“This too shall pass.”

The phrase “this too shall pass” does not have a single known author, but it originated as a medieval Persian adage about impermanence and was later popularised in the United States by Abraham Lincoln.

It became part of my ethos thanks to mi Amigo, Dave.

Origins and Folklore

• Persian Poets: The earliest roots of the saying trace back to medieval Persian Sufi poets like Attar of Nishapur and Rumi.
• The Ring Fable:
  • According to Jewish folklore, King Solomon wanted to humble his most trusted minister, Benaiah. The king gave him a seemingly impossible task: find a legendary ring that possessed the power to make a happy person sad, and a sad person happy. He gave Benaiah six months to find it.
    Benaiah searched all of Jerusalem but found nothing. On the very last day before his deadline, he walked through a poor neighborhood and asked a street jeweler if he had ever heard of such a ring.
    The jeweler took a plain gold band and engraved four Hebrew letters on it: גמז״א (Gimel, Mem, Zayin, Aleph). This is an acronym for “Gam zeh ya’avor”, which translates to:
    
    “This too shall pass.”
    
    The King’s Reaction
    When Benaiah returned and handed the ring to King Solomon, the king smiled, expecting to win the challenge. But when Solomon read the inscription, his smile faded.
    He realized that despite all his great wealth, power, and wisdom, his empire would eventually fall, and his life would end. The phrase immediately made the joyful, powerful king feel humble and sober. Yet, it also meant that when he faced times of deep grief or hardship, those dark days would eventually fade away too.
  • This stands in stark contrast to the Stoic Roman Emperors, the good ‘uns anyway, who employed an Advisor/Slave to whisper in their ears “Memento Mori” during the good times.
    

Popularization in English

• Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln made the phrase famous in an 1859 speech at the Wisconsin State Fair. He attributed it to an “Eastern monarch” story and noted how the words apply to every human situation, good, bad or indifferent. Which is kinda reassuring.

Photo by Kristīne Kozaka on Unsplash