Changing the School Motto

Wishing to test my son's Latin vocabulary the other night I challenged
him to translate the phrase "Disce Aut Discede". With no hesitation
he muttered tongue in cheek "learn to depart" and was on his way.

"Hold on" I thought to myself that sounded so much less harsh and more
useful than the "learn or depart" translation that had been drilled
into me. Take John Howard for instance if this motto had been
inculcated in him how very different would political life be for every
Aussie tonight. The "shrub" would have pulled out his troops from
Iraq long time ago. Mugabe would have left office and the Zimbabwe
team would have contested the super eights after beating the Aussies
in the recent 20/20 s. Alan Jones should have left that toilet in
London a bit earlier….and Senator Larry Craig too

During our time at Royal the heir of the most successful political
family in Sri Lanka departed before his time and went on to serve as
an opposition leader. He kept departing his chosen political party at
the wrong time and missed out on becoming the prime minister. Whilst
most of you reading this departed from Royal in the shortest possible
time completing the "A" levels, some of the most "successful" students
of our time, the head prefects, did not learn to depart. They learnt
to stay. Hence the paradox.

Learning to depart is no easy task. One only has to read the lips of
a test batsman given out erroneously by an umpire or a rugby or soccer
player who is yellow carded to comprehend this. Since of late Darrell
Hair himself has had some problems in this direction. Assuming they
have been properly inculcated in this new motto future generations of
Royalists would no longer be referring to a recently deceased class
mate (an event that seems to be occurring with frighteningly greater
probability nowadays) as "kicking the bucket" in a callous manner.
They would refer to this event as "departing" and be reassured that
their mate of many decades has made a well practised exit.

So finally, after nearly four decades I have had the gumption to send
off a letter to the Principal requesting that our motto be altered to
"Disce Discedere".

Indra (IFW) Jayewardene

(Departed Royal in 1968)