Dum spiro spero

Dum spiro spero means "While I breathe, I hope"^[1] in Latin and is a modern paraphrase of ideas that survive in two ancient writers, Theocritus^[2] and Cicero.^[3]

It is a motto of various places, families, and organizations.

States and towns

• The notable origin of the motto is St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Its attribution to Saint Andrew and his bones being taken to this small fishing village on the North Sea, contributed to its direct linkage between the saying, the town, the University of St Andrews and the Saint.
• It is also the state motto of South Carolina, first used in 1777.^[4] On March 26, 1776, the Provincial Congress of South Carolina set up an independent government, and the motto formed a part of official great seal.
• Dum Spiro Spero was the kingdom motto for the Kingdom of Sarawak.
• Dum Spiro Spero is the motto of the Principality of Hutt River, and appears on their coat of arms.
• Dum Spiro Spero is the motto of Cothill House Preparatory School in Oxfordshire, England.
• Dum Spiro Spero is the motto of Burstow Park House, in Surrey England and also appears on their coat of arms.
• Dum Spiro Spero is inscribed above door of Nymans House, West Sussex, England, old home of the Messel family now a National Trust property and gardens.
• Dum Spiro Spero is inscribed on medallions marking the Barbary Coast Trail in San Francisco, California^[5]

Families

Dum spiro spero is the family motto of numerous families worldwide, including:

• The Dearden Family
• The Clan MacLennan
• The Olphert family (Ballyconnell, Ireland) The motto and the family coat of arms is still visible above the door at Ballyconnell House, Donegal.^[6]
• The Dillon family (Ireland).
• The Bransom family (England), Now USA
• The Asscoti or Ascotti family^[7]
• The Baker family (Derbyshire, England)^[7]
• The Banantyne family (Derbyshire, England)^[8]
• The Bussell family (Cambridgeshire, England
• The Chitty family (Sussex)
• The Colquhoun family (Dunyelder, Scotland)^[8]
• The Corbet(t) family (Ireland)
• The Coriton family (England)^[8]
• The Cotter family (Ireland), Now New Zealand
• The Dewsbury family (England), Now USA
• The Dillon family (England)^[8]
• The Elphdick family (Sussex, England)^[8]
• The Everitt family (Kent, England)^[8]
• The Floryanski family (Kraków, Poland)
• The Gahan family (Ireland)
• The De Garis family (Guernsey). The family crest surmounts a window (with the motto in Latin) at St. Saviour's Church in Western Parishes, Guernsey.^[9]
• The Gaunt family (Kent, England)^[7][8]
• The Gaunt family (Staffordshire, England)^[8]
• The Glazebrook family (Lancashire, England)^[7]
• The Golledge Family (Ireland), Now USA
• The Herring Family (England)
• The Hoare Family (England)
• The Hodgkinson Family (England)
• The Hunter family (Perth, Scotland)^[7]
• The Ingram family (England)
• The Lange Family (Britain 972/Glamorganshire 1070/Germany mid Century)
• The Lomas family(England)
• The Mason family (Normandy)
• The Morgan family (Wales)
• The Nelson-Smith family (Surrey)
• The Oulton family (Cheshire)
• The Pearson family (Forfarshire, Scotland)^[7]
• The Pount family (Scotland)^[8]
• The Quenzer Family (Germany)
• The Roberts family (Kent, England)^[7]
• The Rylands family (Cheshire, England)^[7]
• The Sharp family (Tyne and Wear, England)
• The Snowden family (Yorkshire, England)
• The Sparks family (Faraham Parish Hampshire, England) now USA
• The Spearman family (Shropshire & Durham, England)^[7]
• The Staunton family (Gloucestershire, England)^[7]
• The Standard family (Bedfordshire, England)
• The Storer Family
• The Symonds family (Bedfordshire, England)
• The Vellathingal family (Trissur, India)
• The Walsh family (County Clare, Ireland)
• The Williamson Clan (Irish)
• The Whitworth family (Durham, England)
• The Whitehead family
• The Thompson Clan (Irish)
• The Young family - displayed st Stanhiil Court, Surrey, in the stained glass window showing the Family Arms of William Young (Deputy Chairman and co-founder of Lloyd's of London)

Other noted individuals who used this motto:

• Sir James Laurence Cotter, Baronet (Co. Cork, Ireland)^[7]
• Dr T.G. Dillon (Roscommon, Ireland)^[7]
• Vicount Dillon of Costello Gallen (Co. Sligo, Ireland)^[7]
• Charles Hunter, Esquire (Anglesey, Wales)^[7]
• Henry Thomas Partridge (Norfolk, England)^[7]
• Sir Owen Roberts (London, England)^[7]
• William James Sandford - Thompson, J.P (Montrose, Scotland)^[7]
• Captain Alfred Ernest Speer, Esquire (Surrey, England)^[7]
• General Sir Edward Stanton (Gloucestershire, England)^[7]
• John Walsh, Esquire (Kilkenny, Ireland)^[7]
• The Wenzel Family (Germany)
• Christopher Leich (Arlington)

Organizations

Czech Army's 601st Special Forces Group, based in Prostějov, adopted "Dum spiro spero" as its motto.^[10]

References

1. "dum spiro, spero". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
2. Idylls 4, Line 42: ἐλπίδες ἐν ζωοῖσιν, ἀνέλπιστοι δὲ θανόντες.
3. Letters to Atticus Book 9, Letter 10, Section 3: dum anima est, spes esse dicitur
4. SCIWAY "South Carolina State Seal and South Carolina State Mottos". South Carolina Information Highway. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
5. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Survival-tips-for-life-on-the-Barbary-Coast-6690198.php#photo-7381306
6. "Stair an Fál Carrach". An Fál Carrach. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
7. Fairbairn, James (1905). Fairbairn's Book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland. London : T. C. & E. C. Jack.
8. Deuchar, Alexander (1817). British crests : containing the crests and mottos of the families of Great Britain and Ireland; together with those of the principal cities; and a glossary of heraldic terms (volume 2). Edinburgh : Kirkwood & Son.
9. Craske, L.G.H. "The Stained Glass Windows of St Saviour’s Parish Church, Guernsey". St Saviour's Church. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
10. 601skss

External links

• Quotations related to Theocritus at Wikiquote
• Quotations related to Cicero at Wikiquote
• The dictionary definition of hope springs eternal at Wiktionary