
Plus ultra

Plus ultra (, , ) is a Latin phrase and the national motto of Spain. It is taken from the personal motto of Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558), Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain (as Charles I), and is a reversal of the original phrase "non plus ultra" ("Nothing further beyond"). This was said to have been inscribed as a warning on the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar, which marked the edge of the known world in antiquity. Charles adopted the motto following the discovery of the New World by Columbus, and it also has metaphorical suggestions of taking risks and striving for excellence.
Charles V.
The motto was suggested to the young king in 1516 by his adviser Luigi Marliano, an Italian phyisician. It was emblematic of Marliano's vision of a Christian empire spanning beyond the boundaries of the Old World. The motto is first recorded on the back of Charles's chair in the church of St Gudule, Brussels. The original French motto "Plus oultre" was translated into Latin due to the hostility Spaniards bore for the French-speaking advisors and ministers Charles brought with him to Spain from the Low Countries. It was associated in particular with the desire to bring the Reconquista past Gibraltar and into North Africa. At Charles's entry into Burgos in 1520, an arch was set up bearing on one side, "Plus ultra", and on the other "All of Africa weeps because it knows that you have the key [Gibraltar and] have to be its master".
Spain.
The motto continued to be popular in Spain after Charles V's death. It appeared in Habsburg propaganda and was used to encourage Spanish explorers to ignore the old warning and go beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Today it is featured on both the flag and arms of Spain.