E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Quos Ego.
A threat of punishment for disobedience. The words are from Virgil’s Æneid (i. 135), and were uttered by Neptune to the disobedient and rebellious winds.
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“Neptune had but to appear and utter a quos ego for these wind-bags to collapse, and become the most subservient of salaried public servants.”—Truth, January, 1886.
