Sundial: NIL SINE NOBIS

The Hôtel de Cluny in Paris features a lovely sundial with the motto Nil Sine Nobis, "Nothing Without Us." The sun with its rays is carved above the motto which makes the meaning clear: "Nothing Without Us," i.e. nothing without us, the rays of the sun. The sundial can only work when the sun is shining!

There are many photographs of this famous sundial that you can find on the Internet. The image shown below is by Jen the Librarian at Flickr:

Here is a closer view of the sundial:

And here is a detail of the motto with the sun:

The decorative scallops which you can see allude to the pilgrimage to St. James in Compostela, whose route began near the Hôtel de Cluny.

The sundial is one of the faces of the Tower; you can see some additional views at this Flickr Gallery to place the sundial in situ.