves"); [[Maximilien François de Béthune, Duc de Sully|Duc de Sully]] adopted a [[burning-glass|burning-mirror]] with motto ''Je brûle sous son regard'' ("I burn [under its gaze / at his command])".<ref>
Many of Louis' subordinates adopted emblems and mottos playing off those of the sovereign. [[César of Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme|César de Beaufort]], [[Admiral of France]], adopted a moon with motto ''Elle obéit au soleil et commande aux flots'' ("It obeys the sun and commands the waves"); [[Maximilien François de Béthune, Duc de Sully|Duc de Sully]] adopted a [[burning-glass|burning-mirror]] with motto ''Je brûle sous son regard'' ("I burn [under its gaze / at his command])".<ref>{{cite book |last=Millington |first=Ellen J. |title=Heraldry in history, poetry, and romance |publisher=Chapman and Hall |location=London |year=1858 |page=[https://archive.org/details/heraldryinhisto00millgoog/page/n390 309] |url=https://archive.org/details/heraldryinhisto00millgoog |quote=Nec Pluribus Impar. }}</ref>
{{cite book |last=Millington |first=Ellen J. |title=Heraldry in history, poetry, and romance |publisher=Chapman and Hall |location=London |year=1858 |page=309 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jPRsAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA309&dq=%22Nec+Pluribus+Impar%22 }}
</ref>


It is the motto of [[Ribét Academy]], a private [[University-preparatory school|preparatory school]] in [[Los Angeles]], and the [[1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment]] of the [[6th Light Armoured Brigade (France)|6th light armored]] [[brigade]] of the [[French Army]].
It is the motto of [[Ribét Academy]], a private [[University-preparatory school|preparatory school]] in [[Los Angeles]], the [[1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment]] of the [[6th Light Armoured Brigade (France)|6th light armored]] [[brigade]] of the [[French Army]] and [[Muir College]] a public, English medium school for boys located in [[Uitenhage]], South Africa.


It is also found on the coat-of-arms of [[Zvishavane]] town in Zimbabwe.
It is also found on the coat of arms of [[Zvishavane]] in [[Zimbabwe]].


== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[Honneur et Fidélité]]
*''[[Honneur et Fidélité]]''


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Louis XIV of France]]
[[Category:Louis XIV]]
[[Category:Latin mottos]]
[[Category:Latin mottos]]
[[Category:Latin political phrases]]
[[Category:Latin political words and phrases]]

Latest revision as of 11:24, 9 April 2024

The Nec pluribus impar motto and the sun-king emblem, on a de Vallière gun, 1745.
The "S" letter (for Sun) with the motto Nec pluribus impar. Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française, 1694.

Nec pluribus impar (literally: "Not unequal to many") is a Latin motto adopted by Louis XIV of France from 1658.[1] It was often inscribed together with the symbol of the "Sun King": a head within rays of sunlight. Apparently a play on the ancient motto nec plus ultra ("beyond which (there is) nothing more") (pluribus being the dative and ablative plural forms of plus and impar rhyming with ultra), its meaning has always been obscure.

Meaning

[edit]

While the motto relates to the allegory of the "Sun King",[2][3] its precise meaning is obscure.[4][5] Philip F. Riley calls it "almost untranslatable".[3] Historian Henri Martin called it "very pompous and, above all, obscure and perplexing".[6] Louvois, Louis' War Secretary, interpreted it as seul contre tous — "alone against all";[4] lexicographer Pierre Larousse suggested au-dessus de tous (comme le soleil) — "above all (like the sun)".[4] John Martin says "[Louis'] matchless splendour was expressed by the motto Nec Pluribus Impar - not unequal to many suns.".[7] Yves-Marie Bercé gives Suffisant (seul) a tant de choses ("Sufficient (alone) for so many things") or Tout lui est possible ("Everything is possible for him"), i.e., "not unequal to many [tasks]".[8] Louis himself wrote:[5]

Those who saw me managing the cares of royalty with such ease and with such confidence induced me to add [to the image of the sun] the sphere of the earth, and as its motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR, by which they meant to flatter the ambitions of a young king, in that with all my capacities, I would be just as capable of ruling still other empires as would the sun of illuminating still other worlds with its rays. I know that some obscurity has been found in these words, and I have no doubt that the same symbol might have suggested some happier ones. Others have been presented to me since, but this one having already been used in my buildings and in an infinite number of other things, I have not deemed appropriate to change it.

— Louis XIV, 1662.[1]

Origin and use

[edit]

The first use of the motto and symbol is usually given as the great Carrousel of 1662, in what is now the Place du Carrousel, to celebrate the birth of his son Louis, the Dauphin.[6] However, the motto appeared as early as 1658 on a medal.[2] Voltaire attributes the motto and emblem to Louis Douvrier, who derived them from a device of Philip II of Spain, of whom it was said the sun never set on his dominions.[4] Polemicists in the Spanish Netherlands pointed out the unoriginal nature of the symbol.[4] Louis XIV himself was not enamoured of it, but it proved popular with the public and so he tolerated it.[4][5]

The motto and sun-king device appeared on many buildings, as well as on cannons. The classical de Vallière guns in particular bear the motto and the symbol, even for those founded long after Louis XIV's death.

Many of Louis' subordinates adopted emblems and mottos playing off those of the sovereign. César de Beaufort, Admiral of France, adopted a moon with motto Elle obéit au soleil et commande aux flots ("It obeys the sun and commands the waves"); Duc de Sully adopted a burning-mirror with motto Je brûle sous son regard ("I burn [under its gaze / at his command])".[9]

It is the motto of Ribét Academy, a private preparatory school in Los Angeles, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment of the 6th light armored brigade of the French Army and Muir College a public, English medium school for boys located in Uitenhage, South Africa.

It is also found on the coat of arms of Zvishavane in Zimbabwe.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b The palace of the sun: the Louvre of Louis XIV Robert W. Berger, p.15 [1]
  2. ^ a b Berger, Robert W. (1993). The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV. Penn State Press. p. 15, fn.22. ISBN 0-271-00847-4.
  3. ^ a b Riley, Philip F. (2001). A lust for virtue: Louis XIV's attack on sin in seventeenth-century France. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 25. ISBN 0-313-31708-9.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Tiedeman, H. (29 February 1868). "The French King's Device: "Nec Pluribus Impar" (3rd Ser. xii. 502)". Notes and Queries: 203–4. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
  5. ^ a b c Louis XIV (1970) [1662]. Louis xiv King of France and of Navarre : Memoires for the instruction of the Dauphin. introduction, translation, and notes by Paul Sonnino. New York: Free Press. p. 104. OCLC 254475643.; quoted in Berger.
  6. ^ a b Martin, Henri (1865). "Vol 1, Chp 4". The Age of Louis XIV. Martin's History of France. Vol. Part VII. Translated by Mary Louise Booth. Boston: Walker, Wise and co. p. 149, fn.1. OCLC 1844549. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  7. ^ Martin, John Rupert (1977). Baroque. Harper & Row. p. 242. ISBN 0-06-435332-X.
  8. ^ Bercé, Yves-Marie (2005). Louis XIV (in French). Le Cavalier Bleu. p. 5. ISBN 2-84670-122-9.
  9. ^ Millington, Ellen J. (1858). Heraldry in history, poetry, and romance. London: Chapman and Hall. p. 309. Nec Pluribus Impar.
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