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{{Short description|Adage about the temporary nature of the human condition}}
{{Short description|Adage about the temporary nature of the human condition}}
{{About|the adage}}
{{About|the adage}}
"'''This too shall pass'''" ({{lang-fa|این نیز بگذرد|īn nīz bogzarad}}) is a [[Persian language|Persian]] [[adage]] translated and used in several languages.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} It reflects on the temporary nature, or [[ephemerality]], of the [[human condition]] — that neither the bad, not good, moments in life ever indefinitely last. The general sentiment is often expressed in [[wisdom literature]] throughout history and across cultures, but the specific phrase seems to have originated in the writings of the [[medieval Persia]]n [[Sufi poetry|Sufi poets]].
"'''This too shall pass'''" ({{langx|fa|این نیز بگذرد|īn nīz bogzarad}}) is an [[adage]] of [[Persian language|Persian]] origin about [[impermanence]]. It reflects the temporary nature, or [[ephemerality]], of the [[human condition]] — that neither the negative nor the positive moments in life ever indefinitely last. The general sentiment of the adage is found in [[wisdom literature]] throughout history and across cultures, but the specific phrase seems to have originated in the writings of the medieval Persian Sufi poets.


== Notability ==
It is known in the [[Western world]] primarily due to a 19th-century retelling of Persian fable by the English poet [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward FitzGerald]]. It was also notably employed in a speech by [[Abraham Lincoln]] before he became the sixteenth [[President of the United States]].
It is known in the [[Western world]] primarily due to a 19th-century retelling of a Persian fable by the English poet [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward FitzGerald]]:<ref>{{cite web |url= https://archive.org/details/worksofedwardfit01fitziala/page/432/mode/2up |title= Works of Edward FitzGerald |date= 1887 |publisher= Houghton, Mifflin & Co |work= Polonius: A Collection of Wise Saws and Modern Instances |page= 433 }}</ref>

<blockquote>
SOLOMON'S SEAL.

The Sultan asked Solomon for a Signet motto, that<br>
should hold good for Adversity or Prosperity. Solomon<br>
gave him,<br>

"THIS ALSO SHALL PASS AWAY."
</blockquote>

It was also notably employed in a speech by [[Abraham Lincoln]] before he became the sixteenth [[President of the United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Lincoln on America's Future |website=Lincoln Home National Historic Site Illinois, U.S. National Park Service |url=https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/amerfuture.htm |access-date=2024-11-13 |language=en}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
An early English citation of "this too shall pass" appears in 1848:
An early English citation of "this too shall pass" appears in 1848:
{{blockquote|When an Eastern sage was desired by his [[sultan]] to inscribe on a ring the sentiment which, amidst the perpetual change of human affairs, was most descriptive of their real tendency, he engraved on it the words: — "And this, too, shall pass away." It is impossible to imagine a thought more truly and universally applicable to human affairs than that expressed in these memorable words, or more descriptive of that perpetual oscillation from good to evil, and from evil to good, which from the beginning of the world has been the invariable characteristic of the annals of man, and so evidently flows from the strange mixture of noble and generous with base and selfish inclinations, which is constantly found in the children of Adam.<ref>"The Revolutions in Europe", ''[[Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine]]'', May, 1848, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1GRHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA638 p. 638]</ref>}}
{{blockquote|When an Eastern sage was desired by his [[sultan]] to inscribe on a ring the sentiment which, amidst the perpetual change of human affairs, was most descriptive of their real tendency, he engraved on it the words: — "And this, too, shall pass away." It is impossible to imagine a thought more truly and universally applicable to human affairs than that expressed in these memorable words, or more descriptive of that perpetual oscillation from good to evil, and from evil to good, which from the beginning of the world has been the invariable characteristic of the annals of man, and so evidently flows from the strange mixture of noble and generous with base and selfish inclinations, which is constantly found in the children of Adam.<ref>"The Revolutions in Europe", ''[[Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine]]'', May, 1848, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1GRHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA638 p. 638]</ref>}}
It was also used in 1852, in a retelling of the fable entitled "Solomon's Seal" by the English poet [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward FitzGerald]].<ref>in ''Polonius: A Collection of Wise Saws and Modern Instances''</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2019}} In it, a sultan requests of [[King Solomon]] a sentence that would always be true in good times or bad; Solomon responds, "This too will pass away".<ref name="Keyes159-160" /> On September 30, 1859, [[Abraham Lincoln]] recounted a similar story:
It was also used in 1852, in a retelling of the fable entitled "Solomon's Seal" by the English poet [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward FitzGerald]].<ref>in ''Polonius: A Collection of Wise Saws and Modern Instances''</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-link=Edward FitzGerald (poeta)|date=2016|publisher=Forgotten Books|title=Works of Edward Fitzgerald|translator=Omar Khayyam|url=https://www.forgottenbooks.com/fr/download/WorksofEdwardFitzgerald_10082223.pdf}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> In it, a sultan requests of [[King Solomon]] a sentence that would always be true in good times or bad; Solomon responds, "This too will pass away".<ref name="Keyes159-160" /> On September 30, 1859, [[Abraham Lincoln]] recounted a similar story:


