Pro Aris et Focis
Encyclopedia
Pro Aris et Focis is a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 phrase used as the motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

 of many families and military regiments, as well as being one of the mottoes of Bristol University.

Meaning "For God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 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
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

 uses the phrase to emphasize the importance of his argument in his philosophical work De Natura Deorum
De Natura Deorum
De Natura Deorum is a philosophical dialogue by Roman orator Cicero written in 45 BC. It is laid out in three "books", each of which discuss the theology of different Roman and Greek philosophers...

(3.40).

Family motto

"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
Middlesex Yeomanry
The 47 Signal Squadron is a unit of the Royal Corps of Signals within the British Territorial Army.During the Napoleonic Wars that the Gentlemen of Uxbridge sought permission from the Government to form a Military Association to maintain law and order when the Regular Forces were sent to the coast...

 of Britain, the Royal Queensland Regiment
Royal Queensland Regiment
The Royal Queensland Regiment is a reserve light infantry formation in the Australian Army based in Queensland.-Current Structure:The regiment currently consists of three battalions:*9th Battalion *25th/49th Battalion...

 of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and the Victoria Rifles of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Secret society

"Pro Aris et Focis" is the name of a secret society in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 in 1789 which prepared the Brabant Revolution
Brabant Revolution
The Brabant Revolution took place between January 1789 and December 1790, when a popular revolt broke in the Austrian Netherlands against the unpopular reforms of the Emperor Joseph II...

 against the Austrian Emperor. The leading figure was Jan-Baptist Verlooy
Jan-Baptist Verlooy
Jan-Baptist Chrysostomus Verlooy was a jurist and politician from the Southern Netherlands.-Childhood and descent:...

.

Motto of Institutions

"For God and country" is the motto of the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...

.

"Pro Aris et Focis" is the motto for "Academia San Jorge
Academia San Jorge
Academia San Jorge is a private, Roman Catholic school in San Juan, Puerto Rico founded in 1925 by Rev. Msgr. José M. Rivera as a parochial school with 53 students from grades K–3. Shortly after, the school started construction on the first building, which still exists today, and added grades 4-12...

," 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.

Osama Bin Laden Killing

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.”
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