Dear Paul,
Some days ago I had to look up a few things in Hans Walther, _Lateinische
Sprichwo"rter und Sentenzen des Mittelalters in alphabetischer Anordnung /
Proverbia Sententiaeque Latinitatis Mediai Aevi_ (Goettingen 1963ss.,
continued by Paul Gerhard Schmidt), and I used the opportunity to look up
what Walther has to offer on onions:
nr. 2625: Cepa quidem emollit, implet, fastidia tollit,
Digerit, evellit viscosaque flecmata tollit
Source: _Florilegium Gottingense_, nr. 138, ed. E. Voigt, in: Romanische
Forschungen 3 (1887), p.281ss.; Walther refers with Voigt to "Macer, De
virt. herb." 1122 and 1098, which I take to be Odo of Meun's _De viribus (or
virtutibus) herbarum, sive Macer Floridus_ (ed. L. Choulant, 1832).
I also noted briefly nr. 2440: "Caseus et cepe veniunt ad prandia sepe" (cf.
"Pisces atque caro veniunt ad prandia raro"), nr. 10975: "Hoc aliud longe
est, inquit, que cepe serebat" (sorry, but the sense escapes me), "Sepe
sepem sepiam, ne sus capiat mihi cepam" (nr. 27266), and, as a strange case
demonstrating how a proverb could assume rather contradictory forms and
meanings (and odours, turning lillies into garlic, or vice versa): "Loquor
de liliis, tu respondes de cepis" (nr. 13959g), "De aliis [read, or at least
understand: alliis!] loquor, respondes de cepa" (nr. 36095), "De allio
quero, et tu respondes de cepis" (nr. 36095a)
Otfried
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