Crescit eundo

"Crescit eundo"" is the State Motto of the U.S. State of New Mexico. It is Latin in origin and can be translated to "It grows as it goes" or "It increases as it goes", though the former is the official translation for the motto.

History

The motto was first used in 1882, when acting Territorial Secretary, William G. Ritch, added the Latin phrase "Crescit eundo" to an early 1860's version of the territorial seal. In 1887, Ritch's version of the seal, including the words "Crescit eundo," was adopted by the legislature as part of the official New Mexico Territory seal and coat of arms. When New Mexico became a state in 1912, the Legislature appointed a commission to settle on a design for an official "state" seal. As it turned out, the commission recommended the territorial seal to be continued as the state seal, including the words "Crescit eundo" which were then adopted as the official state motto.

Contextual translation

The motto has been criticized for appearing strange or even nonsensical at first hearing. However, the intended effect is more clear if one considers that it is a quotation from the first-century B.C. Latin poet Lucretius in the sixth book his epic poem "De Rerum Natura" ("On The Nature of Things"). In this context, it refers to a thunderbolt increasing in strength as it moves across the sky, referenced by the selectors of the motto as a symbol of dynamic progress.