From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fatti maschii, parole femine, Maryland's state motto, appears on the Great Seal of Maryland.

Fatti maschii, parole femine is the state motto of Maryland. Sometimes mistaken for Latin, the language of many state mottos, it is actually Italian, although the modern spelling of the phrase is "Fatti maschi, parole femmine", making Maryland the only state with a motto in that language. The saying has been translated several ways, the literal and most common being "Manly deeds, womanly words." This presumably conveys the same message as Theodore Roosevelt's famous "speak softly and carry a big stick," and some argue that this meaning is better conveyed by translating the motto as "strong deeds, gentle words." Also, but rarely, offered as a translation is "Facts are male, words are female."

The saying is the motto of the Calvert family (the Barons Baltimore) who first founded the Colony of Maryland. George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore made it his family's motto in 1622 and it appears that the saying was well known in 17th century England, where a contemporary of Calvert's translated it as "words are women; deeds are men". Interestingly, it has never formally been adopted by act of the General Assembly.

There has been some controversy in Maryland over the use of the motto on official documents. In 1969 the Archivist of Maryland offered as a translation, "Deeds are manly, words are womanly" and this was actually written into law. But in the 1970s, one member of the General Assembly challenged the translation as sexist and suggested an alternate translation, which did not pass. However, the legislature did return in 1975 to the older translation, "manly deeds, womanly words." This is the way the motto is "loosely translated" in the laws describing the state seal.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Italian proverbs

• The Archivists' BULLDOG