1149:
69:. In the story, a group of mice agree to attach a bell to a cat's neck to warn of its approach in the future, but they fail to find a volunteer to perform the job. The term has become an idiom describing a group of persons, each agreeing to perform an impossibly difficult task under the misapprehension that someone else will be chosen to run the risks and endure the hardship of actual accomplishment.
38:
296:
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367:(1823–1901) and Auguste Delierre (1829–1890), caricature the backward practice and pomposity of provincial legislatures, making much the same point as did the Mediaeval authors who first recorded the tale. At the end of the century a publishing curiosity reverts to the first approach. This was in the woodblock print by
269:(100 delightful fables from ancient authors, Rome 1564), a work that was to be many times reprinted and translated up to start of the 19th century. Titled simply "The Council of the Mice", it comes to rest on the drily stated moral that 'a risky plan can have no good result'. The story was evidently known in
101:
them make excuses. The story is used to teach the wisdom of evaluating a plan on not only how desirable the outcome would be but also how it can be executed. It provides a moral lesson about the fundamental difference between ideas and their feasibility, and how this affects the value of a given plan.
375:
in 1894 and then exported to France. In the upper left-hand corner a cat is seen through a warehouse window as it approaches across the roofs while inside the rats swarm up the straw-wrapped bales of goods. At its summit the chief rat holds the bell aloft. An earlier
Japanese woodblock formed part of
100:
The fable concerns a group of mice who debate plans to nullify the threat of a marauding cat. One of them proposes placing a bell around its neck, so that they are warned of its approach. The plan is applauded by the others, until one mouse asks who will volunteer to place the bell on the cat. All of
307:
In mediaeval times the fable was applied to political situations and
British commentaries on it were sharply critical of the limited democratic processes of the day and their ability to resolve social conflict when class interests were at stake. This applies equally to the plot against the king's
329:
in 2007. This is the monologue of a house cat that wants to walk alone since "Society is by nature evil". It therefore refuses to conform and is impatient of restriction: "your hands hold on to everything – bell the cat". While the lyric is sung in
Japanese, the final phrase is in English.
161:
202:). The author concludes with the scornful comment that laws are of no effect without the means of adequately enforcing them and that such parliamentary assemblies as he describes are like the proverbial mountain in labour that gives birth to a mouse.
308:
favourite in 15th century
Scotland and the direct means that Archibald Douglas chose to resolve the issue. While none of the authors who used the fable actually incited revolution, the 1376 Parliament that Langland satirised was followed by
321:, whose adaptation of the story satirises croneyism. In his account only those with perfect tails are to be allowed into the assembly; nevertheless, a tailless rat is admitted because of a family connection with one of the lawmakers.
932:
766:
242:". It has been suggested that in this case too there is a political subtext. The poem was written as a response to the aborted invasion of England in 1386 and contrasts French dithering in the face of English aggression. The
128:. In fact the earliest evidence for this use is from Hume of Godscroft's history of the Douglases published in 1644, and therefore is more reflective of perception of the idiom in the seventeenth century than the fifteenth.
416:), may fit an art song, there have also been faithful interpretations in the field of light music. A popular composer of the day, Prosper Massé, published such a setting in 1846. More recently there has been
324:
There still remains the perception of a fundamental opposition between consensus and individualism. This is addressed in the lyrics of "Bell the Cat", a performance put out on DVD by the
Japanese rock band
316:
the fangs of the fable were being drawn by
European authors, who restricted their criticism to pusillanimous conduct in the face of rashly proposed solutions. A later exception was the Russian fabulist
230:
which attempted unsuccessfully to remedy popular dissatisfaction over the exactions made by nobles acting in the royal name. Langland's French contemporary, the satirical
216:(1320), referring to the difficulty of curbing the outrages of superior lords. It was in this context too that the story of a parliament of rats and mice was retold in
1092:
186:. Written around 1200, it was afterwards translated into Welsh, French and Spanish. Sometime later, the story is found in the work now referred to as
353:
727:
108:, which means to attempt, or agree to perform, an impossibly difficult task. Historically 'Bell the Cat' is frequently claimed to have been a
1208:
1193:
113:
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series (1870–80). This shows an assembly of mice in
Japanese dress with the proposer in the foreground, brandishing the belled collar.
