Esse quam videri

Esse quam videri is a Latin phrase meaning "To be, rather than to seem" (to be). It has been used as a motto by a number of different groups.

"Esse Quam Videri" plaque on monument to Revolutionary War officer Joseph Winston, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Greensboro, North Carolina

History

Esse quam videri is found in Cicero's essay "On Friendship" ("De amicitia", chapter 98). "Virtute enim ipsa non tam multi praediti esse quam videri volunt" (Few are those who wish to be endowed with virtue rather than to seem so).

Just a few years after Cicero, Sallust used the phrase in his Bellum Catilinae (54.6), writing that Cato the Younger "esse quam videri bonus malebat" (He preferred to be good rather than to seem so).

Previous to both Romans, Aeschylus used a similar phrase in Seven Against Thebes at line 592, at which the scout (angelos) says of the seer/priest Amphiaraos: "ou gar dokein aristos, all' einai theile" (his resolve is not to seem the best but in fact to be the best). Plato quoted this line in Republic (361b).

Niccolò Machiavelli reversed the phrase to videri quam esse (to seem rather than to be).

Usage as a motto

North Carolina

Great Seal of North Carolina with the state motto esse quam videri.

Esse quam videri is the state motto of North Carolina, adopted in 1893.

Schools and Colleges

Esse quam videri is (or was) the motto of a number of schools and colleges around the world, including:

• Academy at the Lakes, Land O Lakes, Florida
• Academy of the Holy Names Tampa, Florida
• Accra Academy High School Accra, Ghana
• Albert Academy Freetown, Sierra Leone
• Amarillo High School Amarillo, Texas
• S. Anselm's Preparatory School Bakewell, England
• Appalachian State University (1899) Boone, North Carolina, USA
• Ashford School (1899) Ashford, Kent, England
• Ashville College (1877) Harrogate, England
• Augusta Preparatory Day School (1972) Augusta, Georgia, USA
• Beaconsfield Primary School (1883) Tasmania, Australia
• Bedford College, University of London until c.1990, when Bedford and Royal Holloway Colleges merged and it became the motto of the joint college
• Ben Franklin Academy (1987) Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Bennett, Instituto Metodista, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Berklee College of Music Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Boys' Latin School of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
• Brigham Young University Men's Chorus, Provo, Utah, USA
• Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
• University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK, USA
• Cégep du Vieux-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
• Central Technology College,Gloucester England.
• Chania Boys High School, Thika, Kenya.
• Clifton House Preparatory School Harrogate, England
• The Colleton Primary School, Twyford, Berkshire, UK.
• Colyton Grammar School (1546) Colyford, England
• Columbia College Chicago (1890) Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Connells Point Public School, Sydney, Australia.
• Cranbrook School Sydney (1918), Sydney, Australia.
• Desert Heights Preparatory Academy, Glendale, Arizona
• Darwin High School, Darwin, Australia.
• Dubbo High School, Australia
• Edwards Hall College, Newcastle, Australia
• The Ellis School, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
• Ellis Robins High School, Harare, Zimbabwe
• Esquimalt High School, Esquimalt, BC, Canada
• The Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA
• Fayetteville Technical Community College, North Carolina, USA
• The Forest School Winnersh, Wokingham, Berkshire, UK
• Friarwood Ltd, London, England
• Garrison Forest School for Girls (1910) Owings Mills, Maryland, USA
• St. George School, Havana, Cuba
• Groton School (1884), Groton, Massachusetts, USA. The motto changed to "Cui Servire est Regnare" shortly after the school's founding.
• The Hermitage School (1906), Geelong, Australia which has subsequently become that of The Hermitage House, Geelong Grammar School.
• Hampden DuBose Academy, Zellwood, Florida, USA
• Hartford Public High School, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
• Highsted Grammar School, Sittingbourne, Kent, England
• Hillside Secondary School, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Homewood School, Tenterden, Kent, England
• Hudson Catholic High School, Hudson, Massachusetts
• The Hemel Hempstead School, (1931), Hemel Hempstead, England.
• The Ellis School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
• Irving High School, Irving, Texas, USA
• Instituto Metodista Bennett (1888) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• JMA Armstrong High School, Salisbury, New Brunswick, Canada
• John Caldwell School, Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada
• The King's College, NY (House of Susan B. Anthony)
• KIPP Houston High School, Houston, Texas, USA
• Kingsbury Grammar School, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK
• Kingsfield Grammar School, Kingswood, Bristol, UK in the form 'Esse non videri'
• Kingsley School, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England
• Kutama College Norton, Zimbabwe
• Lane College, Jackson, Tennessee, USA
• Leicester High School(1962)The last graduating class before changing to Leicester Elementary School, Leicester, NC, USA.
• Littlemead (Grammar) School, Oving, Chichester, Sussex, England. School dated from mid 60s in Chichester, then moved to Oving in 1974 and finally closed in the mid/late '90s due to retirement of Ivan Bowler
• Magee Secondary School, Vancouver, BC, Canada
• Miami Coral Park Senior High School, Miami, Florida, USA
• Montreat College, Montreat N.C.
• Moravian Academy Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA current motto is "mind, body, spirit",
• The Mount School, Mill Hill. London, United Kingdom.
• National University of Health Sciences, Lombard, IL (previously National Chiropractic College)
• New Orleans Academy, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
• North Adelaide Primary School, (1877), Adelaide, Australia
• Peace College, (1857), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
• Priory Heath Primary School
• Providence Christian School of Texas, (1989), Dallas, Texas, USA
• Queen's College, Queenstown, South Africa
• Regent's University London, United Kingdom
• Rhodesway School, (1958), Bradford, UK
• Rockridge Secondary School, West Vancouver, B.C., Canada
• Rossholme Girl's School, East Brent, Somerset, England
• Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK
• Salisbury School, Salisbury, Connecticut, USA
• Scott Park Secondary School (1967) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
• Selaiyur Hall, Madras Christian College, Chennai, India
• Seton Hall High School in Patchogue, New York, United States
• Southampton Grammar School for Girls Southampton, UK
• St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, New York, United States.
• St. Malachy's Memorial High School in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
• St. Patrick's High School in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
• St. Peter's School in Mazagaon, Mumbai, India
• St Thomas à Becket Catholic College in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
• Streetsville Secondary School, Streetsville, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut, USA.
• The Taieri High School, Mosgiel, Otago, NZ
• Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy (1999–Present), Rutherford County, NC.
• Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, TN
• Truro School, (1880–present), Truro, Cornwall, UK
• Boys' Latin School of Maryland (1844), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte (1946), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
• University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida
• Villa Devoto School, (1908) Buenos Aires, Argentina
• War Academy of Chilean Army, Santiago. Chile
• Wavell State High School Brisbane, Australia
• St Audries School, West Quantoxhead, Taunton, Somerset, England (since closed and now a hotel)
• Woodward Career Technical High School, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (Formerly Woodward High School) (Alma mater of the 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft)
• Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School, Wyomissing, PA, USA
• Yeovil School, Yeovil, Somerset, UK
• St. Clare's College, Colombo 6, Sri Lanka
• Chania Boys High School, Thika, Kenya
• Villa Devoto School, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sororities

