A Bend in the River

by

V. S. Naipaul

Latin Mottos (Placards) Symbol Analysis

Latin Mottos (Placards) Symbol Icon

The prescience and historical irony of the various Latin mottos and placards that Salim encounters symbolize the dangers of ignoring the past and history’s tendency to repeat itself. When Salim first arrives in the town at the bend in the river, he comes across a placard beneath a statue by the town’s docks engraved with the Latin words “miscerique probat populos et foedera jungi,” which Father Huismans later translates to mean “he approves of the mingling of the peoples and their bonds of union.” The motto is appropriate, as the town was a trade hub and used to attract a diverse range of people, converging to trade ideas and goods. But as Father Huismans goes on to explain, the phrase is actually a reversal of a line from the Roman epic poem The Aeneid, wherein the hero Aeneas intends to settle in Africa but is warned away by the gods who disapprove of said “mingling.” The motto was therefore revised to serve the interests of European colonists who settled the area, despite its original meaning almost foretelling the eventual collapse of colonial interests in Africa as a whole. Likewise, the motto for the lycée is “semper aliquid novi,” meaning “out of Africa, always something new,” which seems to promote the President’s idea of the “new African.” Yet ironically, by the end of the novel, the President only succeeds in recreating the tyrannical and unstable conditions of colonial Africa. This is in part due to his willful ignorance and appropriation of Africa’s history in the pursuit of power, echoed in the appropriation of this Latin axiom—after all, its tone can also be read sardonically, to indicate cyclicality rather than progress. Taken together, the mottos ironically foreshadow the initial failure of postcolonial Africa and symbolize how those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it.

Latin Mottos (Placards) Quotes in A Bend in the River

The A Bend in the River quotes below all refer to the symbol of Latin Mottos (Placards). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Power, Freedom, and Identity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

Miscerique probat populos et foedera jungi. “He approves of the mingling of the peoples and their bonds of union”: that was what the words meant, and again they were very old words, from the days of ancient Rome […] I was staggered. Twisting two-thousand-year-old-words to celebrate sixty years of the steamer service from the capital… To carve the words on a monument beside this African river was surely to invite the destruction of the town. Wasn’t there some little anxiety, as in the original line in the poem? And almost as soon as it had been put up the monument had been destroyed, leaving only bits of bronze and the mocking words…

Related Characters: Salim (speaker), Father Huismans
Related Symbols: Latin Mottos (Placards)
Page Number: 62-63
Explanation and Analysis:
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Latin Mottos (Placards) Symbol Timeline in A Bend in the River

The timeline below shows where the symbol Latin Mottos (Placards) appears in A Bend in the River. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2 
Racism and Diasporic Identity Theme Icon
Postcolonialism and Perpetual Unrest Theme Icon
Layers of the Past Theme Icon
In the ruins Salim comes upon on a placard by the docks, reading in Latin “Miscerique probat populos et foedera jungi.” The words stick... (full context)
Chapter 3
Power, Freedom, and Identity Theme Icon
Racism and Diasporic Identity Theme Icon
Postcolonialism and Perpetual Unrest Theme Icon
The City vs. the Bush Theme Icon
Layers of the Past Theme Icon
...cleaned up and reopened, but still rife with the detritus of fire and ruin, the placard above the door reading “Semper Aliquid Novi.” (full context)
Chapter 4
Power, Freedom, and Identity Theme Icon
The City vs. the Bush Theme Icon
Layers of the Past Theme Icon
...Huismans insists on the depth and importance of these items, repeating the school’s axiom “ semper aliquid novi ,” a portion of a larger Latin phrase meaning “out of Africa, always something new.”... (full context)
Postcolonialism and Perpetual Unrest Theme Icon
Layers of the Past Theme Icon
Father Huismans also explains the town’s motto that Salim had encountered on the placard by the docks: “Miscerique probat populos et foedera jungi,” meaning “He approves of the mingling... (full context)
Power, Freedom, and Identity Theme Icon
Postcolonialism and Perpetual Unrest Theme Icon
The City vs. the Bush Theme Icon
Layers of the Past Theme Icon
...gains more of Father Huismans’ perspective, Salim comes to realize that the words of the placard allow Father Huismans to see himself in the context of Africa—not as a European, implicitly... (full context)
Chapter 14 
Power, Freedom, and Identity Theme Icon
Racism and Diasporic Identity Theme Icon
The City vs. the Bush Theme Icon
Layers of the Past Theme Icon
...are using as a station. Above their photograph of the president are the words “ Discipline Avant Tout ." Salim realizes all of the officials and police are opportunists who had sniffed out... (full context)
Chapter 17 
Power, Freedom, and Identity Theme Icon
Racism and Diasporic Identity Theme Icon
Postcolonialism and Perpetual Unrest Theme Icon
Layers of the Past Theme Icon
...an eternity of waiting, and eventually while in the yard, Salim sees that phrase “ Discipline Avant Tout ” painted again in block letters on one of the walls. (full context)