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Sic transit gloria mundi

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Juan de Valdés Leal, Finis gloriae mundi (1672). Seville, Hospital de la Caridad

Sic transit gloria mundi is a Latin phrase that means "thus passes the glory of the world". In idiomatic contexts, the phrase has been used to mean "fame is fleeting".[1][2]

The phrase was used in the ritual of papal coronation ceremonies between 1409 (when it was used at the coronation of Alexander V)[3] and 1963. As the newly chosen Pope proceeded from the sacristy of St. Peter's Basilica in his sedia gestatoria, the procession stopped three times. On each occasion, a papal master of ceremonies would fall to his knees before the Pope, holding a silver or brass reed, bearing a tow of smoldering flax. For three times in succession, as the cloth burned away, he would say in a loud and mournful voice, "Pater Sancte, sic transit gloria mundi!" ("Holy Father, so passes worldly glory!").[4] These words, thus addressed to the Pope, served as a reminder of the transitory nature of life and earthly honours.[5][6][7]

A form of the phrase appeared in Thomas à Kempis's 1418 work The Imitation of Christ: "O quam cito transit gloria mundi" ("How quickly the glory of the world passes away").[8][9]

In literature and art

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  • William Wordsworth's 1802 "Ode: Intimations of Immortality" deals with the disappearance of "the glory and the dream", and the end of the second stanza includes a literal translation of the line: "There hath pass'd a glory from the earth."
  • American poet Emily Dickinson's first published poem was titled "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi".[10][11]
  • An 1819 etching by British illustrator George Cruikshank is titled The Sailors Progress: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.[12][13]
  • In Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starman Jones, toward the end of Chapter 12 "Halcyon", there is this line of dialogue: "Sic transit gloria mundi—Tuesday is usually worse."
  • The first-season finale of American TV series Yellowjackets is titled "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi".
  • Robert Hugh Benson's novel Lord of the World ends with a reference to the phrase: "Then this world passed, and the glory of it."
  • It is the last line spoken in the movie The Masque of the Red Death, by the Red Death after he reveals he spared six from his plague.
  • In the opening scene of the final episode of Babylon 5, season 4 entitled "The Deconstructions of Falling Stars," a person in the crowd welcoming President Sheridan and Ambassador Delenn can be seen holding a sign that reads "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi".
  • The alternative band Brand New named a single from their 2003 album Deja Entendu, "Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades".
  • In the video game Alundra 2, the key priest, in the cutscene where Pierre gets turned in Dun Webb, uses the line "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, Ghost ex Machina!"
  • In the video game Overwatch 2, The character "Soldier 76" uses the voice line "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi."
  • In the feature film 'The Tracker' (2002) directed by Rolf de Heer, a fanatical policeman says "sic transit gloria mundi", each word accompanied by him pointing a pistol where the heads of a group of Indigenous Australians had been minutes before. He was a significant participant in their slaughter and explains to the other characters that the phrase means 'So passes the glorious world.'
  • In the book series, 'Monster Hunter International' at Monster Hunter International's memorial wall for fallen monster hunters.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Merton, Sophia (2022-10-07). "'Sic Transit Gloria Mundi': Definition, Meaning, and Examples". Writing Tips. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  2. ^ "30 Latin Phrases Everyone Should Know – Page 6 – 24/7 Wall St". Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  3. ^ Elizabeth Knowles, ed. (2005). The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Second ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860981-0.
  4. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Papal Coronation 07 -Sic transit gloria mundi" – via www.youtube.com.
  5. ^ King, William Henry Francis (1904), Classical and Foreign Quotations, London: J. Whitaker & Sons, p. 319, retrieved November 10, 2010
  6. ^ Richardson, Carol M. (2009), Reclaiming Rome: cardinals in the fifteenth century, BRILL, p. 393, ISBN 978-9004171831, retrieved November 10, 2010
  7. ^ Bak, János M. (January 1990), Coronations: medieval and early modern monarchic ritual, University of California Press, p. 187, ISBN 9780520066779, retrieved November 10, 2010
  8. ^ Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (via Oxford Reference)
  9. ^ à Kempis, Thomas. "Book 1 Chapter 3". Imitation of Christ: translated from Latin into English. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi — an early poem by Emily Dickinson (1852)". Literary Ladies Guide. 2020-12-29. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  11. ^ Dickinson, Emily (1998). The Poems of Emily Dickinson. Harvard University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-674-67622-0.
  12. ^ "The Sailors Progress: Sic transit gloria Mundi". metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  13. ^ "The Sailors Progress. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi". philamuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
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