North Carolina State Motto: Esse Quam Videri
Esse Quam Videri
Esse Quam Videri
The motto appears on the state seal of North Carolina
- Motto
- Esse Quam Videri
- Language
- Latin
- Translation
- To Be Rather Than to Seem
- Adopted
- 1893
North Carolina State Motto
North Carolina's state motto is Esse Quam Videri, a Latin phrase meaning To Be Rather Than to Seem. The General Assembly adopted it on February 21, 1893, through Chapter 145.
Before 1893, North Carolina had no official motto. It was the only one of the original thirteen colonies that had never chosen one — a distinction that lasted more than a century after independence.
Translation of "Esse Quam Videri"
The three Latin words break down directly. Esse means to be. Quam means rather than. Videri means to seem or to appear. The full phrase: To be rather than to seem.
The motto puts real character above outward appearance — it values what a person actually is, not how they look to others.
North Carolina State Motto Meaning
The phrase comes from Cicero, the Roman statesman and philosopher. In his essay De Amicitia (On Friendship), Chapter 26, written in 44 BCE, Cicero observed that far fewer people want to actually be virtuous than want to appear virtuous.
Jurist and historian Walter Clark chose this phrase for North Carolina. The idea — that genuine character matters more than appearances — was the quality Clark wanted to attach to the state's official symbol.
History of North Carolina's State Motto
Walter Clark drafted the bill to give North Carolina its first official motto. Senator Jacob Battle of Nash County introduced it in the General Assembly. The legislature ratified it on February 21, 1893, as Chapter 145.
The act directed that the motto be engraved on the Great Seal of North Carolina and placed at the foot of the state's coat of arms, alongside the date "20 May, 1775" — tied to the disputed Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.
"Esse Quam Videri" on the North Carolina State Seal
The motto appears at the bottom of North Carolina's Great Seal. The seal shows two allegorical figures: Liberty on the left and Plenty on the right, with the dates May 20, 1775, and April 12, 1776, marking the state's role in American independence.
The state's coat of arms also carries the motto at the foot of the design, as required by the 1893 legislation.
North Carolina State Motto Facts
- "Esse Quam Videri" is Latin for "To Be Rather Than to Seem."
- The General Assembly adopted it on February 21, 1893, through Chapter 145.
- The phrase comes from Cicero's De Amicitia (On Friendship), Chapter 26, written in 44 BCE.
- Jurist and historian Walter Clark selected the motto and drafted the bill for adoption.
- Senator Jacob Battle of Nash County introduced the bill in the General Assembly.
- Before 1893, North Carolina was the only original colony with no official state motto.
Can You Match All 50 State Mottos?
Some questions show the original motto — Latin, Italian, Chinook — and ask which state it belongs to. Others give you the English translation and ask you to work backward. Both directions are harder than they look.
Take the State Mottos QuizQuick Answers
What is North Carolina's state motto?
What does "Esse Quam Videri" mean?
What is the English translation of "Esse Quam Videri"?
When did North Carolina adopt its state motto?
Where did North Carolina's motto come from?
North Carolina State Symbols
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