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I have an old silver jewellery box, in the bottom left hand corner is an arm holding a spear, with a banner underneath, with the words

REM ORUINE PANDO

The I in ORUINE could possibly be an L, hard to tell. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what it means? Is it even Latin?

2 Answers 2

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That "U" is probably a "D": rem ordine pando. This is a quote from Vergil's Aeneid 3.179 and means "I explained the whole thing [i.e. the whole story] in order."

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    I’d like to note that pando is present tense, not past tense; although in its original context in the Aeneid, it is used as a dramatic present (historic present) and does refer to the past.
    – chirlu
    Jan 31, 2017 at 15:58
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Presumably (as far as one can presume anything without an image of the object in question) it says “rem ordine pando”, a quotation from Vergil’s Aeneid 3:179.

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