Flag of the President of the Czech Republic

Chestres-FR-08-monument tchécoslovaque-05

"Truth prevails" ( cs, Pravda vítězí, sk, Pravda víťazí, la, Veritas vincit) is the national motto of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

. The motto appears on the standard of the President of the Czech Republic, which the Czech Constitution designates a national symbol. Before the

dissolution of Czechoslovakia The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries ...

in 1993, the motto was the motto of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and appeared on the standard of the President of Czechoslovakia as well. The motto was invented during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

by the leader of the Czech independence movement Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. It was used as a counter-motto to the war propaganda of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and the Entente powers. The motto is believed to be derived from

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...

' phrase "Seek the truth, hear the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, speak the truth, hold the truth and defend the truth until death". The phrase thus appears along the base of the Jan Hus Memorial in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first President of Czechoslovakia, adopted the shortened phrase "truth prevails" as a presidential motto shortly after independence from

in 1918. The sentiment was echoed over 75 years later in

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and the ...

's notion of "life in truth" and in his famous statement "Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred" ( cs, Pravda a láska musí zvítězit nad lží a nenávistí). The Latin version "Veritas vincit" was in use on the presidential banner from 1990 to 1992 as a linguistically neutral compromise reached between Czech and Slovak political representatives. The concept of truth has a long tradition in Czech political thought. Jan Hus and

John Amos Comenius John Amos Comenius (; cs, Jan Amos Komenský; pl, Jan Amos Komeński; german: Johann Amos Comenius; Latinized: ''Ioannes Amos Comenius''; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian who is consider ...

connected the truth with theological aspects, while in Masaryk's ethical concepts truth was seen as the opposite of lie. Hus' credo traditionally had been seen as testifying the moral and spiritual, rather than physical and military strength. The Charter 77 movement had the motto "Truth prevails for those who live in truth".

Other uses

* Part of this motto is used as the tagline for the English version of the manga and anime series '' Case Closed'' ("One Truth Prevails"). * Motto on the crest of '' Clan Keith'' of Scotland * Title of a song by the Slovak rock band, Tublatanka

References

{{Wikiquote, Jan Hus National symbols of the Czech Republic National mottos

Other uses

See also

References