352:
and the genre painter Aurélie Léontine Malbet (fl. 1868–1906) pictured the rats realistically acting out their debate. The illustrator
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250:(who will bell the cat) was to become proverbial in France if, indeed, it does not record one already existing.
312:'s revolt five years later, while Archibald Douglas went on to lead a rebellion against King James. During the
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362:
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Several French artists depicted the fable during the 19th century, generally choosing one of two approaches.
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281:(1559). In this case a man in armour is performing the task in the lower left foreground. A century later,
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261:(The mice who wanted to bell the cat) in 1499. A more popular version in Latin verse was written by
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412:. But while La Fontaine's humorously named cat Rodilardus, and antiquated words like discomfiture (
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331:
330:
Another modernised adaptation based on this fable, that updates the moral, has been published by
231:
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400:(1730–37). In the following century the text of La Fontaine's fable was set for male voices by
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that appeared in the collection of La
Fontaine's fables that was commissioned and printed in
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One of the earliest versions of the story appears as a parable critical of the clergy in
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and has been confused with the quite different fable of
Classical origin titled
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for medium voice and piano in 1889. In 1950 it was set for four male voices by
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The Fables of La
Fontaine: A Critical Edition of the Eighteenth-Century
243:
509:. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 545, no. 613.
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294:
159:
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36:
398:
Nouvelles poésies spirituelles et morales sur les plus beaux airs
131:
The first English collection to attribute the fable to Aesop was
682:, edited by Ben Byram-Wigfield (2006), Prologue, lines 146–181;
802:, translated by C. Fillingham Coxwell, London 1920, pp. 38–39;
160:
606:"21. De cato et muribus (1687), illustrated by Francis Barlow"
451:, a group of investigative journalists, named after this fable
190:, which is largely made up of Latin poems by the 12th century
84:. In the classificatory system established for the fables by
273:
too, since 'belling the cat' was included among the forty
116:
in recognition of his part in the arrest and execution of
652:, University of Illinois 1919; fable LXII, pp. 190–192;
392:
In the 18th century the fable was one among many set by
164:"Belling the cat" is one of the proverbs illustrated in
568:
David Hume of Godscroft's History of the House of Angus
198:; among them is the tale of "The Council of the Mice" (
680:
William's Vision of Piers Plowman by William Langland
629:"Christianizing Aesop: The Fables of Odo of Cheriton"
724:
Poésies morales et historiques d'Eustache Deschamps
30:"Bell the cat" redirects here. For other uses, see
816:"Lyrics | LM.C – Bell The Cat (English)"
259:De muribus tintinnabulum feli appendere volentibus
557:thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
257:made of the fable a Latin cautionary tale titled
424:(1995), and a jazz arrangement on Daniel Roca's
288:made the tale even better known under the title
234:, also includes the story among his other moral
205:The fable also appeared as a cautionary tale in
145:
445:, a children's picture book based on the fable
267:Fabulae centum ex antiquis auctoribus delectae
976:"In the Musée La Fontaine at Château Thierry"
253:In the following century, the Italian author
200:De muribus consilium facientibus contra catum
112:given to fifteenth-century Scottish nobleman
8:
584:. Edinburgh: John Donald. pp. 287–288.
148:Good Councell's easily given, but the effect
650:Ysopet-Avionnet, the Latin and French texts
139:), followed by a 10-line verse synopsis by
135:'s of 1687; in this there is a woodcut (by
422:20 Fables inspirées de Jean de la Fontaine
126:Thomas (often misnamed as Robert) Cochrane
954:"In the Musée Denon de Chalon-sur-Saône"
156:Early versions and later interpretations
44:'s illustration of La Fontaine's fable,
570:, vol. 1 (STS: Edinburgh, 2005), p. 26.
460:
471:The literature teacher's book of lists
226:. The episode is said to refer to the
1161:19th–20th century book illustrations
703:"The Parliament of the Rats and Mice"
299:A Japanese woodblock illustration by
7:
1167:Collection of primary fable sources
1037:The score is printed in: John Metz,
665:Les contes moralisés de Nicole Bozon
114:Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus
150:Oft renders it uneasy to transact.
340:(illustrated by Christopher Cyr).
