Annuit cœptis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Annuit cœptis'' (, ) is one of two
motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
s on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States. The literal translation is " e/Shefavors (or "has favored") urundertakings", from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''annuo'' ("I approve, I favor"), and ''coeptum'' ("commencement, undertaking"). Because of its context as a caption above the
Eye of Providence The Eye of Providence (or the All-Seeing Eye of God) is a symbol that depicts an eye, often enclosed in a triangle and surrounded by Ray (optics), rays of light or Glory (optical phenomenon), glory, meant to represent divine providence, whereby ...
, the standard translations are "Providence favors our undertakings" and "Providence has favored our undertakings".


On the Great Seal

In 1782,
Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...
appointed a design artist, William Barton of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, to bring a proposal for the national seal. For the reverse, Barton suggested a 13-layered pyramid underneath the
Eye of Providence The Eye of Providence (or the All-Seeing Eye of God) is a symbol that depicts an eye, often enclosed in a triangle and surrounded by Ray (optics), rays of light or Glory (optical phenomenon), glory, meant to represent divine providence, whereby ...
. 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 Early American currency went through several stages of development during the colonial and post-Revolutionary history of the United States. John Hull was authorized by the Massachusetts legislature to make the earliest coinage of the colony (the ...
bill designed by
Francis Hopkinson Francis Hopkinson (October 2,Hopkinson was born on September 21, 1737, according to the then-used Julian calendar (old style). In 1752, however, Great Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar (new style) which moved Hopkinson's ...
. Barton explained that the motto alluded to the
Eye of Providence The Eye of Providence (or the All-Seeing Eye of God) is a symbol that depicts an eye, often enclosed in a triangle and surrounded by Ray (optics), rays of light or Glory (optical phenomenon), glory, meant to represent divine providence, whereby ...
: "''Deo favente'' which alludes to the Eye in the Arms, meant for the Eye of Providence." In western art, God is traditionally represented by the Eye of Providence, which principally symbolizes God's
omniscience Omniscience () is the capacity to know everything. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, this is an God#General conceptions, attribute of God. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any individual can eventually attain. In B ...
. When designing the final version of the Great Seal,
Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, 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 The phrase ''Novus ōrdō sēclōrum'' (, ; "New order of the ages") is the second of two mottos added by the secretary of the Congress of the Confederation, Charles Thomson, on the reverse (the back side) of the Great Seal of the United States ( ...
'' instead of ''Perennis''). When he provided his official explanation of the meaning of this motto, he wrote:


Change from ''Deo Favente'' to ''Annuit Cœptis''

''Annuit Cœptis'' is translated by the U.S. State Department, the
U.S. Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; that ...
, and the
U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
as, "He odhas favored our undertakings" (brackets in original). However, the original Latin does not explicitly state who (or what) is the subject of the sentence. Robert Hieronimus, a scholar of American iconography, has argued that Thomson's intent was to find a phrase that contained exactly 13 letters to fit the theme of the seal. On the obverse was ''
E Pluribus Unum ''E pluribus unum'' ( , , ) – Latin for "Out of many, one" (also translated as "One out of many" or "One from many") – is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal along with ''Annuit cœptis'' (Latin for "he ...
'' (13 letters), along with 13 stars, 13 horizontal stripes (on the shield on back of the one-dollar bill), 13 vertical stripes, 13 arrows, 13 olive leaves, and 13 olives. The
pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
under the motto, ''Annuit Cœptis'', has 13 layers. According to Hieronimus, ''Annuit Cœptis'' has 13 letters and was selected to fit the theme. ''Deo Favente'' had only ten letters. However, ''Annuit cœptis'' is written with a Œ
ligature Ligature may refer to: * Ligature (medicine), a piece of suture used to shut off a blood vessel or other anatomical structure ** Ligature (orthodontic), used in dentistry * Ligature (music), an element of musical notation used especially in the me ...
on the seal, thus forming only 12 characters.


Classical source of the motto

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 The phrase ''Novus ōrdō sēclōrum'' (, ; "New order of the ages") is the second of two mottos added by the secretary of the Congress of the Confederation, Charles Thomson, on the reverse (the back side) of the Great Seal of the United States ( ...
'' (meaning "new order of the ages"), can both be traced to lines by the Roman poet
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
. ''Annuit cœptis'' comes from the ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'', book IX, line 625, which reads, ''Iuppiter omnipotens, audacibus adnue coeptis''. Vergilius Maro, Publius (2919 BC).
Aeneid
'. Retrieved 11-25-2011.
It is a prayer by
Ascanius Ascanius (; Ancient Greek: Ἀσκάνιος) (said to have reigned 1176-1138 BC) was a legendary king of Alba Longa and is the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas and Creusa, daughter of Priam. He is a character in Roman mythology, and has a divine ...
, the son of the hero of the story,
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
, which translates to, "
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
Almighty, favour ybold undertakings", just before slaying an enemy warrior, Numanus. The same language also occurred in an earlier poem of Virgil, the ''
Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...
''. In line I.40 of that work is the phrase "da facilem cursum atque ''audacibus annue cœptis''". The line is addressed to
Caesar Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
and translates to "give san easy path and nod at our audacious undertakings."


Notes


See also

* ''
Novus ordo seclorum The phrase ''Novus ōrdō sēclōrum'' (, ; "New order of the ages") is the second of two mottos added by the secretary of the Congress of the Confederation, Charles Thomson, on the reverse (the back side) of the Great Seal of the United States ( ...
'' * ''
E pluribus unum ''E pluribus unum'' ( , , ) – Latin for "Out of many, one" (also translated as "One out of many" or "One from many") – is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal along with ''Annuit cœptis'' (Latin for "he ...
'' *
Eye of Providence The Eye of Providence (or the All-Seeing Eye of God) is a symbol that depicts an eye, often enclosed in a triangle and surrounded by Ray (optics), rays of light or Glory (optical phenomenon), glory, meant to represent divine providence, whereby ...
*
List of Latin phrases __NOTOC__ This is a list of Wikipedia articles of Latin phrases and their translation into English. ''To view all phrases on a single, lengthy document, see: List of Latin phrases (full)'' The list also is divided alphabetically into twenty page ...
*
List of national mottos This article lists state and national mottos for the world's nations. The mottos for some List of unrecognized countries, states lacking general international recognition, List of extinct states, extinct states, non-sovereign nations, regions, an ...
*
List of U.S. state and territory mottos Most of the United States' 50 states have a state motto, as do the District of Columbia and 3 of its territories. A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization. State mottos ca ...
*
United States national motto The modern motto of the United States of America, as established in a 1956 law signed by President of the United States, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, is "In God we trust".{{cite web, url=http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-t ...


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Annuit coptis Latin mottos National symbols of the United States