Nemo Me Impune Lacessit – Meaning Of This Latin Phrase
NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about the Latin phrase “Nemo me impune lacessit”.
It was the Latin motto of the Royal Stuart dynasty of Scotland. During the reign of Scottish king James VI, this appeared on the reverse side of merk coins that were minted in 1578 and 1580.
You can usually see this phrase in the story “The Cask of Amontillado“
Origin
Its possible origin might have been come from its legends, where the “guardian thistle” or Scotch thistle played an important role in Alexander III’s defense of Scotland’s ancient realm against a raiding party of Norwegian Vikings.
One or more raiders let out a yell of pain when stepping on a prickly thistle, alerting the Scouts. The “me” in the phrase refers to the thistle itself and gradually the Scottish regiments which have adopted it.
Translation
The phrase translates to “No one provokes me with impunity” or “No one can harm me unpunished” in the English language. This implies that whatever harm the assailant will bring to its target will eventually brought back to him, in certain cases, even much harsher than that.
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