Philolexian Society

The Philolexian Society

The Philolexian Seal, or Philogo
Formation	1802
Type	Secret society Student society Debate society Literary society
Location	New York City
Membership	Undisclosed
Official language	English
Website	philo.org

The Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary and debate societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. Founded in 1802, the Society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Composition and Forensic Discussion." The name Philolexia is Greek for "love of discourse," and the society's motto is the Latin word Surgam, meaning "I shall rise."

Philolexian (known to members as "Philo," pronounced with a long "i") has been called the "oldest thing at Columbia except the College itself," and it has been an integral part of Columbia from the beginning, providing the institution with everything from its colors, Philolexian Blue (along with White, from her long-dispatched rival Peithologian Society), to some of its most solemn traditions and many of its most noted graduates.

Philolexian is one of many literary societies that flourished at the nation's early colonial colleges. Before fraternities, publications, and other extracurriculars became common, these groups—which generally bore Greek or Latin names—were the sole source of undergraduate social life. Indeed, it was not unusual for two or more groups to coexist at one institution, often in competition. Surviving examples include the Porcellian Club and Institute of 1770 of Harvard University; Crotonia Society, Linonian Society, Calliopean Society, and Brothers in Unity of Yale University; Philodemic Society of Georgetown University, Jefferson Literary and Debating Society at the University of Virginia and the Whig–Cliosophic Society at Princeton University. Yale University also has a number of student literary and political societies with similar purposes (though without the Greek names), the most notable of which being the Elizabethan Club and the Yale Political Union.