On January 18, 1831, just a few months after the Philodemic Society on September 25 of the previous year, a resolution was made at a Philodemic meeting that the society agree on an “appropriate badge or emblem, which each member shall wear on particular occasions; and also some motto which shall be engraven on the said badge, and inscribed in the books of the Library.” With this motion, the Philodemic’s memorable crest – and devoted motto – which we have now possessed for 191 years, came into being.
Every Philodemician knows “ELD” for short–and usually the Latin phrase and meaning behind it “Eloquentiam Libertati Devinctam / Eloquence in the Defense of Liberty”–as we sign our emails and mention it in floor speeches to no end. And we usually recognize the crest that adorns our website, programs, stationery, ties, and society “swag” that is regularly produced by members. But where do these come from, and what is the underlying meaning? Is there one version or many? Haven’t we seen two (or more?) different versions of the Philodemic “crest” or seal – sometimes with two sides? In this post, I’ll try to briefly answer these questions.
Shortly after the 1831 meeting, the society unanimously decided to adopt a “badge or emblem” with the following heraldic description:
“The upper edge in two curves. On one side shall be the American Eagle, the American shield displayed upon its body, with a trident in one claw, the other resting upon a globe. Above the eagle, a harp, surrounded by rays. On the reverse, Mercury, the god of eloquence, clasps hands with the goddess Liberty, holding in her left hand the rod surrounded by the cap. The inscription extends around the rim of both sides: “Colit Societas Philodemica E Collegio Geogiopolitano” | “Eloquentiam Libertati Devinctam”
In plain speech, the design adopted was a two-sided shield. On one side, you have a design very similar to both the Coat of Arms of the United States, and of Georgetown College, first adopted (which itself was modeled off of that of the U.S.). For examples of the Georgetown’s seal, as it has been modified and un-modified over the centuries, see: https://library.georgetown.edu/exhibition/variations-theme-georgetown-university-seal
The United States seal shows an eagle, with a shield on its body, holding arrows in one claw, and olive branches in the other, symbolizing the powers granted by the U.S. Constitution to Congress to make war or peace – coming out of the eagle’s mouth is a scroll with the motto of the U.S. “E pluribus unum” (“out of many, one”). The seal symbolizes the powers of the new constitution, powers (of war and peace) that all independent sovereign countries have, and the indivisibility of the new federation of 13 states.
The reverse side of the seal, less well known and used, but familiar to lovers of National Treasure and seen on the 1-dollar bill, is an unfinished pyramid, with the Eye of Providence where the top of the pyramid should be, and two mottos: “Annuit Coeptis” (“He [God] favors our undertaking”) and “Novo Ordo Saeculorum” (“A new order of the ages”).
The Georgetown seal, was originally designed in the 1790s, and adopted formally in 1844, is roughly similar to the U.S. seal, but the eagle’s arrows and olive branches in each claw are replaced with a cross and a globe (representing religious and rational/secular knowledge respectively), and the scroll coming from the eagle’s mouth reads the Georgetown motto “Utraque Unum” (both into one) instead of the United States’.
The Philodemic was inspired by both seals, replacing the arrows and olive branches of the United States; and keeping the globe but replacing cross of Georgetown with a trident. It’s unclear as yet what exactly the trident represents, but the change from cross to a trident reminds us again that the Philodemic was the first secular student organization at Georgetown, and at a religious school, that was a distinctive part of its identity from the beginning.
Yet it’s the reverse of the seal that is closest to what we use today: two Roman gods, Mercury (the Roman equivalent to Greek Hermes) holds hands with the goddess Liberty (Libertas, supposed to be the literal divine personification of freedom; the goddess who is the Liberty of the Statue of Liberty!).
With Mercury the patron God of Eloquence, the metaphor of public speaking and liberty going hand in hand is very straightforwardly delivered. Yet here is where it really gets interesting. According to the original resolution establishing the crest, the Goddess Liberty is supposed to hold a “rod with the cap”: something she is depicted as doing in the original sketch in the Philodemic minutes from the 1830s; while Mercury holds a funny shaped object that looks a little bit like something you see in hospital contexts.
Liberty is traditionally depicted holding a rod and a red cap, often referred to as the “liberty pole” and the “phrygian cap”; the latter, originally related to the pileus, or felt cap of emancipated slaves of ancient Rome, but which later was used as a symbol of freedom and republicanism in both the American and French revolutions.
In the years of protest leading up to the American Revolution, towns in many American colonies erected “liberty poles” with red caps atop them in public places to protest the oppressive taxes and measures of the British, most notably in New York by the underground anti-British “Sons of Liberty” group.
(Above — A 19th century French depiction of the Goddess liberty, holding the liberty pole and Phrygian cap; she is usually called “Marianne” in France, and “Columbia” in the United States; you might also recognize her from the opening credits of movies when the logo of Columbia Pictures is shown!)
Meanwhile, the other God in the Philodemic seal, Mercury (like his Greek equivalent Hermes) traditionally is depicted holding an object called a caduceus, a staff entwined by two serpents, usually surmounted with wings, which also represents Eloquence.
Confusingly and annoyingly, the caduceus is often confused in medical contexts and iconography with a similar looking object, the Rod of Asclepius (Greek God of medicine), who has a staff with just one snake wrapped around it.
So the Philodemic’s original design calls for a two sided crest; one with an eagle, globe and trident; the other with Mercury and Liberty holding hands, and a long motto stretching across both sides of the crest: “Colit Societas Philodemica E Collegio Geogiopolitano” | “Eloquentiam Libertati Devinctam”. Often translated as: “The Philodemic Society of Georgetown College cultivates eloquence devoted to liberty.” Yet if you take a look at our crest, you won’t see that today.
Instead, we’ve simplified it to down one-sided shield, replacing Mercury and Liberty with their main symbols, the caduceus and liberty pole/Phrygian cap, and put the entire motto along the outside. Yet even in this compressed form, we’ve stayed remarkably to the original design, full motto, and the symbols of the two main Gods, who represent the very idea of our motto: eloquence and freedom, what we’re supposed to be striving for.
Eloquentiam Libertati Devinctam has been our consistent motto for 191 years, something expressed in what we do every week, and in the visual crests and iconography we have used since the very beginning of the society – although I can’t tell you how many different ways I’ve seen it misspelled over 19 decades of documents in the Philodemic Archives in Lauinger Library!
I’m dedicated to the history of the Philodemic, including our traditions, iconography, and motto (and the constitution, as I swore to uphold!); but I also love to see the combined evolution and faithfulness to tradition that we’ve kept across these centuries. A few years back, my own mentee, Aidan Poling (SFS'20), hand made and painted two sizable shields based on the original design, which you can see here:
(Above left to right: Philodemic Shields based on the original design, handmade by Aidan Poling (SFS’20) and the same shields on display during the 2022 holiday debate in Riggs Library)
This was a brief history and explanation of the original Philodemic seal, and how it’s similar to the crest we most commonly use today. When I next write here, I’ll talk about some different versions of the crest that have popped up between 1831 and 2022, you might see across campus, including in Copley Hall and Gaston Hall, including a mysterious coin! Until then -
-Jonathan Marrow (COL’18)
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