What saying should I have engraved on the slide of the pistol I am refinishing??

[taliv]

Si vis pacem parabellum - If you want peace, prepare for war

i thought it was: Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
it's been a long time though

 

[CajunBass]

Someone beat me to this one.

Do not draw me without reason, Do not sheath me without honor.

So I'll throw out this one.

"Be always sure you're right. Then go ahead."

IIRC from a book I read as a kid, that was what Davy Crockett had engraved on "Old Betsy."

 

[jaholder1971]

How about "This space for Rent" and add your phone number?

 

[target1911]

Not for Human Consumption.....

Contents Under Pressure....

beat me to it^^^^^^

 

[Kor]

I was hoping for some of the more scholarly among us to provide some sayings with some meaning or some history.

Here's what I had engraved on the slide of my Kahr K40: Henry V, III.vi.163-166. This is academic shorthand for Shakespeare's Henry V, Act 3, Scene 6, lines 163-166(Bantam Books 1988 edition - the actual line #'s can vary from one edition to another), which I will highlight in this excerpt from the text of King Henry's speech to the French herald Montjoy:

...Go bid thy master well advise himself,
If we may pass, we will; if we be hindered,
We shall your tawny ground with your red blood
Discolor. And so, Montjoy, fare you well.
The sum of all our answer is but this:
We would not seek a battle as we are,
Nor, as we are, we say we will not shun it.
So tell your master.

Another quotable speech from Henry to Montjoy appears just after the famous "St. Crispin's Day" speech, in Act 4, Scene 3, lines 109-115:

We are but warriors for the working day.
Our gayness and our gilt are all besmirched
By rainy marching in the painful field.
There's not a piece of feather in our host -
Good argument, I hope, we will not fly -
And time hath worn us into slovenry.
But, by the Mass, our hearts are in the trim!

Or, you could just keep it simple with Act 4, Scene 1, lines 63-64:

PISTOL: My name is Pistol called. neener
KING: It sorts well with your fierceness.

Definitely rent Kenneth Branagh's movie version of Henry V - it's "Shakespeare for Guys," and the climactic Battle of Agincourt is every bit as good as anything in Braveheart.

Of course, you could also see my own sig line below, which quotes Kipling's "The Gods of the Copybook Headings," or another poem in a similar vein, Kiplings "Dane-geld"(http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/w...Rudyard/verse/english_history/danegeld.html):

IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:—
“We invaded you last night—we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away.”
And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:—
“Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:—

“We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!”

 

[Feanaro]

"Tu Ne Cede Malis"
The short version of a Latin phrase meaning "Do not give in to evil but go boldly against it."

"Me Fecit your name"
Found on everything from swords to violins, this phrase means "insert name made me".

And who could forget that storied phrase, "Happiness is a warm gun"?

 

[MPanova]

how bout? I would rather have a gun and not need it then need a gun and not have it. or what about the line in my sig?

 

[Greell]

One side "from the cradle"

the other side "To the grave"

 

[1911 guy]

It's like a tattoo.

I've got tattoos and engraved guns. Both are permenant and should be desired for their meaning, not because of whim or "gee, this looks cool". My engraved pistols are done by the builders and 'smiths, my tattoos represent memories and friends now gone, not pretty pictures. Think long and hard.

 

[CountGlockula]

Here you go:

Ultima ratio regum

"The last resort". Short form for the metaphor "The Last Resort of Kings and Common Men" refering to the act of declaring war.Louis XIV of France had Ultima Ratio Regum ("last argument of kings") engraved on the cannons of his armies.

Or

Go ahead...MAKE MY DAY.

 

[BungalowBill]

Si vis pacem, para bellum. +1
Or
"We will bury you!" ("Мы вас похороним!").
(Remember to bang your shoe!)

 

[10-Ring]

In a world of compromise, some men don't!

 

[boomer1911a1]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned this one. From Wikipedia:

Neca eos omnes, deus suos agnoscet.
"kill them all, god will know his own."

