English originA cat may look at a king
Meaning: Even the humblest creature possesses the right to observe or question those of highest station.
Origin: English proverb. The French equivalent swaps the pair for a dog and a bishop: church dignitaries drew the same stares as princes, and passers-by were expected to lower their eyes — but a dog, lower still and unable to grasp why any of it mattered, looked anyway. If the humblest creature present may look without giving offense, the reasoning goes, so may anyone. Why either language settled on its particular animal and dignitary is unexplained, though the lexicographer Pierre Enckell traced the French pair back to Béroalde de Verville, who in 1610 put a dog, a goat, a minister and a bishop into a single startled line.
Equivalents in French and Dutch
French: Un chien regarde bien un évêque (literally: A dog may well look at a bishop)
Dutch: De kat ziet de keizer wel aan (literally: The cat may well look at the emperor)
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