Before Bucky Badger, there was Numen Lumen.

Numen Lumen was the University of Wisconsin’s first official seal. [1] It is now considered historic and is used only in special circumstances. UW-Madison’s current logo, a crest emblazoned with a “W” inside a shield, is a representation of an architectural element found on the university’s Field House. [2][3] 

The Numen Lumen seal was designed in 1854 – six years after the university was founded – by John Hiram Lathrop, UW’s first chancellor. It consists of an upturned eye with converging rays of light, surrounded by the Latin phrases Numen Lumen and Universitatis Wisconsinensis sigillum (seal of the University of Wisconsin).

Lathrop was UW’s chancellor from 1849 to 1858. During his career, he also served as president of the University of Missouri and Indiana University. [4]

The Numen Lumen seal has been controversial almost from the start, due to the ambiguity of its design and its apparent religious symbolism. There are obvious similarities to the Eye of Providence, an icon that has been used for centuries to portray God’s compassionate watchfulness over humanity. The eye is often set in a triangle, the three sides of which represent the Christian Trinity. [5] 

The Eye of Providence is closely associated with the Masons (or Freemasons), a fraternal organization that originated in the 14th century. It has also appeared on the back of the Great Seal of the United States since 1782 and the back of the US dollar bill since the 1930s. In this case, the Eye of Providence is surrounded by the Latin phrase Annuit Coeptis, meaning “He approves of our efforts.” 

The Eye of Providence is seen in many different contexts throughout history. It appears on religious paintings from the Renaissance, the cornerstones of buildings and churches, and even the seal of the City of Kenosha, Wisconsin (adopted in 1921). In recent times, the Eye of Providence has been linked to the Illuminati, an 18th century Bavarian society that has spawned conspiratorial ideas about a secret organization that controls world events in pursuit of a new world order.

The words Numen Lumen are often interpreted as a religious. Perhaps the most common translation is “God is the light.” UW alumna Florence Griswold Buckstaff, writing in the 1910 UW Alumni Journal, states that Numen Lumen means, “The Lord is our light and our salvation, of whom then shall we be afraid?” [6] 

But are these religious interpretations accurate? Answering that question is difficult, since the record of the 1854 Board of Regents meeting where the seal was adopted does not contain any explanation of its meaning. What was Lathrop trying to say with this enigmatic phrase? In 1912, former UW Regent F. C. Thwaits decided it was time to find out, offering cash prizes for the best interpretation of Numen Lumen. [7] 

The winner of the contest, Kenneth F. Burgess, claimed both the first and second prizes, due to the “exceptional merit” of his essay. [8] Printed in the Alumni Journal in 1912, it relied on an earlier essay by James D. Butler, a former Congregational minister, UW professor of ancient languages and literature, and chaplain of university commencements and the state senate. [9]

Butler’s essay, written in 1904, a year before his death, is barely decipherable by the modern reader. For example, he asks us to remember Cicero’s Dii suo numine defendunt and Plutarch’s translation of Numen into ancient Greek, a feat only a handful of recent UW graduates could probably accomplish. [10]

In his essay, Butler argues that Lathrop most likely chanced upon the phrase Numen Lumen in the writings of the First Earl of Balcarres, Alexander Lindsay, who lived in Scotland between 1618 and 1659. The motto of the Earl of Balcarres is Astra castra, numen lumen munimen. This means “The stars my camp, and God my light and strength.” How Lathrop stumbled across Lindsay or why the phrase Numen Lumen stuck with him is unclear, but such were the times.

The phrase Astra castra, numen lumen has a nice ring to it. Why was it shortened to Numen Lumen? It is in fact the shortness of the phrase that has led to the controversy about its meaning. Butler suggests Lathrop knew that “half may be more than the whole” bestowing a badge of honor on the “God my light” half. 

But as a minister and chaplain, Butler may have been biased toward a religious interpretation, and others have challenged his conclusions.

In a 1912 essay in the Alumni Journal, Professor H. B. Lathrop [11] argues that the Eye of Providence looks down and therefore is the eye of God, but on the Numen Lumen seal, the eye looks up, making it “the eye of man.” (You can judge for yourself whether this observation is true.) Numen Lumen, according to H. B. Lathrop, refers to intellectual light that comes from every direction, provided one can see it. Lathrop concludes that Numen Lumen means “the divine within the Universe, however manifested, is my light.” [12]

This has religious overtones, but “the divine within the Universe” could mean whatever an individual wanted it to mean, depending on his or her religious views or lack thereof.

Perhaps J. H. Lathrop (the shield’s designer) was ahead of his time, foreseeing an age in which the idea of a single omniscient God would fall out of favor with intellectuals. Perhaps he was implying that people should seek their own divine light of inspiration, however defined. Perhaps that’s why he never explained what the words meant.

You can make up your own mind. Numen Lumen seals are still found on campus. There’s a Numen Lumen on the floor of Memorial Library, and another in Alumni Park Next to Memorial Union. There are also pictures of Numen Lumen on the web, such as the one accompanying this blog post. Like this unidentified young woman, dressed as Numen Lumen for the 1951 Wisconsin International Club Costume Ball, you too can choose a unique interpretation of the phrase.

Sources and notes:

[1] Technically, the first seal of the university, adopted in 1850, was the eagle side of the US fifty cent piece, but this was only meant to be temporary. 

[2] With the creation of the University of Wisconsin System in 1971, the University of Wisconsin became the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). 

[3] Wisconsin Alumni Association, Ask Flamingle. https://uwalumni.com/news/official-logos/

[4] UW-Madison Libraries, John Hiram Lathrop (Chancellor: 1849-1858). https://www.library.wisc.edu/archives/exhibits/campus-history-projects/chancellors-and-presidents-of-the-university-of-wisconsin-madison/john-hiram-lathrop-chancellor-1849-1858/ 

[5] Matthew Wilson, The Eye of Providence: The symbol with a secret meaning? BBC, 13 Nov. 2020. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201112-the-eye-of-providence-the-symbol-with-a-secret-meaning 

[6] Florence Griswold Buckstaff, Loyalty to the University, UW Alumni Journal, V. 12, N. 1, Oct. 1910.

[7] UW Alumni Journal, V. 13, N. 4, Jan. 1912.

[8] Kenneth F. Burgess, Numen Lumen, UW Alumni Journal, V. 13, N. 6, March 1912.

[9] Wisconsin Historical Society, James Davie Butler Papers, 1706, 1765-1912. https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;cc=wiarchives;view=text;rgn=main;didno=uw-whs-wis000kk 

[10] James D. Butler, The Brenner Bronze Jubilee Plaque. UW Alumni Journal, V. 6, N. 1, Oct. 1904.

[11] It’s not clear if H. B. Lathrop was related to the J. H. Lathrop who designed the Numen Lumen seal.

[12] H. B. Lathrop, Numen Lumen. UW Alumni Journal, V. 13, N. 7, April 1912.