Motto
The school's motto, Porta Vacat Culpa ("the gate is free from blame"), is a quotation from Ovid's Fasti. 'The gate' (Porta) refers to the school's famous arch and, by a synecdoche of pars pro toto, the school itself, whilst also being a pun on the name of the school's founder, Sir John Port. It is an unusual motto for a public school in that it does not form an exhortation to, or a claim of, virtue or excellence but seems rather to act as a disclaimer: the school cannot be held responsible for the shortcomings of those educated there.
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Famous quotes containing the word motto:
“My friend devotes himself to his life, whenever he can find the spare time. His motto is: ‘Don’t just sit there: live!’ So he’s too busy to stand, to walk, to do anything, except to live. He even refused to kiss a girl, when invited, on the grounds that it was time again to be living. Schedules are sacred to him.”
—Marvin Cohen, U.S. author and humorist. The Self-Devoted Friend, New Directions (1967)
“I always say, my motto is “Art for my sake.” If I want to write, I write—and if I don’t want to, I won’t. The difficulty is to find exactly the form one’s passion—work is produced by passion with me ... Mwants to take.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“My motto is: “Lord I disbelieve—help thou my unbelief.””
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)