Said by Arnaud Amaury, the Abbot of Citeaux, the Papal Legate. Recorded by a monk who was present at the time. The Abbot had been asked by the military commander of the crusade, the Earl of Leicester, how best to deal with the heretics and this is how he replied. The phrase has been adapted to "Kill them all, let God sort 'em out" and is a commonly used military proverb to this day.

I briefly put this on a business card when I first got my CHL, then decided to throw them away when I realized it might not look good to a prosecutor.

 

[skinnyguy]

The loss of our freedoms is only one election away.

 

[brashboy]

From the earliest days of our republic:

Don't Tread On Me

 

[brashboy]

BTW, I agree with the earlier poster who warned against anything too bloodthirsty or callous-sounding. Anything like that could provoke charges from an over-zealous DA and influence a jury. 'Twould go a long way in convincing the law and jury that the owner is dangerous to society. I'm not suggesting that there is any "wrong" inscription, but it is easy to imagine a situation being a close call and a callous, flippant inscription tipping the balance.

Things like "I Am Death" are very dramatic, but you will be better off, and I think prouder of the weapon, with something noble inscribed. And Latin never hurts...

 

[Ninja42]

Si vis pacem parabellum - that would be WAY cooler on a 9mm, but how about:

"Never draw me without reason, never sheathe me without honor." - I read it in a signature somewhere on these forums, but I cannot remember who it was. Never the less, it is very cool.

 

[JLStorm]

Si vis pacem para bellum

"Never draw me without reason, never sheathe me without honor.

These are my two favorites.

 

[Walker'47]

I think it's a cool idea, and fail to see why those who don't feel a need to post here and tell you that your gun is not a billboard or soapbox or whatever. To each his own, and all that.

Bannockburn already got it, but I saw it on a sword: "Draw me not without cause; sheath me not without honour."
I think that's awesome.

Check this one out:
It's not the bullet with my name on it that worries me. It's the one that says "To whom it may concern." ~Anonymous Belfast resident, quoted in London Guardian, 1991

Eh? To Whom It May Concern might be cool.

Also, Hinc Robur et Securitas- Hence strength and security.

Or, Memento Mori- remember your mortality, or "remember, you too must die."

Then I like Don't tread on me, or "Nemo me impune lacessit"- Scottish motto- None provoke me with impunity. I think the Romans used this one too.

There's also some great lines in Psalm 91, but you probably couldn't fit enough on a slide to make it good.

Finally, maybe something along the lines of "Action, when Reason fails."
Maybe get someone to translate that into Latin ?

 

[Rumble]

Well, if you put "This End Toward Enemy" on one side, make sure the other side says "Do Not Eat."

As for cool mottos, I like one from Norway, which translates to "Do right - fear nothing!"

Velox et Mortifer (swift and deadly) is also cool, but might be somewhat aggressive seeming.

 

[CountGlockula]

Bad guy 0, Good guy +1.

This is a fun post. I'm considering engraving mine also, since I'm never going to part with it.

 

[THE DRILL INSTRUCTOR]

Pistol, Destroyer of Worlds.


I'm going to get this put on a single action revolver of mine. Of course, its kind of a lookin-at gun not a CCW, so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[XDJ]

A few Latin phrases:

audaces fortuna iuvat or fortes fortuna iuvat
Fortune favours the brave

in pace, ut sapiens, aptarit idonea bello
In peace, like a wise man, he appropriately prepares for war

dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
It is sweet and proper to die for one's country

morituri te salutamus
We who are about to die salute you.

exitus acta probat
The result validates the deeds.

facta non verba
Deeds, not words (Actions speak louder than words)

memento mori
Remember that you will die

quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Who will watch the watchers themselves?

aut vincere aut mori
Either to conquer or to die

componere lites
To settle disputes (Horace)

corruptisima re publica plurimae leges
In the most corrupt state are the most laws (Terence)

Edit to add:
damnant quodnon intelligunt
They condemn what they do not understand

 

[Mot45acp]

It's polymer, not plastic.

 

[AndyC]

It's polymer, not plastic.

There's a difference?