 Henry Hart Milman, the English historian, was treasurer.The Club's toast, no doubt employing a bit of wishful thinking, was ""Esto perpetua"", Latin for "Let it be perpetual".This Latin phrase traces its origin to the last dying declaration of Paolo Sarpi (1552–1623) the Venetian theologian, philosopher and canon law expert who uttered these words towards the Venetian Republic, whose independence he devoutly espoused.