kings have long hands
Preserved but no longer current.
Do not quarrel with a king, as his power and authority reach to the end of his dominions. The Latin proverb is, An nescis longas regibus esse manus (Ovid), Heroides, 17, 166).
không nên tranh cãi với vua vì quyền lực của họ rất rộng
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “kings have long hands” mean?
Do not quarrel with a king, as his power and authority reach to the end of his dominions. The Latin proverb is, An nescis longas regibus esse manus (Ovid), Heroides, 17, 166).
Is “kings have long hands” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.