{{blockquote|It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/fair.htm|title=Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society|date=September 30, 1859|website=Abraham Lincoln Online|location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Life and Works of Abraham Lincoln|year=1907|volume=5|page=293|chapter=[[wikisource:Life and Works of Abraham Lincoln/Volume 5/The Advantages of Thorough Cultivation, and the Fallacies of the Mud-sill Theory of Labor's Subjection to Capital|The Advantages of "Thorough Cultivation", and the Fallacies of the "Mud-sill" Theory of Labor's Subjection to Capital]]}}</ref>}}
{{blockquote|It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/fair.htm|title=Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society|date=September 30, 1859|website=Abraham Lincoln Online|location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Life and Works of Abraham Lincoln|year=1907|volume=5|page=293|chapter=[[wikisource:Life and Works of Abraham Lincoln/Volume 5/The Advantages of Thorough Cultivation, and the Fallacies of the Mud-sill Theory of Labor's Subjection to Capital|The Advantages of "Thorough Cultivation", and the Fallacies of the "Mud-sill" Theory of Labor's Subjection to Capital]]}}</ref>}}


==Origin of the fable==
==Origin of the fable==
The fable retold by FitzGerald can be traced to the first half of the 19th century, appearing in American papers by at least as early as 1839.<ref name="Keyes159-160"/> It usually involved a nameless "Eastern monarch". Its origin has been traced to the works of [[Persia]]n Sufi poets, such as [[Rumi]], [[Sanai]] and [[Attar of Nishapur]].<ref name="Keyes159-160">{{cite book|title=The quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When|last=Keyes|first=Ralph|publisher=Macmillan|year=2006|isbn=0-312-34004-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/quoteverifierwho00keye/page/159 159–160]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/quoteverifierwho00keye/page/159}}</ref> Attar records the fable of a powerful king who asks assembled wise men to create a ring that will make him happy when he is sad. After deliberation the sages hand him a simple ring with the Persian words "This too shall pass" etched on it, which has the desired effect to make him happy when he is sad.<ref name="Keyes159-160"/>
The fable retold by FitzGerald can be traced to the first half of the 19th century, appearing in American papers by at least as early as 1839.<ref name="Keyes159-160"/> It usually involved a nameless "Eastern monarch". Its origin has been traced to the works of [[Persia]]n Sufi poets, such as [[Rumi]], [[Sanai]] and [[Attar of Nishapur]].<ref name="Keyes159-160">{{cite book|title=The quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When|last=Keyes|first=Ralph|publisher=Macmillan|year=2006|isbn=0-312-34004-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/quoteverifierwho00keye/page/159 159–160]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/quoteverifierwho00keye/page/159}}</ref> Attar records the fable of a powerful king who asks assembled wise men to create a ring that will make him happy when he is sad. After deliberation the sages hand him a simple ring with the Persian words "This too shall pass" etched on it, which has the desired effect.<ref name="Keyes159-160"/>


This story also appears in the Jewish folklore.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Judith Ish-Kishor: This Too Shall Pass|first=Shnayer Z.|last=Leiman|journal=Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought|volume=41|number=1|date=Spring 2008|pages=71–77|jstor=23263507}}</ref> Many versions of the story have been recorded by the Israel Folklore Archive at the [[University of Haifa]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Volksüberlieferung: Festschrift für Kurt Ranke|first=Archer|last=Taylor|publisher=Otto Schwartz|year=1968|editor-last=Harkort|editor-first=Fritz|location=Göttingen|pages=345–350|chapter=This Too Will Pass|editor-last2=Peeters|editor-first2=Karel Constant |editor-last3=Wildhaber|editor-first3=Robert}}</ref> [[Jewish folklore]] often casts [[Solomon]] as either the king humbled by the adage, or as the one who delivers it to another.
This story also appears in Jewish folklore.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Judith Ish-Kishor: This Too Shall Pass|first=Shnayer Z.|last=Leiman|journal=Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought|volume=41|number=1|date=Spring 2008|pages=71–77|jstor=23263507}}</ref> Many versions of the story have been recorded by the Israel Folklore Archive at the [[University of Haifa]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Volksüberlieferung: Festschrift für Kurt Ranke|first=Archer|last=Taylor|publisher=Otto Schwartz|year=1968|editor-last=Harkort|editor-first=Fritz|location=Göttingen|pages=345–350|chapter=This Too Will Pass|editor-last2=Peeters|editor-first2=Karel Constant |editor-last3=Wildhaber|editor-first3=Robert}}</ref> [[Jewish folklore]] often casts [[Solomon]] as either the king humbled by the adage, or as the one who delivers it to another.


In some versions the phrase is simplified even further, appearing as an [[acronym]], only the [[Hebrew letter]]s [[gimel]], [[zayin]], and [[yodh]], which begin the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" ({{lang-he|גַּם זֶה יַעֲבֹר‏}}, ''gam zeh yaavor''), "this too shall pass."
In some versions the phrase is simplified even further, appearing as an [[acronym]], only the [[Hebrew letter]]s [[gimel]], [[zayin]], and [[yodh]], which begin the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" ({{langx|he|גַּם זֶה יַעֲבֹ‏ר}}, ''gam zeh yaavor''), "this too shall pass."