104:The fable gives rise to the idiom
27:Medieval fable attributed to Aesop
25:
420:'s interpretation as part of his
76:, it was not recorded before the
1147:
1135:
356:, along with the contemporaries
265:and printed posthumously in his
844:from the original on 2021-12-12
956:. Philibert-leon-couturier.com
901:. PWxyz LLC. February 19, 2018
248:Qui pendra la sonnette au chat
1:
1152:The dictionary definition of
919:Exhibited at the 1888 Salon;
840:. YouTube. 18 November 2007.
818:. SongMeanings. 25 April 2010
779:"Elizur Wright's translation"
303:of La Fontaine's fable, 1894.
277:in the composite painting of
143:with the punning conclusion:
72:Although often attributed to
45:
32:Bell the cat (disambiguation)
582:James III: A Political Study
468:Strouf, Judie L. H. (2005).
404:and by the Catalan composer
61:also known under the titles
1209:Mice and rats in literature
1194:Metaphors referring to cats
580:Macdougall, Norman (1982).
1230:
1089:Bibliographie de la France
667:Paris, 1889, pp. 144–145;
96:Synopsis and idiomatic use
29:
883:– via worldcat.org.
438:Collective action problem
396:in the fables section of
394:Louis-Nicolas Clérambault
290:Conseil tenu par les rats
1108:bibliotheques.avignon.fr
1041:, Pendragon Press 1986,
895:"Who Will Bell the Cat?"
499:Ben Edwin Perry (1965).
426:10 Fables de La Fontaine
358:Philibert LĂ©on Couturier
279:Pieter Bruegel the Elder
1199:English-language idioms
654:this is archived online
246:of Deschamps' ballade,
240:Les souris et les chats
865:Who will bell the cat?
507:Loeb Classical Library
443:Who Will Bell the Cat?
337:Who Will Bell the Cat?
304:
275:Netherlandish Proverbs
175:
171:Netherlandish Proverbs
153:
51:
627:Laura (15 May 2009).
298:
163:
40:
1184:La Fontaine's Fables
1144:at Wikimedia Commons
631:. Journey to the Sea
502:Babrius and Phaedrus
255:Laurentius Abstemius
238:based on fables as "
220:'s allegorical poem
82:The Cat and the Mice
63:The Bell and the Cat
1120:Track available on
838:"Bell the CAT/LM.C"
67:The Mice in Council
1204:Cats in literature
1025:2012-03-25 at the
1000:. baxleystamps.com
998:"baxleystamps.com"
740:Eustache Deschamps
689:2011-08-07 at the
608:. Mythfolklore.net
332:Patricia McKissack
305:
232:Eustache Deschamps
228:Parliament of 1376
176:
52:
1140:Media related to
1091:, 14 March 1846,
899:Publishers Weekly
767:Wikimedia Commons
555:"To Bell the Cat"
531:"Belling The Cat"
192:Walter of England
16:(Redirected from
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301:Kawanabe KyĹŤsai
263:Gabriele Faerno
188:Ysopet-Avionnet
180:Odo of Cheriton
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55:Belling the Cat
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933:"See online"
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42:Gustave Doré
1214:ATU 100-149
728:pp. 188–189
612:January 26,
476:Jossey-Bass
414:déconfiture
361: [
319:Ivan Krylov
314:Renaissance
133:John Ogilby
120:'s alleged
86:B. E. Perry
78:Middle Ages
49: 1868
1178:Categories
874:1037155724
848:26 January
822:26 January
785:26 January
709:26 January
705:. Sfsu.edu
635:26 January
591:0859760782
541:2021-03-04
485:0787975508
456:References
449:Bellingcat
354:Grandville
141:Aphra Behn
1078:Liedernet
1076:Op. 123,
1066:Liedernet
1004:17 August
981:17 August
960:17 August
938:17 August
755:Fable 195
310:Wat Tyler
184:Parabolae
122:favourite
118:James III
1023:Archived
905:April 6,
842:Archived
765:View on
687:Archived
432:See also
428:(2005).
292:(II.2).
271:Flanders
236:ballades
110:nickname
1122:Jamendo
879:6 April
334:in her
244:refrain
174:(1559).
1169:online
1163:online
1020:online
872:
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