vōx, vōcis [3/f]: voice
Vōx populī vōx deī: the voice of the people [is] the voice
of god.
Alright, Elon Musk is making the decision based upon a vote
and, by using the rather impressive Latin phrase, would be suggesting that the
people’s voice has the greatest authority. However, depending on context, that
phrase can have precisely the opposite implication. From Alcuin’s letter to
Charlemagne in the late 8th century AD:
Nec audiendī quī
solent dīcere, Vōx populī, vōx Deī, quum tumultuōsitās vulgī semper īnsāniae
proxima sit │ And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the
voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is
always very close to madness.
Of course – as is always the case in politics – the pro-camp will go with the voice of god, and the anti-camp will quote the Alcuin letter to Charlemagne. I’m not making any political comment and I’ve noted both of them!
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