inspired by mav, who declaims we don' need no stinkin' motto - we will NEVER agree on just one (and then repeats his plaint about our disunity in another thread!), herewith is a thread for All the [wordy] Mottoes in the Universe (as we know it).

here are some previous attempts:

All language reflects the prejudices of the society in which it evolved.
-- Casey Miller

Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes, and thanks to words, we have sunk to the level of the demons.
-- Aldous Huxley

For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies have only to find it.
-- Ambrose Bierce

We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.
-- Toni Morrison

Words are loaded pistols.
-- Jean-Paul Sarte

We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.
-- Toni Morrison

Seems to be the only one (aside from inevitable death) that speaks of measurement, yet doesn't conclude from it!

I don't suppose Honi soit qui mal y pense would be appropriate...?

Honi soit qui mal y pense

Definitely! Apart from being very euphonious, I love the sentiment, and use that phrase often, even though I seldom wear garters.

For mottos: I'm partial to Mason Williams:

To be poetic is to bare one's soul
To show all of the holes and patches
Go ahead and step on it
Give it a kick and a Ha-Ha...
It'll make it tough.

and Garrison Keillor:

Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.

shoshannah

Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.

Sage, undoubtedly, but I confess to preferring my mottoes to be a little more on the pithy side. Working my way through the above put me in mind of a labrynthine 'compliment' from The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, to wit, "That young girl is one of the least benightedly unintelligent life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting."

One day riding my bike to save ten cents carfare on my way to classes , I went down a long hill at 40mph past a church that had a glassed in bulletin board for inspirational quotations. Out of the corner of my eye, in a split second I read a motto I have never been able to forget.

Cheating is a confession of inferiority which I do not choose to make.

Alas, I am not sure of the author, but I think it was Booker T. Washington, a noted educator of over a hundred years ago. I have searched the Internet in vain. If anyone knows the author, please let me know.

Nice, Max. I prefer the famous phrase "Don't Panic". The next one I like is a bit long winded, so not good for a motto, is "Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effentively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation" from the article on (obviously) Babel fish.
jimthedog

"All for Words and Words for all"

wow

Yep, "don't Panic" is a good one. My personal motto would be closer to "Share and Enjoy", but I havw always loved the theological argument using the babelfish to prove the non-existence of God.
"Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything
so mindboggingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that
some thinkers have chosen to see it as the final and clinching
proof of the non-existence of God.

"The argument goes something like this: `I refuse to prove that I
exist,' says God, `for proof denies faith, and without faith I am
nothing.'

"`But,' says Man, `The Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it?
It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so
therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED.'

"`Oh dear,' says God, `I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly
vanished in a puff of logic.

"`Oh, that was easy,' says Man, and for an encore goes on to
prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next
zebra crossing.

"Remember your towel" is my personal favorite. Well anyway, a motto, hmmm... "They spell it Vinci and pronounce it Vinchy; foreigners always spell better than they pronounce." -Mark Twain

-Scott

That is good. Have you read God's final message to His creatures, from "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish"? "We are sorry for the inconveniance." That's only part of the joke. Every letter except for the is seperated by commentary so you have to work out what it says. It also happens to be the only thing Marvin is happy about!!!!!


jimthedog

Yes, I have read that. I have read at least a tiny exerpt of each book in the Hitchhiker's series.

-Scott

I say our motto should be something by either Douglas Adams or Mark Twain. Here's another good one: "Classic" A book that people praise and don't read. -Twain

-Scott

his plaint about our disunity in another thread

No, not me, guv! One of the main things about this board I cherish is the lack of agreement – it has helped underline for me the extraordinary strength achieved through diversity. Babel save us all from the TRUTH – people down through the ages have taken their particular brand of this madness as a good excuse for a bonfire…

So, Max, add me to the queue for auto da fe behind Jackie

But I know, tsuwm – that was really just a good excuse to resurrect a bit of Middle English, wasn’t it?! I love all of these quotes - so shall be completely undecided when it comes to determine the TRUTH about which we should consign to history.

Babel save us all from the TRUTH – people down through the ages have taken their particular brand of this madness as a good excuse for a bonfire…

Absolutely, but at least some of such people chose to be burned rather than do the burning.

One more Motto suggestion from me - from one of my favorite poets:

When old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart;
and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders.
-Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
(poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate)


I use it as my 'signature' on regular e-mail... and sometimes get some interesting comments from it's inclusion!

Shoshannah

Here's my suggestion for a motto:

IMPENETRABILITAS

This is the background for it. (I hope you enjoy meeting up with this again as much as I did):

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words to mean so many different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."
...

"Impenetrability! That's what I say!"

"Would you tell me please," said Alice, "what that means?"

"Now you talk like a reasonable child," said Humpty Dumpty, looking very much pleased. "I meant by 'impenetrability' that we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life."

In reply to:

---

Here's my suggestion for a motto:

IMPENETRABILITAS

This is the background for it. (I hope you enjoy meeting up with this again as much as I did):

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."

---

Given the context, perhaps Humpty's definition of "glory" would be equally apt for a motto here.

How about a bit of a variation on the family motto that appears on our coat of arms...

Family and friends, first, forever and always.

Okay - I do have another one, brought to mind by BelM's mention of her family coat of arms - the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina has this on it's face:

Esse Quam Videri

I think it's a good motto for everyone!

Shoshannah