Esse quam videri


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

History

Esse quam videri is found in Cicero's essay On Friendship. Virtute enim ipsa non tam multi praediti esse quam videri volunt.
Just a few years after Cicero, Sallust used the phrase in his Bellum Catilinae, writing that Cato the Younger esse quam videri bonus malebat.
Previous to both Romans, Aeschylus used a similar phrase in Seven Against Thebes at, at which the scout says of the seer/priest Amphiaraus: οὐ γὰρ δοκεῖν ἄριστος, ἀλλ᾽ εἶναι θέλει. Plato quoted this line in Republic.

Usage as a motto

North Carolina

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

Schools and colleges

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

Sororities

Esse quam videri is the motto of the following sororities:

Fraternities

Esse quam videri is the motto of the following fraternities:

Families

The Wallenberg family.

Sporting organisations

  • Kingswood Rugby Football Club, Bristol, UK, use a variant 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.
  • Outcast Cyclists, U.K. and worldwide use Esse Quam Videri as their club motto.

Companies

Other organizations

Esse quam videri is also the motto of

Popular culture

Television personality Stephen Colbert inverted 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. He has cited it as his personal motto.