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
Glossary of ancient Roman religion and legal usage, "verba concepta" ("preconceived words") were verbal formulas that could be adapted for particular circumstances. Compare "verba certa", "fixed words." Collections of "verba concepta" would have been part of the augural archives. Varro preserves an example, albeit textually vexed, of a formula for founding a "templum. In the legal sense, "concepta verba" (the phrase is found with either word order) were the statements crafted by a presiding praetor for the particulars of a case. Earlier in the Roman legal system, the plaintiff had to state his claim within a narrowly defined set of fixed phrases "(certa verba)"; in