body metaphors for the state
John of
Salisbury 1159
The state (res
publica) is a body … within that state, the prince occupies the place of the head; he is
subject to the unique God and to those who are his lieutenants on earth, for in
the human body the head is also governed by the soul. The senate occupies the
place of the heart, which gives good and bad deeds their impulses. The
function of the eyes, the ears and the tongue is assured by the judges and the
provincial governors … the feet that always touch the soil are the peasants. Being
governed by the head is especially necessary for them, because they are
faced by numerous detours as they walk upon the earth in the service of the
body, and because they need the firmest support in order to keep the mass of the
entire body erect, to support it and to move about. Deprive the most robust body
of the support given by its feet and it will not advance under its own strength but
will either crawl shamefully, painfully and unsuccessfully on its hands, or will
move about like brute beasts.