Annuit coeptis

Seal of the USA, reverse side

Annuit coeptis or annuit Cœptis is one of the two Latin mottoes on the back of the seal of the United States , as, for example, as to the greenback designated dollar notes A place. It is translated differently in terms of sense and tense, for example "He is weighed in our ventures", "He was weighed in our ventures", "He was gracious to the beginnings" or "He nodded to the beginning!".

The combination with the all-seeing eye makes it clear that the saying refers to the triune God . The other motto is Novus ordo seclorum (Latin: "A new order of the ages"). With this in mind, and with the year 1776 indicated on the seal, it is intended to express that God is blessing the United States Constitution .

This one dollar bill figurative element depicts the Eye of Providence

“Annuit coeptis” is a modification of a hexameter from Virgil's epic Aeneid . It says in verse 625 of the ninth book: ". Iuppiter omnipotens, audacibus annue coeptis" ( "Mächtigster Jupiter . Was weighed the bold start") With these words Ascanius , son of Aeneas , his prayer before a battle against the Rutuler .

Web links

Commons : Annuit coeptis - collection of images, videos and audio files

www.greatseal.com (English)

Individual evidence

↑ "He Favors Our Undertakings." Thomas White: Dollar Bill. In: Peter Knight (Ed.): Conspiracy Theories in American History. To Encyclopedia . Volume 1, ABC Clio, Santa Barbara / Denver / London 2003, p. 227.
↑ "He Has Favored Our Undertakings." Michael Stolleis : The Eye of the Law. Materials for a modern metaphor. In: Yearbook of the historical college 2001 , pp. 15–43, here p. 34 ( online , accessed on July 15, 2017)
↑ Wolfgang Kemp : The revolutionary theater of Jacques-Louis David. A new interpretation of the “oath in the ballroom” . In: Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft 21 (1986), pp. 165–184, here p. 178 f.
↑ Klaus Bartels : E pluribus unum: Eight words of Latin for one dollar . In: Antike Welt , Heft 3 (2010), p. 95.
↑ Michael Stolleis: The eye of the law. Materials for a modern metaphor. In: Yearbook of the historical college 2001 , pp. 15–43, here p. 34 ( online , accessed on July 15, 2017).
↑ Niklas Holzberg (Hrsg./Übers.): Virgil: Aeneis ( Tusculum Collection ). De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-040879-9 , p. 485.

[1] "He Favors Our Undertakings." Thomas White: Dollar Bill. In: Peter Knight (Ed.): Conspiracy Theories in American History. To Encyclopedia . Volume 1, ABC Clio, Santa Barbara / Denver / London 2003, p. 227.

[2] "He Has Favored Our Undertakings." Michael Stolleis : The Eye of the Law. Materials for a modern metaphor. In: Yearbook of the historical college 2001 , pp. 15–43, here p. 34 ( online , accessed on July 15, 2017)

[3] Wolfgang Kemp : The revolutionary theater of Jacques-Louis David. A new interpretation of the “oath in the ballroom” . In: Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft 21 (1986), pp. 165–184, here p. 178 f.

[4] Klaus Bartels : E pluribus unum: Eight words of Latin for one dollar . In: Antike Welt , Heft 3 (2010), p. 95.

[5] Michael Stolleis: The eye of the law. Materials for a modern metaphor. In: Yearbook of the historical college 2001 , pp. 15–43, here p. 34 ( online , accessed on July 15, 2017).

[6] Niklas Holzberg (Hrsg./Übers.): Virgil: Aeneis ( Tusculum Collection ). De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-040879-9 , p. 485.