Poem of the Day - Part 38

Doctor Fell

                                        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!

(Photo: Elmer Takes the Temperature, by Arthur Tress, 1977)

This little rhyme is often called a nursery rhyme, but it has no history as a nursery rhyme.  Its history is much more interesting.

In 1680, the satirical English poet Tom Brown was a student at Oxford and was caught doing mischief.  The college dean, Dr. John Fell, threatened to expel Brown unless he could pass a test: translate this Latin epigram by the Roman author Martial:

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

Literally translated, it says: "I do not love (or like) you, Sabidius, nor can I say why. This much I can say: I do not love (or like) you."

Tom Brown magnificently passed the test by writing his poem about Dr. Fell.