THE CAT IN THE ADAGE.
Lady Macbeth thus taunts her husband:—
Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem;
Letting I dare not wait upon I would,
Like the poor cat i’ the adage?
The adage is thus given in Heywood’s Proverbs, 1566:—
“The cat would eate fishe, and would not wet her feete.”
The proverb is found among all nations. The Latin form of mediæval times was as follows:—
“Catus amat pisces, sed non vult tingere plantas.”
The Germans say:—
“Die Katze hätt’ die Fische gern; aber sie will die Füsse nit nass machen.”
And the Scotch have it:—
“The cat would fain fish eat,
But she has no will to wet her feet.”