Annuit Cœptis - Wikipedia

Jump to content

Contents

move to sidebar hide

• (Top)
• 1 On the Great Seal
• 2 Change from Deo Favente to Annuit Cœptis
• 3 Classical source of the motto
• 4 Notes
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Further reading
• 8 External links

• Article
• Talk

English

• Read
• Edit
• View history

Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions

• Read
• Edit
• View history

General

• What links here
• Related changes
• Upload file
• Permanent link
• Page information
• Cite this page
• Get shortened URL
• Download QR code

Print/export

• Download as PDF
• Printable version

In other projects

• Wikimedia Commons
• Wikidata item

Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Motto on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States

Annuit cœptis (/ˈænuɪtˈsɛptɪs/, Classical Latin: [ˈannʊ.ɪtˈkoe̯ptiːs]) 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour 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]

A 2024 publication in the Associated Gospel Churches Journal 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

[edit]

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.[citation needed] Annuit cœptis comes from the Aeneid, book IX, line 635, 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."[citation needed]

Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The note can be seen here, and the pyramid portion here.

See also

[edit]

• Novus ordo seclorum
• E pluribus unum
• Eye of Providence
• List of Latin phrases
• List of national mottos
• List of U.S. state and territory mottos
• United States national motto

References

[edit]

1. ^ "Annuit Coeptis – Origin and Meaning of the Motto Above the Pyramid & Eye". greatseal.com.
2. ^ Papers of the Continental Congress, item 23, folios 137–139.
3. ^ MacArthur, John D. (2011). "Third Committee". Retrieved 11-25-2011.
4. ^ "Third Committee's Design for the Great Seal – 1782". greatseal.com.
5. ^ "The Great Seal of the United States" (PDF). U.S. Department of State Bureau of Public Affairs. July 2003. p. 5. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
6. ^ "The Great Seal of the United States" (PDF). U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs. 2003. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
7. ^ Bureau of Engraving, Currency Notes
8. ^ U.S. Treasury (2010). "Portraits & Designs". Retrieved 11-25-2011.
9. ^ In The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010]
10. ^ Gardiner, Richard. (2024). "Annuit Coeptis," AGC Journal (Spring 2024) Volume 4, No. 1, p. 13ff.
11. ^ Vergilius Maro, Publius (29–19 BC). Aeneid. Retrieved 11-25-2011.

Further reading

[edit]

• Gardiner, Richard. (2024). "Annuit Coeptis," AGC Journal (Spring 2024) Volume 4, No. 1, p. 13ff.
• Patterson, Richard Sharpe; Dougall, Richardson (1978) [1976 i.e. 1978]. The Eagle and the Shield: A History of the Great Seal of the United States. Department and Foreign Service series; 161 Department of State publication; 8900. Washington : Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, Dept. of State : for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off. LCCN 78602518. OCLC 4268298.

External links

[edit]

• Media related to Annuit coeptis at Wikimedia Commons

v t e United States currency and coinage
Topics	U.S. dollar Federal Reserve System Federal Reserve Note U.S. Mint Denver Philadelphia San Francisco West Point Carson City Charlotte Dahlonega New Orleans Manila Mint The Dalles Mint Bureau of Engraving and Printing Mutilated currency
Current coinage	Penny (1¢) Nickel (5¢) Dime (10¢) Quarter (25¢) Half dollar (50¢) Dollar ($1)
Bullion coinage	America the Beautiful (silver) American Silver Eagle American Gold Eagle American Buffalo (gold) First Spouse (gold) American Platinum Eagle American Palladium Eagle American Liberty (gold)
Current paper money	$1 $2 $5 $10 $20 $50 $100
Discontinued denominations	$500 $1,000 $5,000 $10,000 $100,000
Related	Art and engraving on United States banknotes Sesquicentennial coinage Bicentennial coinage Semiquincentennial coinage Black Eagle Silver Certificate Brasher Doubloon Commemoratives Confederate dollar Continental banknotes Continental dollar coin Funnyback Large denominations Obsolete denominations Canceled denominations Counterfeit United States currency Mill National Numismatic Collection Coin production In God We Trust E pluribus unum Annuit cœptis Novus ordo seclorum Nicknames Replacement banknote Sales tax token Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee Promotional fake denominations Where's George?

v t e National symbols of the United States
Symbols	Flag Great Seal Bald eagle Uncle Sam Columbia Phrygian cap General Grant Tree American Creed Pledge of Allegiance Rose Oak Bison
Landmarks	Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) Liberty Bell Mount Rushmore National Mall West Potomac Park
Mottos	In God We Trust E pluribus unum Novus ordo seclorum Annuit cœptis
Songs	"The Star-Spangled Banner" "Dixie" "America the Beautiful" "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "Hail to the Chief" "Hail, Columbia" "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" "God Bless America" "Lift Every Voice and Sing" "The Army Goes Rolling Along" "Anchors Aweigh" "Marines' Hymn" "Semper Fidelis" "The Air Force Song" "Semper Paratus" "Semper Supra" "National Emblem March" "The Washington Post March" "Battle Hymn of the Republic" "Yankee Doodle" "You're a Grand Old Flag" "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" "This Land Is Your Land" "Battle Cry of Freedom" "God Bless the U.S.A."

v t e Charles Thomson
Founding of theUnited States	Sons of Liberty (Philadelphia) Secretary, Continental Congress, 1774-1789 Journals of the Continental Congress First Continental Congress Second Continental Congress Confederation Congress Dunlap broadside, Declaration of Independence Great Seal of the United States Annuit cœptis Novus ordo seclorum
Other events	Secretary, Treaty of Easton, 1758
Writings	Thomson's Bible translation
Home	Harriton House
Portrayals	1776 (1969 musical) 1776 (1972 film)
Related	Continental Association Articles of Confederation Seal of the president of the United States Syng inkstand

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Annuit_cœptis&oldid=1335821821" Categories:

• Latin mottos
• National symbols of the United States

Hidden categories:

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Pages with Classical Latin IPA
• Articles containing Latin-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from August 2024
• Commons category link is on Wikidata

Search Search Toggle the table of contents Annuit cœptis 15 languages Add topic