Pro Aris et Focis is a Latin phrase used as the motto of many families and military regiments, as well as being one of the mottoes of Bristol University.
Meaning "For God and country" or literally "for our altars and our hearths", but is used by ancient authors to express attachment to all that was most dear and venerable. It could be more idiomatically translated "for hearth and home". Thus the famous Latin orator and philosopher Cicero uses the phrase to emphasize the importance of his argument in his philosophical work De Natura Deorum (3.40).[1]
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"Pro Aris et Focis" is the motto of many families such as the Waits of Scotland, and of military regiments all over the world, such as the Middlesex Yeomanry of Britain, the Royal Queensland Regiment of Australia and the Victoria Rifles of Canada.
"Pro Aris et Focis" is the name of a secret society in Brussels in 1789 which prepared the Brabant Revolution against the Austrian Emperor. The leading figure was Jan-Baptist Verlooy.
"For God and country" is the motto of the American Legion.[2]
"Pro Aris et Focis" is the motto for "Academia San Jorge," a Puerto Rico PK-12 school. The motto is embedded in the school's shield and logo. The school is located in Santurce, Puerto Rico.
"Pro Aris et Focis" is the motto for 'Maritzburg College, a high school in South Africa, and the motto is embedded in the school's shield.
"Pro Aris et PRO Focis" was the motto of the 71st New York State Volunteers, "The American Guard", which was formed not long before the Civil War and saw service in that War, and down to almost the present time. Its HQ was in the old Armory at 34th and Park Avenue in New York City. The building no longer stands, but plaque parts of its original structure have been incorporated into the walls of the skyscraper that presently occupies the site.
The phrase "For God and country" was used as a confirmation signal during the Navy Seal mission to kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.
On his radio, the SEAL responbile for shooting Bin Laden reported over the radio, “For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo.” After a pause, he added, “Geronimo E.K.I.A.”—“enemy killed in action.”