sic transit gloria mundi

I was doing some internet-noodling* this afternoon, and in reading about some Wes Anderson influences, I encountered this phrase, the source of the stated theme of Rushmore: sic transit gloria mundi.

Wikipedia gives the definition as "Thus passes the glory of the world." It goes on to note that a common interpretation is "Fame is fleeting," and that the phrase is commonly used in Papal coronations, to underscore the fact that despite high honor, the Pope is mortal.

In none of this do I see direct connections to glory, or a world in a state of excellence.

So then, dear Reader, I ask you: what is glory? In my experience with common English, it generally seems to be a property of its subject: "the glory of God" is his greatness; or in speaking of, say, a (fictional) king, "He is a glorious man." And even when I hear the much more ambiguous phrase "I do this for glory," I have always thought it to mean "I do this for a higher purpose, to bring myself closer to perfection."

Turns out, though, I had it all wrong.

That last example I give lays it out most explicitly; "I do this for glory" is a simple statement of the reward the person is seeking. For in these Latin translations, the world is never the subject of the meaning. So "glory" is not, then, an internal quality of anything or anyone; rather, like praise, it is given by an outside party to an object of worth.

The Glory of God, then, is his to pass to you; the glorious king is so only because his subjects love him (and not vice versa!); the man does his deeds to win affection in the eyes of the people.

The search for glory is an innately selfish act; or is it? For the man of our last example is as much saying he desires no other payment than to be loved and remembered for his actions; a high price, to be sure, but a simple one to give, because it can be refused.

To say you do something for glory is to announce your intention to do great things; glory can only be earned, people must be convinced in order to bestow it. The man announcing his intent to act for glory says that people bear no risk in trusting him; if he fails, they lose nothing, and if he succeeds, they will pay him without needing to think about it. It is, simultaneously, a statement of arrogance and humility; I shall do this thing, and be great, yet I need nothing beyond this.

Or something like that. I am not a lingual expert, but I find this fascinating; what our words mean so often becomes taken for granted. It's fun to take apart our assumptions, every once in a while.


[* I like this term, at least a bit. "Web surfing" implies a higher level of athleticism and activity, besides which, it is so 1997. Web browsing doesn't really mean anything, as the applications we use are called browsers. "Internet-noodling" is needlessly clunky, but noodling... something feels right about that. Like on a guitar, playing around, not quite aimlessly, but with no clear direction. I like it.]