Fluctuat nec mergitur has been the motto of the city of Paris for
more than six hundred years. The Latin is far more concise than English.
The heraldic device that accompanies the slogan is a ship riding waves.
A translation is
"tossed about and not sunk". After the recent
massacres, this was painted at Place de la République, the sight of
recent demonstrations of solidarity. This is a twitter foto by
Karimagicien, and has been picked up by
Wikipedia.
Now, this
metaphor of the ship is also used in the Faith. We are carried about in
that ship and the world sends a tempest and troubles the waters. This
has long been part of Christian iconography. The nave is the main part
of the church, it is where the congregation meets, sits, stands, and
prays.
'Navis' is Latin for ship,
'naus' is the Greek.
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