Annuit Coeptis

"He [God] has favored our undertakings."

During this Christmas season, I have done a little thinking about the value of money in our lives. I have noticed a pattern in my fiscal life of loosening up the grip on my available, and sometimes unavailable, cash reserves. I think this might be something that many of us can relate to, especially as we seek to bring joy to others through annual gift-giving. I can't seem to help myself sometimes when shopping for my wife, and I always seem to go "over budget," if there is actually a budget at all.

In light of this as well as necessity, Myrriah and I have decided to forgoe gifting to each other for the last two years running. It serves a two-fold purpose to help us afford to keep gifting to our immediate family and to help us focus on the best and only gift we need, our Savior Jesus. This boycott on gifting has also extended to our birthdays and has led to experimentation in as far as gifting sans cash purchases.

In thinking about money, I decided to write about the many latin phrases that are included on our US currency.

E Pluribus Unum-

This is by far the most popular latin phrase included on our dollar bill and most also know what it means, "out of many, one." We can see phrases similar to this going back to the ancient greek philosopher Heraclitus in his 10th fragment quoted by Aristotle, also in Moretum, a poem attributed to Virgil, and finally, to St. Augustine in his Confessions. Most likely what we took the phrase from was a monthly magazine started in 1731 in London, Gentleman's Magazine, which used it on their annual volume title page, next to a boquet of flowers.

"America was originally likened to a bouquet of different flowers [left], where unity and individuality coexisted – not a "melting pot" [right] that blended everyone together." Quote #1

In 1776 "e pluribus unum" was suggested as a motto (and remained as a de facto motto until 1956) to be included on the US seal. Below is an original drawing submitted by the first comittee, Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson, who hired Pierre Eugene du Simitiere for this purpose.

 

"The center section of their shield has six symbols for the Countries from which these States have been peopled: the rose (England), thistle (Scotland), harp (Ireland), fleur-de-lis (France), lion (Holland), and an imperial two-headed eagle (Germany)." Quote #2

Novus Ordo Seclorum-

(seen below pyramid)

Meaning "a new order of the ages," this phrase was first suggested by Charles Thomson who came up with the final design for "The Great Seal." Thomson included this motto for the seal signifying the beginning of a new American era. This phrase is sometimes translated incorrectly as, "new world order."

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

Now comes the final era of the Sybil's song; The great order of the ages is born anew. And now justice returns, honored rules return; now a new lineage in sent down from high heaven.

It is curious that the medieval Christians read Virgil's poem as a prophecy of the coming Christ. There is also a lot of interesting symbolism in these seals and I encourage you to learn more about it as I chose not to take the time to go over that in this posting. It really has no direct connection to Latin in our context.

Annuit Coeptis- "He [God] has favored our undertakings."(seen above pyramid)

In 1782 William Barton started work on the national seal and his proposal can be seen below. Originally he suggested, "deo favente," literally, "with God favoring," above the pyramid and "perennis," "everlasting," below. You may quickly notice that our two latin phrases from above the pyramid are very similar in meaning. Barton meant his motto to allude to the Eye of Providence which he equated to none other than God. When Thomson took over, he meant his motto to have a similar meaning, but decided to adopt a phrase from Virgil's Aeneid. The unfortunate part is that with the new phrase, God had technically been removed from the meaning, although most agree that God is still implied just as I indicated inside the brackets of the translation. Thomson explains his purpose, "The Eye over it [the pyramid] and the motto Annuit Cœptis allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favor of the American cause." Quote #3

Out of all these Latin phrases found on our currency and seal, I found the two above the pyramid to be most interesting. When we look at the literal translation of annuit coeptis, we are left to supply a subject, which we can leave as he, or we can assume from the seal that it means Providence itself, rendered from the Eye of Providence, the triangle above the pyramid. Providence in many definitions refers to God, and even in the basest sense assumes a divine attribute. I feel that we can correctly translate this, "God has favored our undertakings," where undertakings can be understood to mean the founding of the United States.

Does God still favor our undertakings or endeavors as a country? as individuals? I feel that as God's tool on Earth, our government will not always act directly in God's favor, nor has He expected it or any other such establishment outside of Israel's theocracy under Himself to do so. We as individuals, however, do need to keep ourselves in check by asking ourselves, "are my endeavors/undertakings in God's favor?" "Are my endeavors seen to be in God's favor?" Unfortunately, we can answer negatively to these questions all too often. Let us keep ourselves in check so that we may proudly say that with God's help, "Annuit Coeptis!"

Quod Me Nutrit, Me Destruit

Literal: "What nourishes me, destroys me."

