Annuit cœptis

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The reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States

Annuit cœptis (

Classical Latin: [ˈannʊ.ɪt ˈkoe̯ptiːs]) 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

William Barton's design with Deo Favente and Perennis

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,

Continental currency bill designed by Francis Hopkinson.[4][a]

Change from Deo Favente to Annuit Cœptis

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]

Reverse monochrome detail

Annuit Cœptis is translated by 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?

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

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,

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

Caesar Augustus
and translates to "give [us] an easy path and nod at our audacious undertakings."

Notes

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

See also

References

  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. ^ Journals of the Continental Congress, June 1782
  6. 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


External links
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