On the obverse of the medal, surrounding the image of Archimedes, whose name is written in greek, there is the latin inscription Transire suum pectus mundoque potiri, a phrase from the roman poet Manilius, in his Astronomica of the first century A.D. It may be translated To transcend one's own heart and grasp the world.
The complete passage is “The object of your quest is God; you are seeking to scale the skies and though born beneath the rule of fate, to gain knowledge of that fate; you are seeking to transcend your own heart and grasp the world. The toil involved matches the reward to be won, nor are such high attainments secured without a price...”
—Loeb translation of Astronomica 4.392
by G.P. Goold of Harvard, 1977
