''Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno'' is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

phrase that means ''One for all, all for one''. It is the unofficial

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

of Switzerland. The phrase describes the relation in monotheistic faiths. God is one
5 Moses 6:4
He is the God of all mankind, and He acts

The pattern "one for all" appears in verse 50 of John 11, where the high priest Caiaphas recognises "that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not". This attitude is taken up in the character of Arnold von Winkelried. A French version, ', was made famous by Alexandre Dumas in the 1844 novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...

''.

Early uses

In 1594,

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

uses it in his poem ''

The Rape of Lucrece ''The Rape of Lucrece'' (1594) is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare about the legendary Roman noblewoman Lucretia. In his previous narrative poem, '' Venus and Adonis'' (1593), Shakespeare had included a dedicatory letter to his patron, ...

'' to characterize people who take massive risks, including the poem's villainous rapist king,

Tarquin the Proud Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', I He is commonly known ...

: : The aim of all is but to nurse the life : With honour, wealth, and ease, in waning age; : And in this aim there is such thwarting strife, : That one for all, or all for one we gage; : As life for honour in fell battle's rage; : Honour for wealth; and oft that wealth doth cost : The death of all, and all together lost. Many of Shakespeare's contemporaries recognized him not for plays like ''Hamlet'' and ''Macbeth'', but poems like ''Lucrece'' and '' Venus and Adonis''. Thus, his use of it could have contributed to more widespread usage, since these poems were commercial successes in his time. In a meeting in 1618 between leaders of the Bohemian, Catholic, and Protestant communities, which resulted in the

third defenestration of Prague The Defenestrations of Prague ( cs, Pražská defenestrace, german: Prager Fenstersturz, la, Defenestratio Pragensis) were three incidents in the history of Bohemia in which people were defenestrated (thrown out of a window). Though already ex ...

, a representative of the Protestants read a letter affirming, "As they also absolutely intended to proceed with the execution against us, we came to an unanimous agreement among ourselves that, regardless of any loss of life and limb, honor and property, we would stand firm, with all for one and one for all... nor would we be subservient, but rather we would loyally help and protect each other to the utmost, against all difficulties."

''The Three Musketeers''

''Tous pour un, un pour tous'' (''All for one, and one for all'') is a

traditionally associated with the titular heroes of the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' written by Alexandre Dumas père, first published in 1844. In the novel, it was the motto of a group of French musketeers named

Athos Athos may refer to: Fictional or mythical characters * Athos (character), one of the title characters in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas père * Athos (mythology), one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology * Athos Fadiga ...

Porthos Porthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the othe ...

Aramis René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, A ...

and

d'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the ...

who stayed loyal to each other through thick and thin. On November 30, 2002, in an elaborate but solemn procession, six

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

s carried the coffin of Dumas from its original interment site in the Cimetière de

Villers-Cotterêts Villers-Cotterêts () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, France. It is notable as the signing-place in 1539 of the '' Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts'' discontinuing the use of Latin in official French documents, and as ...

in Aisne to the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...

. The coffin was draped in a blue velvet cloth inscribed with the motto.

As a motto

Traditional motto of Switzerland

Switzerland has no official motto defined in its constitution or legislative documents. The phrase, in its German ('), French ('), Italian (') and Romansh (') versions, came into widespread use in the 19th century. After autumn storms had caused widespread floods in the Swiss Alps in late September and early October 1868, officials launched an aid campaign under that slogan, deliberately using it to evoke a sense of duty and solidarity and national unity in the population of the young nation. Switzerland had become a

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

only 20 years earlier, and the last civil war among the

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

, the Sonderbundskrieg, had been in 1847. Newspaper ads that used the motto to call for donations were run in all parts of the country. The phrase was increasingly associated with the

founding myth An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have sto ...

s of Switzerland, which often also have solidarity as a central theme, to such a degree that ''""'' was even written in the cupola of the

Federal Palace of Switzerland The Federal Palace is a building in Bern housing the Swiss Federal Assembly (legislature) and the Federal Council (executive). It is the seat of the government of Switzerland and parliament of the country. The building is a listed symmetric ...

in 1902. It has since been considered the motto of the country. Politicians of all parties and regions acknowledge it as the motto of Switzerland.

Others

A part of the phrase in the

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communities in ...

, ' ("One for All"), was briefly used as the motto of the

United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, ...

(a predecessor of modern

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

) between 1862 and 1866, when it was replaced by '' Nihil sine Deo'' ("Nothing without God").

References