A Mari usque ad Mare is the motto of Canada, translating from Latin to "
from sea to sea" or "
from sea unto sea." Its origin is in
Psalm 72:8 which reads:
"Et dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos terrae."
The same quotation translated for The
King James Bible reads:
"He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."
A Mari usque ad Mare has its origins in 1872 when Reverend
George Grant crossed the entirety of
Canada as the secretary of
Sanford Fleming, who at the time headed the
Pacific railway surveys. In 1873, Grant published his book "
Ocean to Ocean," and for years afterward continued to both preach and push for the adoption of "
From Sea to Sea" as the official
Canadian motto.
In 1906,
A Mari usque ad Mare found itself used officially for the first time engraved on the building of the Legislative Assembly of
Saskatchewan. In 1919, former
undersecretary of state Joseph Pope was named to a four person committee to redesign the
Arms of Canada. In 1921 (I love the speed with which committees work), Pope's design bearing the creed "A Mari usque ad Mare" was adopted and made the official Canadian motto.
"Our Arms are very handsome ... everything that can be desired. The motto 'A Mari usque ad Mare,' which is an original suggestion of my own, I regard as very appropriate."
--Joseph Pope, September 29 1921
Thanks to http://www.tceplus.com/amare.htm.
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