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From: john@cisden.UUCP (John Woolley)
Newsgroups: net.games.trivia
Subject: Re: E Pluribus Unum
Message-ID: <344@cisden.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Dec-85 12:29:26 EST
Article-I.D.: cisden.344
Posted: Thu Dec 26 12:29:26 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Dec-85 04:31:49 EST
References: <201@nybcb.UUCP> <11284@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: john@cisden.UUCP (John Woolley)
Organization: ConTel Information Systems, Denver
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In article <11284@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> citrin@ucbvax.UUCP (Wayne Citrin) asks:
>"Annuit Coeptis" - I'm not sure, but I seem to remember reading that it 
>   meant something like "Providence has approved of us," but I'm not
>   sure.  Unfortunately I left my Latin textbook at home.  Perhaps some
>   other scholar can clear this up.

Always happy to oblige.  "Annuit" means "he has nodded", "it has approved",
something along those lines.  "Coeptis" is ablative plural of "coeptum",
"something undertaken, something begun".  So the phrase means "He [God,
one presumes] has approved our undertakings".
-- 
				Peace and Good!,
				      Fr. John Woolley
"The heart has its reasons that the mind does not know." -- Blaise Pascal