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Entropy]]
* [[Impermanence]]
* [[Impermanence]]
* [[Memento mori]]
* [[Memento mori]]
Line 27: Line 41:
* [[Ubi sunt]]
* [[Ubi sunt]]
* [[Yorick]]
* [[Yorick]]
* [[All Things Must Pass (song)|All Things Must Pass]], a song by George Harrison with a similar message.


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 07:25, 1 December 2024

This article is about the adage. For other uses, see This too shall pass (disambiguation).

"This too shall pass" (Persian: این نیز بگذرد, romanized: īn nīz bogzarad) is an adage of Persian origin about impermanence. It reflects the temporary nature, or ephemerality, of the human condition — that neither the negative nor the positive moments in life ever indefinitely last. The general sentiment of the adage is found in wisdom literature throughout history and across cultures, but the specific phrase seems to have originated in the writings of the medieval Persian Sufi poets.

Notability

[edit]

It is known in the Western world primarily due to a 19th-century retelling of a Persian fable by the English poet Edward FitzGerald:[1]

SOLOMON'S SEAL.

The Sultan asked Solomon for a Signet motto, that
should hold good for Adversity or Prosperity. Solomon
gave him,

"THIS ALSO SHALL PASS AWAY."

It was also notably employed in a speech by Abraham Lincoln before he became the sixteenth President of the United States.[2]

History

[edit]

An early English citation of "this too shall pass" appears in 1848:

When an Eastern sage was desired by his sultan to inscribe on a ring the sentiment which, amidst the perpetual change of human affairs, was most descriptive of their real tendency, he engraved on it the words: — "And this, too, shall pass away." It is impossible to imagine a thought more truly and universally applicable to human affairs than that expressed in these memorable words, or more descriptive of that perpetual oscillation from good to evil, and from evil to good, which from the beginning of the world has been the invariable characteristic of the annals of man, and so evidently flows from the strange mixture of noble and generous with base and selfish inclinations, which is constantly found in the children of Adam.[3]

It was also used in 1852, in a retelling of the fable entitled "Solomon's Seal" by the English poet Edward FitzGerald.[4][5] In it, a sultan requests of King Solomon a sentence that would always be true in good times or bad; Solomon responds, "This too will pass away".[6] On September 30, 1859, Abraham Lincoln recounted a similar story:

It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction![7][8]

Origin of the fable

[edit]

The fable retold by FitzGerald can be traced to the first half of the 19th century, appearing in American papers by at least as early as 1839.[6] It usually involved a nameless "Eastern monarch". Its origin has been traced to the works of Persian Sufi poets, such as Rumi, Sanai and Attar of Nishapur.[6] Attar records the fable of a powerful king who asks assembled wise men to create a ring that will make him happy when he is sad. After deliberation the sages hand him a simple ring with the Persian words "This too shall pass" etched on it, which has the desired effect.[6]

This story also appears in Jewish folklore.[9] Many versions of the story have been recorded by the Israel Folklore Archive at the University of Haifa.[10] Jewish folklore often casts Solomon as either the king humbled by the adage, or as the one who delivers it to another.

In some versions the phrase is simplified even further, appearing as an acronym, only the Hebrew letters gimel, zayin, and yodh, which begin the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" (Hebrew: גַּם זֶה יַעֲבֹ‏ר, gam zeh yaavor), "this too shall pass."

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Works of Edward FitzGerald". Polonius: A Collection of Wise Saws and Modern Instances. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1887. p. 433.
  2. ^ "Lincoln on America's Future". Lincoln Home National Historic Site Illinois, U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  3. ^ "The Revolutions in Europe", Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, May, 1848, p. 638
  4. ^ in Polonius: A Collection of Wise Saws and Modern Instances
  5. ^ Works of Edward Fitzgerald (PDF). Translated by Omar Khayyam. Forgotten Books. 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d Keyes, Ralph (2006). The quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When. Macmillan. pp. 159–160. ISBN 0-312-34004-4.
  7. ^ "Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society". Abraham Lincoln Online. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. September 30, 1859.
  8. ^ "The Advantages of "Thorough Cultivation", and the Fallacies of the "Mud-sill" Theory of Labor's Subjection to Capital" . Life and Works of Abraham Lincoln. Vol. 5. 1907. p. 293.
  9. ^ Leiman, Shnayer Z. (Spring 2008). "Judith Ish-Kishor: This Too Shall Pass". Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought. 41 (1): 71–77. JSTOR 23263507.
  10. ^ Taylor, Archer (1968). "This Too Will Pass". In Harkort, Fritz; Peeters, Karel Constant; Wildhaber, Robert (eds.). Volksüberlieferung: Festschrift für Kurt Ranke. Göttingen: Otto Schwartz. pp. 345–350.
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