Sic transit gloria mundi


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".
The phrase was used in the ritual of papal coronation ceremonies between 1409 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!". These words, thus addressed to the Pope, served as a reminder of the transitory nature of life and earthly honours.
A form of the phrase appeared in Thomas à Kempis's 1418 work The Imitation of Christ: "O quam cito transit gloria mundi".

In literature and art

1800s

1900s

  • 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."
  • 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."
  • During the finale of 1959's A Canticle for Liebowitz, Brother Joshua utters a variation on this line, "Sic transit mundi" while brushing the dust off of his shoes as he boards a starship designed to escape the Earth ahead of the world's second nuclear war.
  • 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 film Foul Play, a movie about a criminal manipulation of the papal transition, a character called Gloria Mundy is played by Goldie Hawn.
  • A headline "SICK TRANSIT'S GLORIOUS MONDAY" from a New York Daily News front-page caption on a photo reporting an agreement to avoid fare increases on city transit services, making a multi-word pun on the Latin phrase.
  • In the Soviet romantic fantasy comedy film Formula of Love a village blacksmith Stepan Stepanovich pronounces "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" immediately translating it into Russian, though people wonder how can he know Latin.
  • 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 episode aired on October 27, 1997
  • 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!"

2000s