The Portland gazette. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1818-1824, 1820-08-08
From the National Gazette.
ARMS OF THE STATE OF MAINE.
Crest, STAB, Motto, " Dirigon guide.

A
Crest, STAB, Motto, Is Drigo' guide.
That the words direct and guide may
sometimes be synonomons, is admitted and
If, IN compositions OF length, or IN converse
ton, they are improperly coniounded, it may
not much signify. But when the scholars OF a
State are choosing a motto for the arms OF
Stale, aud wien thai motto consists OF u SIN
gle uord, II may be as well 10 use the word
property ; al least, we should be less obnox
isus to the sarcasms Of the English and Scotch
reviewers, as well as Of other critics. The
scholars Of The State OF Maine should not have
chosen g dirigo" as illustrative Of their crest,
a Star. ''tlIo ducam, dlrigle," might better
have expressed their, meaning. The star,
indeed, guides, but it is the helmsman who
steers lbe vessel, as the master or pilot directs.
!, would be difficult To find classical authority
for the use oil the verb u'ngo, to guide, il The
sense In which star is said 10 guide. Dr..
Johnson defines load star (tbe polar slar) to
mean " lead-slar,' or guiding star; aud load
stone, 10 mean iead-stop.. The following
passages from the 44ih number VI the Quarter
~ Review are very applicable TO the present
occasion. Fas est CT ab hesls doceri !; and i.
must be admitted that the article from which
qaole Is written with great felicity OF ian
guage. Ii seems, indeed, wonderful 10 find
so trIfing and whimsical topic made So IN
ieres,ing, qua non caret pate socro." But
10 the point.
:. II IS quite clear that he is neither their
director nor their guide"-(aec ut msgister
dir,gis, nee Ut sidus duct. Quart. Rev. No
"a, p. SAT.
1.-THE load stone guides US unerringly.
when the losdslar (the lead star, or S;aie-oi
Name STAR is lost in clouds. itid. p. 377.
The following examples are taken from DIR.
Johnson's Dictionary.
- The new light served TO gside lhen,"
ducere.
Thou caves, them burning pillar Of
ERE TO be guide of the Journey" dncere.
Dirigo would be mlssppl,ed TO both these
passages.
The Wise men were preceded, or guided
By star. .'The star went before ,hsm''-
praioat els.
"DlciIur sidus deduxs,se Msgos," says DR..
Hardy, al locum.
To direct, says Johnson, is to drive in a
staff line to point against as a mark 10 reg
ulaie 10 prescribe certain measure TO ord
|er, 8'c.--The star that goes before Us and
guides us. is without any OF This hustle.
am No pedant, Dlessrs. Editors, but
= Little things are great TO little men"-and
we may as we'll accuslom ourselves 10 be cor
rect. Either reject the learned languages en-
tirely, or acquire the proper knowledge OF
them. We have been, according to DR..
Franklin, much ridiculed, in France, for the
Laiiniiy Of the Cincinnati motto.
"Onnia reliquit servare rompub' am"
Let US not furnish new matter dicule TO
the English critics /; who, by the way, can
not treat US mote cavalieriy Than the French
litersti did upon The occasion TO which have
referred. Those who would know the extent
aud severity Of their ridicule, may refer to
Duaue's edition Of DR.. Franklin's Couespon.
dence. have not the volume at hand.
After all, however, that m,lto is more de.
feasible than those critics supposed. Thel
Port.Royal Latin Grammar stontly maintains |
he use OF the Initiative mode after verb of
notion even IN prose in veyse, the instances
are numerous. g Non veni solvere legem,
sed ad,mplere." Matt. '. II. +" Men ,eni
vocsre jus,os, sed peccatores al prnites,ialn.'
Matt *. I3.-The other Gramlnariaps, how
ever, recommend that this form oil expIesson
should be eI, to the poets.
=" well taught scholar" says Grant 10 bis
Institutes, would prefer--ad seryandum rem
publicsm--or, ad servasdam rempublcam---
OF, servsnda causa--or, ut servaiet rempubli-
CAM"
Our school'boys do not compose enough, in
Latin. We have talents from nature, but ed
ucs'on among US is defective.
EGO nee studium cine divite vena,
Nee rude puid psosit video ipgenium. Al
terius sic
Altera poscit OPEN res, et conjurat amicc."
Hon. A. p. 9I3.
So thinks the ArcAduke Charles, as cited in
the same number Of the Quarteriys;Re view
from which have quoted above.---s lie com.
bats" says the Reviewer, 4" The received opin.
ion that general mus, be born wih military
talent, and that, in such case, studs is by no
means requisite. This is only the excuse of
idleness or presumption. Genius, il is true,
is born with US /; but man can only become
great by the cultivation Of his talents" The
whole passage deserves TO he studied.
sRehquit is not. TO be sure. a verb of motion.
otherwise than by implication; IA. ~ non per,e.
quar- te fransere, ~" dat ferrc talenta,p SC.