# "Not for Ourselves Alone" in Greek



## seekerofspace

Hi:

I am trying to find the Greek text for "Not for Ourselves Alone"  The Latin equivalent is Non Nobis Solum.

I'd like to apologize in advance if this is the wrong place to post this, I just wasn't sure where else to start.  If I am in the wrong, please do point me in the right direction.

I need the Greek text for the motto on this crest (photo posted below), to my knowledge, it is supposed to mean "Not for Ourselves Alone".  I need it because I have to e-mail it to the company that will produce badges of the crest.




Many thanks!


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## ireney

Hello seekerofspace,

Modern Greek or ancient classical Greek?


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## seekerofspace

Thanks for the response.  I am not sure which one it is.  Is the Greek in the motto ancient or modern?  I forgot to mention in my original post that I have no knowledge of Greek.


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## shawnee

seekerofspace said:


> ............  I forgot to mention in my original post that I have no knowledge of Greek.


..... Nor did the original writer of your  motto unfortunately. I'm sorry, could'nt resist. Yes, It is a poor attempt to trascribe the Latin into Greek using a clumsy _ipsilon_ that looks more like a battered casserole than the intended 'ν'. I will leave the finer work of suggesting a good Greek equivalent to better minds than mine.


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## Tassos

Όχι μόνο για τους εαυτούς μας
Όχι μόνο για μας
Όχι για μας μόνο
All acceptable, modern Greek translations. The first is more formal the second and third more colloquial.


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## Nikolaos_Kandidatos

Hi everyone,
I discovered Wikipedia has an entry for this motto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_nobis_solum. Apparently it's a quote from the Roman writer Cicero, who himself states it is an approximate translation from a letter of none other than Plato. The full Ancient Greek text from Plato goes as follows: ἕκαστος ἡμῶν οὐχ αὑτῷ μόνον γέγονεν, literally meaning "each of us is born (or exists) not for himself only". So, if you need the exact ancient original, the part corresponding to the Latin motto would probably be "ἕκαστος ἡμῶν οὐχ αὑτῷ μόνον", literally "Each of us not for himself alone".


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## seekerofspace

Nikolaos_Kandidatos said:


> Hi everyone,
> I discovered Wikipedia has an entry for this motto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_nobis_solum. Apparently it's a quote from the Roman writer Cicero, who himself states it is an approximate translation from a letter of none other than Plato. The full Ancient Greek text from Plato goes as follows: ἕκαστος ἡμῶν οὐχ αὑτῷ μόνον γέγονεν, literally meaning "each of us is born (or exists) not for himself only". So, if you need the exact ancient original, the part corresponding to the Latin motto would probably be "ἕκαστος ἡμῶν οὐχ αὑτῷ μόνον", literally "Each of us not for himself alone".



Thank you for the enlightening and informative response!


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