Some of you may know that I have a couple tatoos on my wrists that are very meaningful. The first tatoo is in Latin and translates from Martin Luther to, "Simulataneously both sinner and saint." One of the main purposes of this particular tatoo is to constantly remind me in my struggle as a Christian, to live my life in Christ even while understanding that I while I will fall, I am also an eternally saved child of God. It is an oxymoron of sorts, certainly a paradox and it can be poignant to me at different times and for different reasons; at times, it serves to convict my heart of my guilt, at others, to assure me of my forgiveness.

I am not alone in my daily struggles with temptation, however, today I reflect on our individual vices and pet sins.

General Meaning: "That which motivates or drives a person, can consume them from within."

One can only guess if this is the meaning that Angelina Jolie had in mind when she famously tatooed this on her lower abdomen. It is a bit more obvious what pro-anorexia groups had in mind when they took on this phrase as a slogan. The actual origin of this phrase was first found on the top-left corner of a portrait of Christopher Marlowe which was found at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge where he attended college.

This quote finds older origins with a slight variation, "quod me alit, me extinguit," meaning, "that which feeds me, extinguishes me." Gladly we can find this in Shakespeare's argued work, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, which most likely was influenced by an anonymous work popular in medieval times, Apollonius of Tyre, which may trace back to ancient Greece. More tellingly, this phrase was also found in emblem books such as Samuel Daniel's; an illustration of a flaming torch, held upside down.

In Act II, scene ii of Pericles, there is a procession of six knights bearing heraldic device on their shields. The device of the fourth knight…described by Thaisa and interpreted by Simonides:

                Thai.      A burning torch that’s turned upside down;

                               The word, “Quod me alit, me extinguit.”

                Sim.       Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,

                                Which can as well inflame as it can kill.

                                                                                                                (ll.32-35)

Even as the waxe doth feede, and quenche the flame,

So, love gives life; and love, dispaire doth give;

The godlie love, doth lovers crowne with fame;

The wicked love, in shame dothe make them live.

Then leave to love, or love as reason will,

For, lovers lewde doe vainlie languishe still.

                                                                    -Geoffery Whitney's A Choice of Emblems

Emblem books such as shown direcly above, also give an explanation of the nature of love - which motivates, lets us do impossible things, but can also be destructive. They also extend the meaning to include power, politics, and metaphysics. I would view the nature of love, here, not as romantic love as with another individual, but love of anything. What a perfect metaphor for this classic phrase. Imagine that torch above - fire burning wax which feeds the flame, yet also melting the wax, which, falling towards the flame, slowly extinguishes the flame itself!

When we struggle daily with our vices, what we are really struggling with is our sinful nature of love. By nature, we "love" those things which make us feel good; whether it be a physical feeling or a feeling of power. This sinful love is the love that attracts us to sex, money, and authority; and it is this love which motivates us to do great and often hideous things. More often than not, it will also bring our destruction.

As a Christian, our fight against our selfish love of _________(fill in the blank), even though it may not lead to an obvious "destruction," such as getting caught while lieing, cheating, stealing, lusting etc. does slowly errode our faith and love in a more worthy "object," i.e. Christ; and will, without true and complete repentence, lead us to a loss of faith in Christ.

In a slightly different context, I also think of our worldy passions which in and of themselves are not sinful, such as: video games, sports, tv shows, movies, celebrity gossip, and social media to name a few. How can these "destroy" while "feeding" us? When we become engrossed in such neutral vices, we often will let it adversely effect other more important things in our lives. We rush through our chores and homework, and in so doing, put forth a poor effort and product, so that we can get back to our video games, tv show, facebook. We let our loved ones suffer when we spend time on these when we should be encouraging, supporting, and loving our spouses, children, parents.

I encourage you all to let your love of Christ motivate you more than any other and in so doing, Christ will use you to do great and glorious things for his kingdom. Let Christ's love nourish you; you will never be destroyed!

Ultra Crepidam

"beyond the sole"

Although it is certainly not anything new for me, by the nature of my employment, I had a fairly vexing conversation with a client this evening. The client, of themself, was not particularly rude or upset. No, what bothered me about the call was the attitude of the client. I do not presume to be an absolue expert in the field of finance, but I do expect to have an above-average knowledge and insight into matters of this business. Without going into any details, let's just say that the client was fairly outspoken about matters that they obviously did not understand. This sort of call is not as rare as I might wish, however, this incident did spark something. I also have a feeling that you will all be able to feel where I am coming from.

