Main Pages Front Page Overview Seal FAQs Design Process  1st Committee  2nd Committee  3rd Committee  Final Design  Description  Explanation Latin Mottoes  E Pluribus Unum     Source  Annuit Coeptis    Source    Providence    George Washington    American Cause  Novus Ordo Seclorum    Source    FDR Symbols (front)  Bald Eagle  Shield  Olive Branch  Arrows  Stars  Rays of Light  Cloud Symbols (back)  Pyramid  Eye  MDCCLXXVI Great Seals  Official Dies  First Engravings  First Painting  1792 Medal  Indian Medals  1882 Medal  One-Dollar Bill Myths  Eagle Side  Pyramid Side Themes  Unity  Peace  Liberty  Thirteen Related  Wild Turkey  President's Seal  U.S. Constitution  Sightings  Resources

Original Source of NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM Motto at the Foundation of the Unfinished Pyramid on the Great Seal The motto Novus Ordo Seclorum was coined by Charles Thomson in June 1782. He adapted it from a line in Virgil's Eclogue IV, a pastoral poem written by the famed Roman writer in the first century B.C. that expresses the longing for a new era of peace and happiness. The original Latin in Virgil's Eclogue IV (line 5) is: "Magnus ab integro seclorum nascitur ordo." For a better sense of its meaning, below are two translations (by James Rhoades and by C. S. Calverley) of the passage at the beginning of Virgil's poem which refers to the Sibyl who prophesied the fate of the Roman empire. Now the last age by Cumae's Sibyl sung Has come and gone, and the majestic roll Of circling centuries begins anew: Justice returns, returns old Saturn's reign, With a new breed of men sent down from heaven. Only do thou, at the boy's birth in whom The iron shall cease, the golden age arise. . . Under thy guidance, whatso tracks remain Of our old wickedness, once done away Shall free the earth from never-ceasing fear. He shall receive the life of gods, and see Heroes with gods commingling, and himself Be seen of them, and with his father's worth Reign o'er a world at peace. Come are those last days that the Sybil sang: The ages' mighty march begins anew. Now come the virgin, Saturn reigns again: Now from high heaven descends a wondrous race. Thou on the newborn babe – who first shall end That age of iron, bid a golden dawn. . . Thou, trampling out what prints our crimes have left, Shalt free the nations from perpetual fear. While he to bliss shall waken; with the Blest See the Brave mingling, and be seen of them, Ruling that world o'er which his father's arm shed peace. That key phrase (bolded above) has also been translated as: a "great series or mighty order of ages is born anew." Charles Thomson was a former Latin teacher, and Virgil was one of his favorite poets. Inspired by the above passage, he coined the motto: "Novus Ordo Seclorum" and placed it beneath the unfinished pyramid, where he explained it signifies "the beginning of the new American Æra," which commences from the Declaration of Independence in 1776. An accurate translation of Novus Ordo Seclorum is: "A New Order of the Ages" Note: Seclorum is a shortened form of seculorum, where the first "u" is deleted. In Latin poetry, it was very common to drop a letter in the middle of a word in order to preserve the meter of the poem – a device known as syncope. Another proper spelling is "sæculorum." "æ" is an example of a ligature where two letters are combined into a single character. Virgil's The Georgics inspired Annuit Coeptis, the motto above the eye of Providence. Also, his epic masterpiece, Aeneid, describes an ancient symbol of peace held by the American Bald Eagle, the olive branch.