Labor omnia vincit or Labor omnia vincit improbus is a
Latin phrase meaning "Work conquers all". The phrase is adapted from
Virgil's Georgics, Book I, lines 145–6: ...Labor omnia vicit / improbus ("Steady work overcame all things"). The poem was written in support of
Augustus Caesar's "Back to the land" policy, aimed at encouraging more
Romans to become farmers.[citation needed]
Labor movement
A frequent motto within the U.S labor movement, the phrase is a historically significant
slogan. Used by the earliest U.S labor unions such as the
American Federation of Labor and other precursors to the modern
AFL-CIO, the motto continues to be a traditional and defining statement of purpose on contemporary labor union emblems including the
International Union of Operating Engineers and the
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. The motto also appears on the original 1925 flag of the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the labor union of African-American
Pullman Company porters founded by civil rights leader
A. Philip Randolph. The College of Engineering, Guindy in Chennai, India and founded in the year 1794 has the phrase "Labor Omnia Vincit" in its logo. This may be the earliest adoption of the phrase by any organization.
The phrase is also a frequent motto across many townships, cities, and states. Currently the
state motto of the State of
Oklahoma and incorporated into its state seal in 1907, the slogan originally appeared on the territorial seal of
Oklahoma Territory. In addition, it has been known to be the motto of the city of
El Eulma,
Algeria as shown on its
coat of arms, of the towns and cities of
Bradford,
West Yorkshire,
West Bromwich, and
Ilkeston in England, the motto of
Wrexham County Borough Council in
Wales and the state motto of
Zacatecas granted by King Phillip II in 1588 and the city of
León,
State of Guanajuato,
Mexico, and in the city of
Presidente Prudente,
Brazil as well as the city of Polokwane, formerly known as Pietersburg in South Africa. It is the motto of
Carlton Cricket Club in
Barbados. It is also the motto of
Kajang High School and St Jago High School (Jamaica), St Paul's Secondary School, Kabwe Zambia, as well as Mitchell High School in Durban, South Africa. It is a slogan of the football clubs Rasta IL in Norway and Luton Borough Youth in England. The phrase can be seen written in the golden letters on the so-called Kroch-Hochhaus in the center of German city
Leipzig. It is also the motto of
West Bromwich Albion FC • In cinema this slogan was used in a landmark French picture "Le Voyage dans la lune" or "A Trip To The Moon" a silent film brought to life in 1902 by director Georges Méliès. This is a classic vision about a group of men venturing to the moon and back. The scene in which the slogan is depicted comes at the end when they return to earth. Celebrating the triumph, a statue is brought forth with a scholar pointing to the heavens with the word SCIENCE surrounded by olive branches on the base, above this states the term LABOR • OMNIA • VINCIT
Educational institutions
Many educational institutions have adopted the phrase as a motto, including:
^"UBC Emblem". United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Archived from
the original on 2010-03-07. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
^Hocquél, Wolfgang (2023). Architekturführer Leipzig. Von der Romanik bis zur Gegenwart (in German). Leipzig: Passage Verlag. pp. 120–122.
ISBN978-3-95415-128-8.