- Where did quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi come from?
- What is permitted to Jupiter is not permitted to the ox?
Where did quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi come from?
The locus classicus (origin) for the phrase is the novella Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing (1826) by Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, although it is not entirely clear that Eichendorff coined the phrase himself.
What is permitted to Jupiter is not permitted to the ox?
The Latin motto 'quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi' is used to comment on double standards, and people of high standing who are able to get away with things other people would not. It literally means 'what is permitted of Jupiter is not permitted of a bull'.