I Do Not Like Thee Doctor Fell

created by nuage

(idea) by nuage (3.2 y) (print) ? (I like it!) Sun May 28 2000 at 5:22:12

I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why, I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell.

nursery rhyme

(thing) by Gamaliel (4.5 y) (print) ? (I like it!) 1 C! Sun Jul 09 2000 at 19:22:14

The story behind this rhyme is one of the funniest in British literary history. Circa 1680, future satirist Thomas Brown (1663-1704) was a student at Oxford when he got into some trouble and was brought before the dean, Dr. John Fell (1625-1686). Fell decided to waive Brown's pending expulsion if Brown could translate an epigram by Martial from Latin into English on the spot.

Brown chose this one, substituting Dr. Fell for the person disliked my Martial:

Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare;
Hoc tantum posso dicere, non amo te.

The resulting rhyme immortalized them both and overshadows their literary and academic accomplishments. Brown was not expelled, but eventually left Oxford without graduating.

printable version
chaos

A great big ugly man came up and tied his horse to me	Terence, This Is Stupid Stuff	Martial	These and many other thoughts fill my mind while I lie recovering
How to make brown	You always hurt the one you love	nursery rhyme	Elizabeth Coleman
Your voice through the smoke and the big brown sky	Beethoven's autopsy	Brown paper bag	John Constantine
gynecologist	Epigram	ILU ATST IH8U	To a Skylark
Hannibal	Andrew Dice Clay's Nursery Rhymes	The Tao of Pooh	Oxford
Fell	reason	Protamine sulfate	position

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