Novus Ordo Seclorum

From Freepedia

The phrase Novus Ordo Seclorum (Latin for "New Order of the Ages") appears on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, first designed in 1782 and printed on the back of the American dollar bill since 1935. It is also appears at the Coat of Arms of the Yale School of Management, Yale University's business school. It is often thought, incorrectly, to mean "New World Order"; however, the exact Latin translation for the latter phrase would be "Novus Ordo Mundi."

The phrase is taken from the fourth eclogue of Virgil, which contains a passage that reads:

Ultima Cumaei venit iam carminis aetas;

magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo.

iam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna,

iam nova progenies caelo demittitur alto.

"The last prophecy has come to the Cumaean Sibyl; a brand new great order of the ages is born; for now the Virgin and the age of Saturn have returned; now a new Child has been sent from the heavens." (Latin prose would normally spell the word saeculorum, but that form is impossible in hexameter verse: the ae and o are long, the u short by position. For the medieval exchange between ae, æ and e, see Æ; medieval is another example.)

Medieval Christians read Virgil's poem as a prophecy of the coming of Christ.

The word seclorum does not mean "secular," as one might assume, but is the genitive (possessive) plural form of the word saeculum, meaning (in this context) generation, century, or age. [1]

Thus the motto Novus Ordo Seclorum can be translated as "A new order of the ages." It was proposed by Charles Thompson, the Latin expert who was involved in the design of the Great Seal of the United States, to signify "the beginning of the new American Era" as of the date of the Declaration of Independence.

Novus Ordo Seclorum is also the name of a high quality encryption program in Cryptonomicon, a novel by Neal Stephenson. The name is said to be a pun based on the fact that the program puts data in a "new order" that cannot be unscrambled for "ages".

Some of those who believe that the Freemasons and the Jacobins are conspiring to control the world claim that the motto is inspired by Freemasonry, and is one of the clues to the True Masters of the World. These theorists assert that the word should be spelt secolorum, and the alleged first o is omitted for occult reasons. By circumscribing the 6 pointed Star of David over the pyramid, 5 of the 6 apices (the 6th being the 'All-seeing eye'), point to the letters spelling M-A-S-O-N. (disputed — see talk page) This theory is supported by the 13 steps to ascend the pyramid, and the 72 visible blocks on the front, representing the Tetragrammaton, or 72-fold name of god, from which the names of the Archangels are derived and the decans of the heavenly plane are so numbered.