Esto perpetua
Esto perpetua (Latin "Let it be eternal") is the state motto of Idaho. The motto appears on the back of the 2007 Idaho quarter.
The words are traced back to the Venetian theologian and mathematician Paolo Sarpi (1552–1623), also known as Fra Paolo. The day before his death he had dictated three replies to questions on affairs of state, and his last words were "Esto perpetua" reportedly in reference to his beloved Venice and translated as "Mayest thou endure forever!" When the designer of the state seal Emma Edwards Green described the motto on the seal, she translated it as "It is perpetuated" or "It is forever".
The motto was also adopted by:
- HMS Tireless, Trafalgar Class Submarine Royal Navy
- The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a farm organization constituted in Washington D.C. on December 4, 1867
- The three S. Thomas' Schools in Sri Lanka: those in Mount Lavinia, Gurutalawa and Bandarawela, Sri Lanka, translated as "Be Thou Forever"
- The Pirates Rugby Football Club in Dunedin, New Zealand, which was formed in 1882
- The Sigma Phi Society
- The Club
- Chatham Hall School, Chatham, Virginia, translated as "She will live forever"
- The motto of Springs Boys' High School, Springs, South Africa. "Esto Perpetua" has been the school's motto since its doors first opened in 1940.
- The Winyah Indigo Society, Georgetown, S.C., incorporated 1754.
References
"Esto Perpetua" is also the motto of the four St. Thomas' Schools in Sri Lanka, including St. Thomas' College in Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka. " The school by the sea" as it's fondly known, along with its brother institutions in Gurutalawa, Kollpity, and Bandarawela are among the most prestigious & prominent private schools in Sri Lanka.