<P> 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 . </P> <P> Annuit Cœptis is translated by the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Mint, and the U.S. Treasury as, "He (God) has favored our undertakings" (brackets in original). However, the original Latin does not explicitly state who (or what) is the subject of the sentence . Robert Hieronimus, who wrote a Ph. D. dissertation about this portion of the Great Seal, argued that Thomson's intent was to find a phrase that contained exactly 13 letters to fit the theme of the seal . On the obverse was E Pluribus Unum (13 letters), along with 13 stars, 13 horizontal stripes (on the shield on back of the US $1 Dollar Bill), 13 vertical stripes, 13 arrows, 13 olive leaves, and 13 olives . The frustum under the motto, Annuit Cœptis, has 13 layers . According to Hieronimus, Annuit Cœptis has 13 letters and was selected to fit the theme . Deo Favente had only ten letters . </P> <P> According to Richard S. Patterson and Richardson Dougall, Annuit coeptis (meaning "favor our undertakings") and the other motto on the reverse of the Great Seal, Novus ordo seclorum (meaning "new order of the ages") can both be traced to lines by the Roman poet Virgil . Annuit cœptis comes from the Aeneid, book IX, line 625, which reads, Iuppiter omnipotens, audacibus adnue coeptis . It is a prayer by Ascanius, the son of the hero of the story, Aeneas, which translates to, "Jupiter Almighty, favour (my) bold undertakings", just before slaying an enemy warrior, Numanus . </P>

What is the meaning of annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum