Resurgam — I shall rise again

“Resurgam — I shall rise again” is the inscription beneath the names of the research submarines Epimetheus and Prometheus. Presented as a declaration of rising again, it lends the vessels’ names a shared language of return without the passage specifying who chose the motto or what prompted it.

Inscription and Translation

The inscription is introduced when Masao admires the Epimetheus as it passes and asks Benedict about the words beneath the submarines’ names. Benedict supplies the phrase, “Resurgam. I shall rise again.” The Latin word and its English rendering together make the motto’s meaning explicit: it promises a future rising, rather than merely identifying the vessels.

The Vessels’ Names

The inscription appears in a conversation that also gives the sister ships’ names a mythological explanation. Benedict says that Epimetheus was charged with distributing gifts necessary for animals’ survival, but had none left when humanity’s turn came; his brother Prometheus then stole the Sun’s energy and gave it to humankind. The phrase thus sits alongside a naming story concerned with what enables survival, though the passage does not explicitly connect the motto to either brother or assign it a separate origin.

Meaning in Context

The declaration’s significance rests in its placement: a promise of rising again is set beneath the names of two submarines preparing for repeated deep-sea missions. The Epimetheus is scheduled to descend with supplies and a partial replacement crew, while the Prometheus is to follow with the rest of B team and Benedict. Against that planned sequence of descent and return, the motto offers a compact image of recovery and renewed ascent, without guaranteeing any particular outcome.