Dum spiro spero

Dum spiro spero, which translates to "While I breathe, I hope",[1] is a Latin phrase of indeterminate origin.

The sense of dum spiro spero can be found in the work of Greek poet Theocritus (3rd Century BC), who wrote: "While there's life there's hope, and only the dead have none.

[4] Henry's application also implies that the phrase's general idea predates Greek thought as it was first recorded in the 10th century BC in Masoretic texts.

[citation needed] The phrase is present in modern day in a representation of the seal of South Carolina printed in March 1785 and in 1777.

[citation needed] Individuals who used the motto include Charles I,[17] King of England; Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak,[18] and the merchant seaman and privateer, later Royal Governor of the Bahama Islands, Woodes Rogers.