Eadem mutata resurgo

Eadem mutata resurgo is a Latin phrase that literally translates to "Although changed, I arise the same".

Background

The word-for-word translation of the phrase is

"Same having-changed I-rise".
Eadem mutata resurgo.

The sense is better rendered in English as "I rise again changed but the same".

Jakob Bernoulli's tombstone
A "seahorse tail" section from the Mandelbrot set that follows a logarithmic spiral's shape.

The phrase was first known to be used by Jakob Bernoulli (1654-1705), a member of the famous Swiss mathematical family. He had studied logarithmic spirals during his life and directed for a spiral and the motto to appear on his tombstone in Basel. Bernoulli was referring to the fact that the logarithmic spirals are self-similar, meaning that upon applying any similarity transformation to the spiral, the resulting spiral is congruent to the original untransformed one.[1]

The logarithmic spiral frequently appears in biology, such as with the curves of the Nautilus shell.[1]

College motto

The College of St Hild and St Bede at the University of Durham adopted this phrase for its motto; it hangs in the Vernon Arms (the Vern). [2]

It is also used as the motto of the Collège de 'pataphysique.[3]

References
  1. Maor, E. (2009). E: The story of a number. Princeton University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-691-14134-7.
  2. The College of St. Hild and St. Bede (PDF) (college description). 2008–2009 University Calendar. Vol. I. Durham, UK: Durham University. 21 October 2008.
  3. "Collège de 'pataphysique collection". mtholyoke.edu.
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