The phrase ''Novus ōrdō sēclōrum'' (, ; "New order of the ages") is the second of two mottos added by the secretary of the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson ...

, on the reverse (the back side) of the Great Seal of the United States (the first motto is '' Annuit cœptis'').

Great Seal of the United States (reverse)

Origin and phrase meaning

The phrase is a reference to the fourth ''Eclogue'' of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

, which contains a passage (lines 5-8) that reads: The forms ''saecla'', ''saeclorum'' etc. were normal alternatives to the more common ''saecula'' etc. throughout the history of Latin poetry and prose. The form ''saeculorum'' is impossible in

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

verse: the ''ae'' and ''o'' are long, the ''u'' short by position. The word ''seclorum'' does not mean "secular", but is the

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can a ...

(possessive) plural form of the word ''saeculum'', meaning (in this context) generation, century, or age. ''Saeculum'' did come to mean "age, world" in late, Christian Latin, and "secular" is derived from it, through ''secularis''. However, the adjective "secularis," meaning "worldly," is not equivalent to the genitive plural "seclorum," meaning "of the ages." The motto ''Novus ordo seclorum'' was translated and added to the seal by

, a Latin expert who was involved in the design of the Great Seal, as "A new order of the ages." Thomson said it was to signify "the beginning of the new American Era" as of the date of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

.The Great Seal of the United States
" ''U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Public Affairs,'' Washington, D.C., July 2003, pp. 4, 5, 15. PDF of official brochure.

References

{{Charles Thomson Latin mottos National symbols of the United States

Origin and phrase meaning

See also

References