Dear andrewmatt,
The exact origin of the famous words "Sic transit gloria mundi" can,
alas, not be detected anymore. But there are certain indications:
When a newly elected Pope enters St. Peter's in Rome for his
coronation, the Master of Cermonies three times enkindles a bundle of
oakum with a candle, and each time he exclaims the Latin phrase:
"Pater sancte! Sic transit gloria mundi" (= "Holy Father! Thus passes
the glory of the world"). This hortative reminder of fugacity shall
point out that even the Pope is mortal.
This custom is mentioned for the first time in in ""Cæremoniale
Romanum", a book printed in 1516 on ecclesiastical rites, written by
Augustinus Patricius (1483-1496), bishop of Pienza. According to
Patricius, this practice has already been in use at the coronation of
Pope Alexander V in 1409. The origin of the phrase vanishes in the
mist of time, but it is suggested that the oldest original provenience
might have been biblical: The First Letter of St. John, after the
Latin Vulgata translation of St. Girolamo (342-420), contains the
words: "Et mundus transit et concupiscentia eius" (= "The world
passes, and so does the desire for all things carnal").
Sources:
Duden: Das Newsletter-Archiv - Newsletter vom 4. Oktober 2002 (in
German!)http://www.duden.de/index2.html?service/newsletterarchiv/archiv/2002/021004.html
Deutsches Asterix-Archiv: Sic transit gloria mundi, by Marco Mütz 1999
(in German!)
http://www.comedix.de/lexikon/db/sictrans.htm
New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia - Ceremonial
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03538a.htm
La Parola del Parroco, by the Centro Paolo Sesto (in Italian, Google
Cache!)
://www.google.de/search?q=cache:z1UepZNk46QC:www.chiesasantabarbara.it/la_parola_del_parroco.htm+%22sic+transit+gloria+mundi%22+1409&hl=de&ie=UTF-8
Xrefer: The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations - Anonymus, by Oxford
University Press, 1999
http://www.xrefer.com/entry/247520
Newsgroup postings collection of unknown origin, 1999:
http://www.hbz-nrw.de/produkte_dienstl/mlist/rabe/199912/19991207.html
Search terms used:
"sic transit gloria mundi":
://www.google.de/search?q=%22sic+transit+gloria+mundi%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&meta=
"sic transit gloria mundi" zitat:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22sic+transit+gloria+mundi%22+zitat&meta=
"sic transit gloria mundi" origin pope:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22sic+transit+gloria+mundi%22+origin+pope&meta=
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Scriptor |
