High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary 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 Philolexian is Greek for "lover of discourse," and the society`s motto is the Latin word Surgam, meaning "I shall rise."