As I reflect on how I felt during the aforementioned phone call, I realize that too often I also presume to know more than I do about many things. I can only imagine the times that I have opined toward something with which I was hardly an expert.

Ultra Crepidam

Above, slightly modified from the original quote: "ne supra crepidam sutor iudicaret," meaning, " judge not above the sandal, shoemaker."
Pliny the Elder is a well known Roman author of Historia Naturalis, an encyclopedic work. Within this work he tells many stories about Apelles, whom Pliny boasts as one of the best artists of his time (23 AD –  79 AD). In one such story, he tells of how Apelles respected the public opinion so much, that he would place a completed piece in a public place, and then hide in a descrete place to listen in on the public's criticism. One day during such a practice, he overheard a shoemaker comment that one of the sandals in his painting was missing a lace. After hearing this, Apelles made certain to correct the mistake. The next day, while eavesdropping again during the display of the same work, the same shoemaker, enblazened with pride to see that his critique had been followed, started to criticize the leg; at this point, Apelles burst out of hiding, full of indignation, and said, "Judge not above the sandal, shoemaker!"

Now during Pliny's time, this had become a familiar proverb, and thanks to William Hazlitt, I believe that we should bring this proverb back! Hazlitt used this Latin proverb to create a new word in our language, ultracrepidarian, or one who gives his opinion to matters beyond his own knowledge. Ready for another story?
A famous letter from Hazlitt to the editor of the Quarterly Review, William Gifford, records the first use of this word in reference to the editor. Hazlitt was not Gifford's nor the publication's biggest fan, and the letter was written in response to a review of Hazlitt's published lectures. He also spoke of the incident is his later essays, The Spirit of the Age:

"His Journal, then, is a depository for every species of political sophistry and personal calumny. There is no abuse or corruption that does not there find a Jesuitical palliation or a bare-faced vindication. There we meet the slime of hypocrisy, the varnish of courts, the cant of pedantry, the cobwebs of the law, the iron hand of power. Its object is as mischievous as the means by which it is pursued are odious."

Now if that doesn't motivate you to want to incorporate supra (ultra) crepidam, or ultracrepidarian, into your vocabulary, then--Amici, diem perdidi!

Sub Rosa

Literal Translation: “under the rose”

I struggle to keep secrets. This is no surprise to some, and not a stretch to imagine for most. It’s logical that someone as extroverted and loud-mouthed as myself would have trouble keeping things to himself. It’s also quite common that I may reveal a secret simply from a “cerebral thumb-pulling.” Over time I have thought of less-than-genius ways to remind myself of these secrets, which most often are manifest in the form of a surprise of some sort for my wife. The characteristic of these secrets that makes them even harder to conceal is that they are often times on the fore-front of my mind by default of their nature, i.e. they are good/exciting secrets. One such failed attempt to keep a surprise from my wife included drawing an unnoticeable marking in the webbing between my thumb and forefinger. I think, however, I may have discovered a tactic that may just work, and I base my faith on a long history of the practice itself.

Sub Rosa

Many of you may have heard this phrase before and some may hear it on a regular basis. It can be seen quite often in our society and history from rock albums, band names, theatres, magazines, books, tv, spirits, and skateboards. On a more serious note, this phrase has been and may still be used in companies such as International Security Consultant, Scottish government, Chatham House, and Canadian and American Special Forces.

It has come to mean, “in secret,” “privately,” “confidentially,” and “covertly.”

The origin comes from ancient Egypt as the rose was the emblem or crest of the god Horus, who you may know as the falcon-headed man in imagery. He was god of the sky and represented the sun rising each morning. After Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, the Greeks translated Horus into Harpocrates, which means, “Horus, the child.” The new Greek god came to be the god of silence. This was born from a misunderstanding with a common Egyptian hieroglyph for youth, which incidentally is very similar to another common imagery of Horus as a boy, with a finger-to-the-mouth gesture.

The story then follows in Greek mythology, that Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros, who in turn gifted the rose to Harpocrates to ensure that Eros’ mother’s indiscretions would remain secret. Greek and soon Roman customs began using the rose symbolism as a reminder of secrecy. Specifically the Romans would paint roses on banquet room ceilings as this was a common place for secrets to reveal themselves sub vino.

Similarly in the Middle Ages they would hang a rose from the ceiling of the council’s chambers to remind themselves not to repeat what was said therein. Another popular use was in the Tudor rose from the 16^th century painted large on the ceiling of their private chambers as well. And now the symbol moves closer to our lives as we see it in Christianity in places of confession especially in the Catholic Church.

