Non scholae, sed vitae discimus is a Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 phrase meaning We do not learn for the school, but for life, meaning that one should not gain knowledge and skill to please a teacher or master, but because of the benefits they will gain in their life.

The motto is the inversion of the original, a lamentation by the Roman philosopher and playwright Seneca

Seneca the Younger

Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...

, in reproaching armchair philosophers: Non vitae sed scholae discimus.

The former is the motto

Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

 of many schools all over the world, possibly in the abbreviated form Non scholae, sed vitae. Among them are Adelaide High School

Adelaide High School

Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. It is the first government high school in South Australia...

, Carrboro High School

Carrboro High School

Carrboro High School is a suburban non-charter high school located in Carrboro, North Carolina. It is located close to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Carrboro High school is part of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district which contains two other high schools, Chapel Hill...

, Archbishop Molloy High School

Archbishop Molloy High School

Archbishop Molloy High School is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on in the Briarwood section of Queens in New York City, thirty minutes east of Manhattan. Molloy currently has an endowment of about $6,000,000 . The school's current principal is Br...

, Beal College of Bangor, Maine, Carroll College (Montana)

Carroll College (Montana)

Carroll College is a private Catholic liberal arts college in Helena, Montana, USA. Carroll College has earned national and regional awards for its academic programs. Carroll's colors are purple and gold...

, the Convent of the Visitation

Convent of the Visitation

Convent of the Visitation, also known as Visitation, is an independent, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory, school in Minnesota. It is located in Mendota Heights near Saint Paul. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Visitation is a coeducational school for...

, Emerson Jr./Sr. High School, Governor John R. Rogers High School, Hathaway Brown School

Hathaway Brown School

Hathaway Brown is an all-girls private school in Shaker Heights, Ohio, founded in 1876. It is also Ohio's second oldest college preparatory school for girls. The HB experience spans the early childhood program, primary school, middle school, and upper school.-History:Founded in 1876, Hathaway...

, Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium

Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium

Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium is a co-educational secondary school in Bremen, Germany.-History:The Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium was founded in 1905 as a secondary school for boys at the instigation of the Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen...

, State University - Higher School of Economics

State University - Higher School of Economics

The National Research University Higher School of Economics , colloquially known as “Vyshka” , is a Russian University specializing in social sciences. It was founded in 1992 as an MA training centre but soon offered Bachelor programmes in economics...

, Hugo Treffner Gymnasium

Hugo Treffner Gymnasium

The Hugo Treffner Gymnasium is a secondary school in Tartu, Estonia with special emphasis on science education. Founded by Hugo Treffner, it was the only large secondary school in the 19th century Estonia with dominantly Estonian students and no age restrictions...

, Istanbul Bilgi University

Istanbul Bilgi University

Istanbul Bilgi University is a private, non-profit university in Istanbul, Turkey. It was actually established in 1994 under the name ISIS , but its name was changed to Istanbul Bilgi University with the foundation of the school on June 7, 1996...

, Moscow State Academy of Law, Mount Hermon School Darjeeling, Oslo katedralskole

Oslo katedralskole

Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian as Oslo katedralskole and more commonly as "Katta" is an upper secondary school located in Oslo, Norway. The school offers the college preparatory studiespesialisering of the Norwegian school system...

, Plymouth High School for Girls

Plymouth High School for Girls

Plymouth High School for Girls is a girls' grammar school founded in 1874. It is located on St Lawrence Road in Plymouth, Devon, England close to Mutley Plain and Plymouth city centre...

, Queen's College, Taunton

Queen's College, Taunton

Queen's College is a co-educational independent school located in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England. It is a day/boarding school for children aged 2–18. The school incorporates Nursery, Pre-Prep, Junior and Senior schools. The current headmaster of the Senior School is Chris Alcock...

, Sir Winston Churchill High School

Sir Winston Churchill High School

Sir Winston Churchill High School is a public senior high school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It derives its name from Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II and the early 1950s. The high school is built in the northwest quadrant of the city, and currently...

, Southland Boys' High School

Southland Boys' High School

Southland Boys' High School is an all-boys school in Invercargill, New Zealand, and has been the only one in the city since Marist Brothers was merged with St Catherines to form Verdon College in 1982.-History:...

, Spence School

Spence School

The Spence School is an American all-girls independent school in New York City, founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence.-Overview:Spence has about 688 students, with K-4 representing the Lower School, 5-8 representing the Middle School, and 9-12 representing the Upper School. Lower school average class...

, the University of Nueva Caceres

University of Nueva Caceres

University of Nueva Caceres , the first university in southern Luzon , is a private non-sectarian university run by a corporation in Naga City in Bicol Region, Philippines...

, the student council of Multi course school in South Iceland and West Elgin Secondary School

West Elgin Secondary School

West Elgin Secondary School is a secondary school, located at 139 Graham Street in West Lorne, Ontario. It serves many teenagers in the rural area of West Elgin, including West Lorne, Rodney, Dutton/Dunwich, Wallacetown and Iona Station. WESS is part of the Thames Valley District School Board. Home...

, Cendrawasih Catholic High School, Makassar, Indonesia, Scuola Media Statale Giuseppe Parini di Milano, and the student council of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...

. Also of St. Anthony's School, Sarikei, Sarawak, Malaysia.