are found. The Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration said about the translation of the motto: At recurring intervals, discussion has ensued concerning interpretation of this Latin phrase which commonly translated is "'Nothing without providence'". Others say it is "Nothing without God". The Merriam-Webster dictionary translates it as "Nothing without the divine will". In the early mining days of the state, the unregenerate said it meant "nothing without a new mine". The word "numen" (ablative numine) means any divinity, god or goddess, or divine spirit. The best evidence of intent of Colorado's official designers and framers of the resolution for adoption of the seal is contained in the committee report wherein clear distinction was made between "numine" and "Deo" and it specifically states that the committee's interpretative translation was "Nothing without the Deity". The motto appeared when Colorado's first territorial governor, Gilpin, asked Secretary of the Territory L. L. Weld for a suitable motto for the state seal. According to the story, Weld said: "Well, Governor, what would you suggest?" Gilpin is said to have paused in thought for a moment and then responded "Nil Sine Numine". On November 6, 1861 by joint resolution the First Territorial Assembly adopted the motto with the territorial seal. Nil sine numine is the motto of the Weld family of Lulworth Castle in Dorset, England. The family are descended from Sir Humphrey Weld, Lord Mayor of London in 1601 and were notable as a recusant family prior to Catholic Emancipation in the 19th century. The Luttrell Psalter, a famous medieval manuscript dated to the 14th century, contains inside its binding an armorial bookplate of Thomas Weld (1750–1810), one of the book's owners, and the motto on the plate's ribbon reads "nil sine numine". The motto is also used by Colorado School of Mines and High Point University, a small liberal arts university in High Point, North Carolina, and by Virginia Intermont College, a liberal arts college in Bristol, VA. See also Flag of Colorado References External links Seal of the State of Colorado Symbols of Colorado Colorado Colorado Colorado Colorado Colorado Colorado