So the next time you visit my house, if you notice a beautiful fresco painted on the ceiling (most likely by the hands of my lovely artist-wife), remember that what is said in that room, should stay in that room, much as I imagine “what happens in Vegas, stays in vegas!” a.k.a. Quod accidit in Vegas, manetur! (I guess that’s a phrase for another day). As for me, I will be using it as a constant reminder that I should think twice before speaking, so that, in this context, I can keep from revealing my secrets.

Credo Quia Absurdum Est

Literally: "I believe it, because it is absurd."

11 November 2011

This entry is my response to the gaudy superstition that surrounds us all, day in, day out.

11/11/11

This writing is for those who cast faith blindly into nothingness.

11-11-11

This post speaks anathema to those who believe without object.

As I reflect on today, I wish my thoughts could dwell wholly on the majestic power of God and the beauty of his creation. But what is today really? Is it the day that the Motorola Razr debuts? Is it a special film opening? Is it the rebirth of humanity as the Mayans purportedly predicted? Or is it another day that the Lord has made, in which we should rejoice and be glad, just as in any other day? I hope you made your special wish at 11:11am this morning; otherwise you may have a chance again tonight. If you miss both, then you'll have to wait another 396 days or so until 12-12-12. If my superstition serves me correctly though, I don't think that date will be any more poignant than today. Let's take a moment to think of all the things in our everyday lives could pass as mere superstition, or which quickly turn to such.

       

        Foul Superstition! howsoe'er disguised,
Idol, saint, virgin, prophet, crescent, cross,
For whatsoever symbol thou art prized,
Thou sacerdotal gain, but general loss!
Who from true worship's gold can separate thy dross?

Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgramage, Canto II (1812), Stanza 44

How easy is it for us to latch on to such a timeless and worldly fad? Superstition is no new enemy, but powerful.

As a child, I remember lying in bed with the lights out and as I slowly lost sight of the ever present sibling lying above me in our bunk, I would grow restless with the fear of the irrational. Ghosts, ghouls, undead, you name it and I was afraid of it. It all started one night when I was seven or eight, I suppose, when I was falling asleep, I happened to open my eyes and literally scared myself awake with the presence of my own hand stretched out before my eyes. The sudden startling was attributed to the thought that someone was attacking me, followed quickly by the realization that it was my own stupid hand, which inadvertently was poised in front of my face as I imagined someone attacking me. See, I had been playing and as I fell asleep, I forgot I was playing and thus scared myself senseless. This event was followed by a solid two years of hypnophobia, which is a fear of falling asleep.

This story sets up the following realization that I used superstition, to no avail, to try to ward off this evil that haunted me as I attempted to sleep. I did not rub a rabbit’s foot, hang a hamsa on the door, nor did I throw salt over my shoulder. My superstition was prayer. Now recognize, if you do not know, that I was raised in a devout Lutheran home and even as a boy I believed superstitions to be false. However, I have until recently realized that I had passed my superstitions off as nothing else but the memorized prayers which were instead supposed to point me to the true object of my mustard seed faith, Christ, who would calm my fear. How pitiful that I would misuse such a divine gift.

Credo Quia Absurdum

This Latin phrase is a small misquote from a Tertullian saying, "et mortuus est Dei Filius;  credibile prorsus est, quia ineptum est," meaning, "and the Son of God died; it is [entirely] credible, because it is silly." 

As in most things, this phrase is taken out of context and often used for a purpose opposite of its original intent. Tertullian’s words from De Carne Christi, an argument against Gnostic Docetists of his time (c. 160 – c. 220 AD), would take a dissertation to fully explain.

In short, Tertullian was combating the idea that Christ's body was not real flesh, but merely a "phantasm", or spirit. He fully believed that Christ's body was true flesh as anyone can plainly understand from his writing. He was not using logic in his argument here, but worldly wisdom, as introduced long ago by Aristotle in his Rhetoric 2.23.21, "if, therefore, a thing that is believed is improbable and even incredible, it must be true, since it is certainly not believed because it is at all probable or credible." He was using the same "worldly wisdom" that his formidable adversary, Marcion, had used in his arguments against the truth.

Sadly then, some take this quote from Tertullian to mock the dogmatic beliefs of fediests, when its true intent was to uphold the truth of Christ's humanity by faith alone and not through logic or worldly wisdom. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom," 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Let us take a moment today, on this 11th day of November, the 11th month of Caesar's calendar, the 12th year of the 21st century, to reflect on our actions that are mere superstitions at heart, and replace those with Christ, who is the only worthy object of our one true faith.

References: Wikepedia and Tertullian.org