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The coat of arms of Spain, flanked by the Pillars of Hercules bearing the motto plus ultra Wooden panelling in Charles V's palace in the Alhambra Motto of the city of Binche, Belgium
Plus ultra ( Latin: [pluːs ˈʊltraː], Spanish: [plus ˈultɾa], English: "further beyond") is a Latin phrase and the national motto of Spain. A reversal of the original phrase non plus ultra ("nothing further beyond"), 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), it has metaphorical suggestions of taking risks and striving for excellence. Its original version, the personal motto of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, also Duke of Burgundy and King of Spain, was Plus oultre in French. It appears on the columns of the Spanish coat of arms, in reference to the discovery of the New World.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Plus ultra” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.