Fortune favours the bold

Audentes Fortuna Iuvat and the variations thereof is a common Latin proverb, typically translated as "Fortune favours the bold", "Fortune favours the brave" etc.. It is widely used as a slogan throughout Western civilization and history to emphasize concepts of courage and bravery, such as within various military organizations, and it is used up to the present on the coats of arms of individual families and clans.

Allegory of Fortune, Salvator Rosa, 1685

Background

Fortune favours the bold is the translation of a Latin proverb, which exists in several forms with slightly different wording but effectively identical meaning, such as audentes Fortuna iuvat,[1] audentes Fortuna adiuvat, Fortuna audaces iuvat, and audentis Fortuna iuvat. This last form is used by Turnus, an antagonist in the Aeneid by Virgil.[2] Fortuna refers to luck or its personification, a Roman goddess.

Another version of the proverb, fortes Fortuna adiuvat, 'fortune favours the strong/brave', was used in Terence's 151 BC comedy play Phormio, line 203.[3] Ovid further parodies the phrase at I.608 of his didactic work, Ars Amatoria, writing "audentem Forsque Venusque iuvat" or "Venus, like Fortune, favors the bold."

Pliny the Younger quotes his uncle, Pliny the Elder, as using the phrase Fortes fortuna iuvat when deciding to take his fleet and investigate the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, in the hope of helping his friend Pomponianus: "'Fortes' inquit 'fortuna iuvat: Pomponianum pete.'" ("'Fortune', he said, 'favours the brave: head for Pomponianus.'")[4][5] Pliny the Elder ultimately died during the expedition.

The Latin phrase Fortuna Eruditis Favet ("fortune favours the prepared mind") is also used. Louis Pasteur, the French microbiologist and chemist, made this remark: "Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés", meaning "In the fields of observation, chance favours only the prepared mind."

The proverb may be a rewording of a line by Democritus that "boldness is the beginning of action, but fortune controls how it ends" (Ancient Greek: Τόλμα πρήξιος αρχή, τύχη δε τέλεος κυρίη, romanized: Tólma préxios arché, túche de téleos kuríe).

Historical examples

Poland

The motto is used by the 6th Airborne Brigade (Poland).

Australia

'Virtutis Fortuna Comes' (Fortune is the companion of virtue) is the Unit motto of the 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers; an Army Reserve unit based in Northern New South Wales (The Hunter River region, hence the name) and South-East Queensland.

Brazil

The motto for the GRUMEC (Brazilian navy's special group) and COMANDOS ANFÍBIOS (Brazilian Marines Special Operations group) is "Fortuna Audaces Sequitur" (Fortune follows the brave – A sorte acompanha os audazes).

Denmark

The quote "Fortes Fortuna Juvat" is used by the Jydske Dragonregiment, or Jutish Dragoon Regiment, in the Royal Danish Army.[6]

Italy

The quote "Audentes fortuna iuvat" appears in the University of Milano Bicocca logo.[7]

Malaysia

"Fortuna Eruditis Favet" is the motto of Sunway University and Sunway College.

Netherlands

The motto is used by the Cornielje family of The Netherlands alongside their coat of arms.[8]

New Zealand

The Wellington Regiment (City of Wellington's Own) adopted the badge of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment of the British Army, along with the motto of the Duke of Wellington "Virtutis Fortuna Comes" (see United Kingdom below). The Regiment's traditions are now carried on by Wellington Company, 5th / 7th Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. Also the motto of the Regular Force Cadets new Zealand

Portugal

The motto for the Portuguese Commandos is "Audaces Fortuna Juvat" (A sorte protege os Audazes).

Romania

"audaces fortuna juvat" is the motto of the Naval Special Operations Forces known as FNOS or GNFOS.

South Korea

Motto used by the 80th Fighter Squadron stationed at Kunsan AB, Republic of South Korea.

Sri Lanka

The Motto is used by the Special Boat Squadron (Sri Lanka).

