Nec temere, nec timide is a Latin phrase that translates to 'Neither rashly nor timidly'. Its exact origin is unknown although Aristotle in Ethica Nicomachea , Book III, mentions, along with other examples, that the virtuous man is not temerarious nor timorous, but courageous. [1] It is best known as the motto of the Dano-Norwegian naval hero Niels Juel, who supposedly used it first at the dawn of July 1, 1677, just before the Battle of Køge Bay.
The phrase has, been used as a motto by armigerous families Bent, Buckley and Sherbourne, as well as individuals including the Williams-Bulkeley baronets and Charles Western, 1st Baron Western. [2]
Today, it is used as a motto by various institutions, including:
- The Royal Danish Naval Academy
- The former English borough of Oswestry, in Shropshire [3]
- The Dutch air assault brigade 11th Airmobile Brigade (Netherlands).
- Appleby College
- Cottrell Old Yankee Ale [4]
- The Michigan Exploration Laboratory [5]
- The Royal Quebec Golf Club
- The Bulkeley Hotel, Beaumaris
- National Paramount Services, LLP, [6] US
- The city of Gdańsk
- Free City of Danzig, 1920–1939
- Free City of Danzig Government in Exile
