The State Seal "Dirigo''
Many of the oldest families of Europe
possess a coat-of-arms, in the design of which may be read, by
those who understand, something of the family history. In a
description of a coat-of-arms are many odd sounding terms among
them tincture, gules, argent, and the sinister and dexter sides.
These are heraldic.
In America, we have little familiarity
with coats-of-arms, but each state has a seal, designed much
after the same manner. The seal of Maine was designed by Dr.
Benjamin Vaughan of Hallowell. It was adopted by the
Legislature, June 9, 1820, the same year that Maine became a
state. In the language of heraldry, the seal is described thus:
"A shield, argent, charged with a pine tree; a Moose Deer at the
foot of it, recumbent. Supporters: on dexter side, an
Husbandman, resting on a scythe; on sinister side, a Seaman
resting on an anchor. In the foreground, representing sea and
land, and under the shield, the name of the State in large Roman
capitals, to wit; M A I N E, the whole surmounted by a crest,
the North Star. The motto in small Roman capitals, in a label
interposed between the shield and the crest, viz; Dirigo."
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State Seal |
Each figure and emblem in the design was
chosen because it was symbolic of the State. The moose deer is a
native animal of Maine, which retires at the approach of human
beings. In his recumbent and undisturbed position he denoted the
extent of unsettled lands, where generations of men might
settle, whose spirit of independence should be unrestricted as
the range of the moose deer.
The supporters of the shield, the
Husbandman and Seaman, represent, first, agriculture, and
second, commerce and fisheries; and both indicate that the State
is supported by these occupations of its inhabitants. The North
Star in the crest indicates the most northern State in the
Union.
The stately pine with its straight body
and ever-green foliage, represents the State. The motto, Dirigo,
means "I Direct."
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