United Kingdom

Because it was the motto of the Duke of Wellington, Earl of Mornington, Virtutis Fortuna Comes is used as the motto for the British Army's Yorkshire Regiment having been previously used by one of the Yorkshire's antecedent regiments, the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding [33rd/76th Foot]).[9] It is also the motto for Wellington College, Berkshire.[10]

A number of armigerous families use this motto, often featured on their coats of arms; these families include Clan MacKinnon,[11] Clan Turnbull,[12] and several Dickson families, including a number resident in Forfarshire, and the Dickson Barons Islington.[13]

The phrase was used as the motto of the Royal Air Force station based at East Fortune, in East Lothian. The base was operational in the First World War and between 1940 and 1947.[14]

It is the motto of the football club Linfield F.C. in Belfast.

It is also the motto of Liverpool John Moores University.[15]

The Latin equivalent "Fortuna audentes juvat" is used as the motto for the Turing family, dating back to 1316 AD.[16]

Ireland

The O'Flaherty clan has historically used the phrase "Fortuna Favet Fortibus" as a motto.[17]

The O'Keeffe family motto is “Forti et fideli nihil difficile” which translates as “For the brave and faithful, nothing is difficult”.[18]

The Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, also shared the motto "Virtutis Fortuna Comes".

United States

As "Fortes Fortuna Juvat",

"Fortuna Favet Fortibus" ("Fortune favors the brave")

"Audaces Fortuna Juvat"

"Fortes Fortuna Juvat"


"Audentes Fortuna Juvat"

"Fortuna favet audaci"

During the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America Army's 7th Alabama Cavalry displayed "Fortuna Favet Fortibus" on its flag.[22]

In 2021, Matt Damon appeared in an advertisement for Crypto.com encouraging investors using the proverb ("Fortune favors the bold") as a slogan. The advertisement was widely criticized, and it was frequently satirized by the animated series South Park, beginning in its twenty-fifth season.[23][24]

In the movies John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2, the title character bears a tattoo across his upper back reading "FORTIS FORTUNA ADIUVAT".

See also

References
  1. "Audentes fortuna juvat". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  2. "P. Vergilius Maro, Aeneid" (in Latin). Book 10, Line 284. Audentis Fortuna iuvat, Fortune will help the brave, Fortune befriends the bold
  3. "P. Terentius Afer (Terence), Phormios" (in Latin). Act 1, Scene 4, Line 25. Fortes fortuna adiuvat, fortune helps the brave
  4. "Pliny the Younger, Letters" (in Latin). Book 6, Letter 16, Line 11.
  5. "Translating Pliny's letters about Vesuvius, pt. 6. Fortune Favors the Brave". 1 January 2013.
  6. "Hæren Jydske Dragonregiment". forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  7. "Il nome e il logo". www.unimib.it (in Italian). 13 December 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  8. "cornielje.org".
  9. "The British Army – About the Regiment". army.mod.uk. The British Army. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  10. "Wellington College – The Wellington Identity". The British Army. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  11. "Clan MacKinnon Society". Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  12. "Turnbull Clan Association". Turnbullclan.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  13. The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Bernard Burke, Harrison & Sons, 1884, p. 285
  14. Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1st publish. ed.). London [u.a.]: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 86. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  15. "Homepage | Liverpool John Moores University". www.ljmu.ac.uk.
  16. Turing, Sara (2012). Alan M. Turing: Centenary Edition. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-02058-0.
  17. "Name History – The Chieftain Clan O'Flaithbheartaigh Kings and Queens of Connemara {english variants:O'Flaherty, Lafferty}". Laffertyhistory.webs.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  18. "O'Keeffe Clan – Motto". okeefeclan.org.
  19. "USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7)". United States Army Institute of Heraldry. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  20. "USS La Jolla (SSN 701)". public.navy.mil. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  21. "About our Namesake – John S. McCain". U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  22. "Flag: Rucker's Brigade (Carried by Co. F, 7th Alabama Cavalry)". alabama.gov.
  23. Spangler, Todd (15 June 2022). "Matt Damon Mocked Anew for 'Fortune Favors the Brave' Crypto Ad as Virtual Currency Values Crash". Variety. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  24. Lawes, Ruth (16 July 2022). "South Park rips into Matt Damon's cringey crypto currency advert". Metro.
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