Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi

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Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi (Iovi also Jovi, German : “What is allowed to Jupiter , the ox is not allowed”) is a Latin sentence of unexplained origin.

Derivation and meaning

Jupiter (Roman cameo )
Ox with front yoke

The original origin of the sentence cannot be proven. Since internal rhymes were unknown as a stylistic device in antiquity , the saying can only have originated in the Middle Ages . The saying is often attributed to the Latin comedy poet Terence (approx. 195/184 BC to approx. 159/158 BC), in whose work it cannot be traced. However, the quote aliis si licet, tibi non licet (“if others are allowed, then not you”) comes from Terence , which is sometimes seen as a basis, as is the Terence tendency duo quom idem faciunt saepe, ut possis dicere ›hoc licet impune facere huic, illi non licet ‹ (“ when two - how often - do the same thing that you can then say: ›This one here, the other one isn't”) from the Adelphoe . But the saying is also associated with Senecas quod licet Iovi, hoc regi licet (“what Jupiter allows, this is allowed to the king”) and Ciceros aliud homini, aliud bovi (“one for man, another for cattle”) .

The saying contrasts the actions of Jupiter , the highest Roman god, with that of a cattle or ox and addresses the different powers resulting from their respective status . Consequently, it should be expressed that when evaluating actions, the focus is not on the action itself, but on the actor.

Colloquial usage

A proper interpretation and application of this saying is difficult because the context is not known. In addition, some attempts at interpretation fall out of the actual image comparison and allow incorrect translations of the Latin saying and / or generous associative digressions, such as the comparison of "rich" (= Jupiter) and "poor" (= ox). In general, however, the meaning corresponds to the German idiom of "two measures" or "measure with two measures".

literature

  • "Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi" in: Der Neue Herder, From A to Z, second half volume: M to Z , Herder: Freiburg im Breisgau 1949, column 3453

Web links

Wiktionary: quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dudenredaktion (Ed.): Quotes and sayings. 4th, revised and expanded edition. Dudenverlag, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-411-04124-4 , p. 460. (= The Duden in twelve volumes - Volume 12; origin, meaning and use of 7,500 citations from antiquity to today)
  2. ↑ Terence Heauton timorumenos 797th
  3. ↑ Muriel Kasper: Reclam's Latin Quotation Lexicon. Reclam, Stuttgart 2014, p. 300.
  4. ↑ Terence, Adelphoe 5,3,37-38; Annette Pohlke, Reinhard Pohlke: All roads lead to Rome: German idioms from Latin. Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2001, p. 166.
  5. ↑ Seneca, Hercules furens 2,489
  6. ↑ Cicero, De finibus bonorum et malorum 5,9,26.
  7. ↑ Compare Ernst Lautenbach: Latin-German: Zitaten-Lexikon. References. Lit-Verlag, Münster / Hamburg / London 2002, p. 412, which cites as a rhymed German variant “What is allowed for the leu, is not free for the ox”.
  8. ↑ see also Hubertus Kudla: Lexicon of Latin quotations: 3500 originals with German translations. 2nd, revised edition. Beck, Munich 2001, p. 216 No. 1303.
  9. ↑ DUDEN quotes and sayings: Origin and current use 2011
  10. ↑ Werner Scholze-Stubenrecht, Wolfgang Worsch: Turnings: Dictionary of German Idiomatics DUDEN Bibliographical Institute 2015
  11. ↑ Klaus Schmeh: The Trojan horse: classic myths explained. Haufe-Lexware, 2007
  12. ↑ Wiktionary: Two degrees