Motto on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States
Annuit cœptis
(
,
Classical Latin
:
[?ann?.?t
?koe?ptiːs]
) is one of two
mottos
on the reverse side of the
Great Seal of the United States
. The literal translation is "[He] favors (or "has favored") [our] undertakings", from
Latin
annuo
("I approve, I favor"), and
coeptum
("commencement, undertaking"). Because of its context as a caption above the
Eye of Providence
, the standard translations are "Providence favors our undertakings" and "Providence has favored our undertakings".
[1]
On the Great Seal
[
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]
Barton explained that the motto alluded to the
Eye of Providence
: "
Deo favente
which alludes to the Eye in the Arms, meant for the Eye of Providence."
[2]
In western art, God is traditionally represented by the Eye of Providence, which principally symbolizes God's
omniscience
.
In 1782,
Samuel Adams
appointed a design artist,
William Barton
of
Philadelphia
, to bring a proposal for the national seal.
[3]
For the reverse, Barton suggested a 13-layered pyramid underneath the
Eye of Providence
. The mottos which Barton chose to accompany the design were
Deo Favente
("with God's favor", or more literally, "with God favoring") and
Perennis
("Everlasting"). The pyramid and
Perennis
motto had come from a $50
Continental currency
bill designed by
Francis Hopkinson
.
[4]
[a]
Change from
Deo Favente
to
Annuit Cœptis
[
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]
When designing the final version of the Great Seal,
Charles Thomson
(a former Latin teacher) kept the pyramid and eye for the reverse side but replaced the two mottos, using
Annuit Cœptis
instead of
Deo Favente
and
Novus ordo seclorum
instead of
Perennis
. When he provided his official explanation of the meaning of this motto, he wrote:
The Eye over [the pyramid] and the motto Annuit Cœptis allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favor of the American cause.
[5]
Annuit Cœptis
is translated by the
U.S. State Department
,
[6]
the
U.S. Mint
,
[7]
and the
U.S. Treasury
[8]
as, "He [God] has favored our undertakings" (brackets in original). However, the original Latin does not explicitly state who (or what) is the subject of the sentence.
[9]
Does
Annuit Cœptis
refer to God?
[
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]
A 2024 publication explores the question as to whether
Annuit Coeptis
makes reference to God, examining the claim that the founders of the United States were deliberate to avoid references to God by choosing only secular mottos.
[10]
Classical source of the motto
[
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]
According to Richard S. Patterson and Richardson Dougall,
Annuit cœptis
(meaning "He favours our undertakings") and the other motto on the reverse of the Great Seal,
Novus ordo seclorum
(meaning "new order of the ages"), can both be traced to lines by the Roman poet
Virgil
.
Annuit cœptis
comes from the
Aeneid
, book IX, line 625, which reads,
Iuppiter omnipotens, audacibus adnue coeptis
.
[11]
It is a prayer by
Ascanius
, the son of the hero of the story,
Aeneas
, which translates to, "
Jupiter
Almighty, favour [my] bold undertakings", just before slaying an enemy warrior, Numanus.
The same language also occurred in an earlier poem of Virgil, the
Georgics
. In line I.40 of that work is the phrase "da facilem cursum atque
audacibus annue cœptis
". The line is addressed to
Caesar Augustus
and translates to "give [us] an easy path and nod at our audacious undertakings."
Notes
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]
- ^
The note can be seen
here
, and the pyramid portion
here
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"Annuit Coeptis ? Origin and Meaning of the Motto Above the Pyramid & Eye"
.
greatseal.com
.
- ^
Papers of the Continental Congress
, item 23, folios 137?139.
- ^
MacArthur, John D. (2011).
"Third Committee"
. Retrieved 11-25-2011.
- ^
"Third Committee's Design for the Great Seal ? 1782"
.
greatseal.com
.
- ^
Journals of the Continental Congress, June 1782
- ^
"The Great Seal of the United States"
(PDF)
.
U.S. Department of State
,
Bureau of Public Affairs
. 2003
. Retrieved
November 25,
2011
.
- ^
Bureau of Engraving,
Currency Notes
- ^
U.S. Treasury (2010).
"Portraits & Designs"
. Retrieved 11-25-2011.
- ^
In
The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States
. New York:
Oxford University Press
, 2010]
- ^
Gardiner, Richard. (2024).
"Annuit Coeptis,"
AGC Journal
(Spring 2024) Volume 4, No. 1, p. 13ff.
- ^
Vergilius Maro, Publius
(29?19 BC).
Aeneid
. Retrieved 11-25-2011.
Further reading
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]
External links
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]
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