Sidere mens eadem mutato
If a literal translation is required, then "The constellation is changed, the disposition is the same" (繁星縱變，智慧永恆)is perhaps appropriate. The ablative absolute in Latin can be used in place of a number of other constructions. Here it probably has a concessive force: "though the constellation is changed..." sidus means primarily in Latin 'a group of stars,' 'a constellation'. To translate simply 'star,' as many of the suggested translations do, is incorrect. Again, mens in Latin has a much wider range of meanings than 'mind,' 'the mental functioning of human animals,' here the sense is clearly disposition, e.g. towards learning and scholarship.
Hence it is easy to arrive at the general sense: "The traditions of the older universities of the Northern Hemisphere are continued here in the Southern."
haha....I like it!!
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