Nullius in verba Nullius in verba The Royal Society website explains the motto thus: It is an expression of the determination of Fellows to withstand the domination of authority and to verify all statements by an appeal to facts determined by experiment. The phrase came from Horace's "Epistle" to his benefactor Maecenas, where he claims not to be devoted to any particular sect but is rather an eclectic by nature. These are the words, forming two hexameters in the original context: The minor planet known as 11059 Nulliusinverba in the asteroid belt is named after the expression. The phrase is also widely used
Terra nullius colonization in 1885. The court found in its advisory opinion that Western Sahara was not "terra nullius" at that time. Terra nullius Terra nullius (, plural "terrae nullius") is a Latin expression meaning "nobody's land", and is a principle sometimes used in international law to describe territory that may be acquired by a state's occupation of it. "Terra nullius" stems from the Roman law term "res nullius", meaning "nobody's thing". According to the Roman law "res nullius", or things without an owner, such as wild animals ("ferae beastiae"), lost slaves and abandoned buildings could be taken as property by anyone