"I am much obliged for the perusal of the Elements of Heraldry, which I now return. I have just dipt into it so far as to be satisfied that it may afford a fund of entertainment and be applied by a State to useful purposes." – Charles Thomson letter to William Barton (June 24, 1782)


"Device: Emblem or Hieroglyphic, expressing some hidden mystery. These were much in use among the Egyptians, and served instead of writing; of latter times they are more used with the addition of a Motto to explain their signification, which otherwise would often be unintelligible."

The Elements of Heraldry
by Mark Antony Porny (1765)