'The Belly and the Members', an illustration by John Vernon Lord
in Aesop's Fables, Jonathan Cape, 1989, page 151.
The Text:
The Belly and the Members
THE members of the Body rebelled
against the Belly, and said, “Why should we be perpetually engaged in
administering to your wants, while you do nothing but take your rest, and enjoy
yourself in luxury and self-indulgence?”
The Members carried out their resolve and refused their assistance to
the Belly. The whole Body quickly became
debilitated, and the hands, feet, mouth, and eyes, when too late, repented of
their folly.
Moral: United we stand; divided we
fall.
Text: George Fyler Townsend (p54, 1868).
Selected parallels: Alluded to in the Bible, 1 Corinthians
12/11-27. Said to have been told by Menenius Agrippa to the poor citizens of
Rome, who had revolted against the Senate when they had been oppressed by taxes
and severe laws against debtors.
Plutarch, Coriolianus 6. Livy 1/30;3. Caxton, Romulus 3.16. Shakespeare,
Coriolanus 1/2. La Fontaine 3/2. L’Estrange 1/50. Chambry 159. Perry 130. Daly
130. TMI J461.1.
Note:
The person on the bed looks suspiciously like the one who drew the illustration!
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