Quoted:
Quoted: I think I can see Waldo in there too!
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Where do you see waldo? I only see Bigfoot....
(ETA: Since this is a topic, what does the writing at the base of the pyramid say?)
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www.greatseal.com/mottoes/seclorum.htmlA New Order of the Ages
The Latin motto "novus ordo seclorum" was suggested by Charles Thomson when he put together the final design for the reverse side of the Great Seal in June 1782:
"On the base of the pyramid the numerical letters MDCCLXXVI & underneath the following motto. 'novus ordo seclorum'"
The motto has been traced to Virgil, the renowned Roman poet who lived in the first century B.C. – to a line in his Eclogue IV, the pastoral poem that expresses the longing of the world for a new era of peace and happiness.
"Magnus ab integro seclorum nascitur ordo."
Virgil's line has been translated in different ways, including:
The great series of ages begins anew.
The ages' mighty march begins anew.
A mighty order of ages is born anew.
The majestic roll of circling centuries begins anew.
Novus means: new or young or novel. Ordo means: row or series or order. Seclorum (a poetic form of seculorum or saeculorum), means: of the ages or generations or centuries.
An expert in Latin, Charles Thomson coined the motto: "novus ordo seclorum" and explained:
"The date underneath [the unfinished pyramid] is that of the Declaration of Independence and the words under it signify the beginning of the new American Æra, which commences from that date."
The official translation of "novus ordo seclorum" is:
"A new order of the ages"
NOTE: "Novus ordo seclorum" does not properly translate into "new world order," which is an English phrase whose Latin translation would not be "novus ordo seclorum." Seclorum is a plural form (new worlds order?), and Thomson specifically said the motto refers to "the new American era" which began in 1776.