body metaphors for the state

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.