Every St Mary's Salesian player wears the club motto on their chest each week The original St Mary's Emblem Emblem of the 366th Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command

Following a traditional post-match meeting at the Halo Bar in our newly-rennovated club pavillion, the thoughts of our experts wandered from the wayward goal-kicking of the Saints forwards and turned to the club motto: Audentis Fortuna iuvat.

Some of the club's finest Latin scholars, including Mr Geoff Lane and Mr Ron Redding, along with visiting scholar Mr Bill Goodenough, debated the origins of the Latin and the twists and turns of Latin conjugation.

After much discussion, numerous translations and a final scratching of heads, it was decided we needed to look into it a little further.

FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BOLD
Audentis Fortuna iuvat is from the Latin and translates as "Fortune Favours the Bold".

Fortuna: fortune
fortuna was the goddess of fortune or luck in ancient Roman religion. Mischieviously unpredictable, Fortuna might bring good luck or she might bring bad luck

Audentis: the bold
the accusative plural of the adjective audens: boldness
The original St Mary's scholars chose the archaic form audentis over the often-used audentes

iuvat: favours
from the verb iuvo which is conjugated in the present tense: iuvō | iuvās | iuvat | iuvā́mus | iuvā́tis | iuvant |

The motto can be expanded out into the Latin proverb:
Audentes Fortuna Iuvat Sed Timidos Relinquit - Fortune Favours the Bold but Adandons the Timid

VIRGIL'S EPIC POEM: THE AENEID
Audentis fortuna iuvat is taken directly from Line 284 in Book 10 of Virgil's epic 10,000 line poem the Aeneid.

Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BC – 19 BC), known in English as Virgil or Vergil, was a Latin poet, the author of the Eclogues, the Georgics and the Aeneid, the last being an epic poem of twelve books that tells the story of the Trojan prince Aeneas. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas's wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half tells of the Trojans' ultimately victorious war over the Latins.

The phrase Audentis fortuna iuvat was uttered by Turnus the Italian King of the Rutuli, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas. It was not long after Aeneas had arrived in Italy than he and Turnus were at war, both seeking the hand of Lavinia, the daughter of the Latin King.

Turnus proved himself to be hot-headed, but brave, and at one point in the ensuing battle, Turnus sought to raise his men's spirits:

‘What you asked for in prayer is here, to break through
with the sword. Mars himself empowers your hands, men!
Now let each remember his wife and home, now recall
the great actions, the glories of our fathers. And let’s
meet them in the waves, while they’re unsure and
their first steps falter as they land. Fortune favours the brave.’

However, after many twists and turns, and some mischief from the gods, the battle turned, the war was lost and Turnus was slain by Aeneas.

ONE OF THE CLUB'S EARLIEST LATIN SCHOLARS
Every St Mary's player from 1962-2007, and every St Mary's Salesian player from 2008-2011 has worn the club motto on their chest: Fortune favours the bold.

Those with a memory for history, will recall the words of one of the club's earliest Latin scholars as he sought to raise his men's spirits at a turning point in battle.

"You can hold your head high because you're St Mary's, because you mean something. You've got something on your chest that means something. It is not just someone else's jumper. If you believe enough, if you truly believe, and honestly believe in each other, if you're prepared to sweat for each other, and now I'm afraid bleed for each other, if you are prepared for all these things what more can a coach ask."

Unlike Turnus, the gods rewarded the bold as coach Neil Le Lievre inspired his men to the 1980 A Grade Premiership over flag favourites, and arch-rivals Emmanuel.

> Click here to hear the famous three quater time address

Post-match at the Halo Bar is always interesting!

Our club scholars would welcome any contributions or correction of the Latin: > click here

THE ORIGINS OF THE ST MARY'S GUERNSEY Another of our finest club scholars, Mr Don Malcolm tells the story of how it came to be that the logo and shield was attached to the club jumper way back in 1962. > Click here for find out the origins of the St Mary's Guernsey