Esse quam videri is the motto of the following sororities:

• Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, founded in 1917 at New York University Law School.
• House of Susan B. Anthony, founded exclusively at The King's College NYC.
• Phi Delta Alpha, founded in 2002 at University of Oklahoma
• Alpha Chi Lambda, founded in 1998 at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.
• Lambda Kappa Sigma, founded in 1913 at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.

Fraternities

Esse quam videri is the motto of the following fraternities:

• Phi Lambda Sigma, Lebanon Valley College, est. 1867.
• Alpha Pi Alpha, SUNY Albany, 1952 through 1987.
• Epsilon Kappa Delta, Florida Institute of Technology, 1968 through 1972.
• Archons, Kenyon College
• Phi Beta, founded 1912
• Phi Gamma Nu, National Professional Fraternity in Business, est. Northwestern University 1924.
• Nu Kappa Phi, Est. 1952 - University of Nueva Caceres, Naga City, Philippines
• Edwards Hall, University of Newcastle, Australia, est. 1972

Sporting organisations

• Kingswood Rugby Football Club, Bristol, UK, use a variant of the motto, "Esse Non Videri" as their club motto.
• White Wolves MC, Oradea, RO, use a variant of the motto, "Esse Quam Videri Malim" as their club motto.

Companies

• Brepols Publishers, as found on their older books: "Melius esse quam videri"
• Swire Group
• EQV (UK) Ltd, A computer and management training company, who are based in Leicestershire, UK.
• The phrase is found on the Sibley Mill along the Augusta Canal in Augusta, Georgia. The structure was completed in 1882 and operated until 2006.
• Raleigh Denim, based in Raleigh, North Carolina

Families

Esse quam videri is the motto used on the coats of arms of the following families: Acraman, Adams, Allies, Bakewell, Barnard, Bayer, Beadon, Bonham, Bostock, Bourne, Bowen, Bowne, Breamore, Brownlee, Brownlow, Cady, Cambria, Cavallaro, Roy Clarke, Clavering, Cook, Coutts, Crawley, Creer, Croft, Crofts, Dickinson, Downes, Frank, Harmer, Halliday, Hamill (Ó hAdhmaill, Ó hAghmaill, Hammill), Hannum, Henshaw, Hood, Houk, Isserman, Ivey, Lee, Longley, McManners, Manning, Mannion, Maxson, Miles, Miller zu Aichholz, Mochrie, Moorman, Morrisset, van Oijen family coat of arms, Oglethorpe, Panon-Desbassayns de Richemont, Planta, Proud, Partridge family coat of arms, see A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of England..., Volume 2 By Sir Bernard Burke, Pickard-Cambridge, Pridgen, Renshaw, Reynes, Round (Essex County), Rowe, Seward, Shreeve, Sherriff, Sibley, Sturges, Swire, Strickland, Thurston, Thruston, Turner, Tyler, Vorsatz, Walmsley, Womack and Woodgate.

It was also the motto used within the Brockman coat of arms circa 1700 as well as the Polish Urbanowicz coat of arms.

Other organizations

Esse quam videri is also the motto of

• the 309th US Infantry Regiment.
• the honor society The Order of Scroll and Key at Dickinson College.
• The National Honor & Merit Scholars Society.
• the Carolina Wilderness EMS Externship, a wilderness EMS training program based in western North Carolina.
• the Brigham Young University Men's Chorus.
• custom motorcycle shop FTW CYCLES, and is often seen on their t-shirts, flyers and other promotional material.
• the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew, 19 of which died in the Yarnell Hill fire in Yarnell, Arizona on June 30, 2013.
• the 2013's USA U23 Women's Ultimate Frisbee team that won gold at the World Flying Disc Federation Under-23 Ultimate Championships which were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 22–28, 2013.* No. 77 Squadron RAF (active during three periods between 1916 and 1963) used the variant, Esse potius quam videri with the same meaning.

Popular culture

Television personality Stephen Colbert inverts the statement on his show The Colbert Report to Videri Quam Esse, meaning "to seem to be rather than to be." It is also engraved across the faux hearth, above the video fireplace, in his studio, under his portrait.