motto on doors at new Princeton football stadium

This was an interesting mystery. At first glance, I couldn't make any
sense out of "Vet tes en nov tam tum." But, after closely examining
the seal of Princeton University, I've found your answer.

Inscribed on Princeton's seal are the words "VET NOV TESTAMENTUM,"
which is Latin for "Old and New Testament." On the seal, the motto
appears on an image of a book (symbolizing the Bible), and the words
are divided thus:

  VET NOV
  TES TAM
   EN TUM 

Examine this image of the Princeton seal:

http://www.mortalwombat.com/Special/Princeton.jpg

Note that, if you read the fragmentary words from top to bottom, the
left page of the book would seem to say "VET TES EN," and the right
page would seem to say "MOV TAM TUM." The proper sequence, VET NOV TES
TAM EN TUM, forms the motto when each line is read from left to right
(TESTAMENTUM, of course, is a single word, but it was divided by
syllables so that it would fit onto the image of the book). Princeton
was originally a Presbyterian school; hence the religious motto, "Old
and New Testament."

Here's a brief description of the seal and the motto from Princeton's
website:

"Seal of Princeton University, The, which is in the custody of the
Secretary of the University, is in effect the corporate signature of
the trustees. It is embossed on diplomas and printed on other official
documents authorized by them and affixed by the secretary to legal
instruments requiring its use.

The seal of the College of New Jersey, used for almost a century and a
half, comprised the following details: In the upper part of a circle,
an open Bible with Latin characters VET NOV TESTAMENTUM signifying the
Old and New Testaments."

Princeton University
http://etc.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/princeton_university_seal.html

Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "princeton" + "vet nov testamentum"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=princeton+%22vet+nov+testamentum

I hope this information is useful. If anything is unclear, if you have
a question about my research, or if a link doesn't work for you,
please request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance
before you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

Great and quick. Couln't figure out if the words read up and down or
across and he/ she solved it.

There is a typographical error in this sentence:

"Note that, if you read the fragmentary words from top to bottom, the
left page of the book would seem to say "VET TES EN," and the right
page would seem to say "MOV TAM TUM."

The sentence should read as follows:

"Note that, if you read the fragmentary words from top to bottom, the
left page of the book would seem to say "VET TES EN," and the right
page would seem to say "NOV TAM TUM."

~pinkfreud

Thank you very much for the five-star rating and the nice tip!

~pinkfreud