sic transit gloria mundi

created by artfuldodger

(idea) by artfuldodger (4.9 y) (print) ? (I like it!) Tue Mar 21 2000 at 6:30:48

Latin expression meaning roughly: "The glory of the world is fleeting."

Or even more roughly: "Don't get too happy, sonny, 'cause it ain't gonna last long."

Directly translated, it means "Thus passes [the] glory of [the] world."

(idea) by nerp (2.4 wk) (print) ? (I like it!) Tue Mar 21 2000 at 6:53:35

This phrase is said during the coronation ceremony of a new Pope
(no, not Kurt the Pope)
one of the priests (a master of ceremonies) holds 3 bundles of ropes before the newly elected Pope and lights them on fire,
saying "Sancte Pater sic transit gloria mundi"
("Holy Father, thus passes the glory of the world")

(idea) by Kizor (1.1 d) (print) ? (I like it!) Sun Apr 30 2006 at 12:36:58

This useful little reminder of transitionality has a number of variants and related phrases, including "memento mori" and "this too shall pass". Among these, one originates in A Canticle for Leibowitz - the lauded post-apocalyptic novel that also brought us "Flame Deluge" - and far outshines its fellows in impact:

Sic transit mundus.
So passes the world.

Bleak. Final. Unarguable.
Lacking even the small hope inherent in the original.
The first on my list of things to shout from the rooftops when nuclear war comes.

printable version
chaos

Useful Latin phrases	ab initio mundi	Sic Transit Vir	kurt the pope
Thus passes the glory of the world	Caveat emptor	Ubi ubi is, ibi es	"Shut up," he explained
humani nil alienum a me puto	When you make your own mother cry you know you've fucked up	Why aren't there any female Jedi?	nunc pro tunc
Humanae Vitae	This too shall pass	sic semper tyrannis	sic Transit gloria
Waist to hip ratio	=broken=	Roman Catholic Church	Glory is Fleeting
Saint Valentine, Saint Valentine!	pope	Geiss	mundit

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