美国国徽反面是一些奇特的符号：金字塔、眼睛、以及拉丁文词组“世界新秩序 ”(Novus ordo seclorum)。这些符号反映了“共济会”的理想。未完工的金字塔象征某种神秘智慧，眼睛代表与古埃及神秘宗教的联系，那是普罗维登斯之眼在注视着一切；Novus Ordo Seclorum 则引自维吉尔的诗，意思是“时代新秩序”，表示美国已经建立了一个非君主政体的世俗政府，从此带来了一种“世界新秩序”。
一美元的背面也是共济会符号
于是乎，俺就想搞个明白，这个共济会到底是个什么东西。最近丹布朗的畅销小说《失落的符号》(The Lost Symbol)就揭示了有关这个神秘组织的不少秘密，很有助于对这个问题的认识。
共济会是1717年成立于英国伦敦的一个组织，英文叫Free-Mason，即“自由石匠”，全称为“Free and Accepted Masons”。其前身是中世纪的石匠行会，到了近代则演变为“思想的石匠”，成为一个积极投身社会改革的政治团体。共济会并不是一种宗教，而是一种秘密结社，只要是信神的无残疾的成年男子都可以申请加入，信什么神则没有太大关系。
Thank you, Shange, for your reminder. However, my information is not just based on Dan Brown, but in fact on many other materials, including books written by a Christian historian. Now it seems clear that the founder of the USA, Franklin, joined the Masonic Lodge in Paris when he served as Ambassador from the Continental Congress in France during the War for Independence, and it's he who brought the Freemasonry in the US. Many early leaders, including George Washington, joined the Masons as they did not see this movement as anti-Christian, and they were obviously influenced by it. That is why the Great Seal of the United States displays those Masonic symbols.
