The Man and his Stomach

3.16. De manibus et pedibus hominis et de ventre
Caxton: Of the handes / of the feet / & of the mans bely
How shalle one do ony good to another / the which can doo no good to his owne self / As thow mayst see by this fable / Of the feet and of the handes / whiche somtyme had grete stryf with the bely / sayenge / Al that we can or may wynne with grete labour thou etest it all / and yet thow doost no good / wherfore thou shalt no more haue nothynge of vs / and we shalle lete the deye for honger / And thenne when the bely was empty and sore hungry / she beganne to crye & sayd Allas I deye for honger / gyue me somwhat to ete / And the feet and the handes sayd / thou getest no thynge of vs / And by cause that the bely might haue no mete / the conduyts thorugh the whiche the metes passeth became smal and narowe / And within fewe dayes after the feete and handes for the febleness whiche they felte wold thenne haue gyuen mete to the bely /& but it was to late / for the conduits were ioyned to gyder / And therfore the lymmes myght doo no good to other / that is to wete the bely / And he that gouerneth not wel his bely with grete payne he may hold the other lymmes in theyr strengthe and vertue /
wherfore a seruaunt ought to serue wel his mayster / to thende that his mayster hold and kepe hym honestly / and to receyue and haue good reward of hym / when his mayster shalle see his feythfulnesse
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The Belly and the Members

064. THE BELLY AND THE MEMBERS. In former days, when all a man’s limbs did not work together as amicably as they do now, but each had a will and way of its own, the Members generally began to find fault with the Belly for spending an idle, luxurious life, while they were wholly occupied in labouring for its support, and ministering to its wants and pleasures; so they entered into a conspiracy to cut off its supplies for the future. The Hands were no longer to carry food to the Mouth, nor the Mouth to receive the food, nor the Teeth to chew it.
They had not long persisted in this course of starving the Belly into subjection, ere they all began, one by one, to fail and flag, and the whole body to pine away. Then the Members were convinced that the Belly also, cumbersome and useless as it seemed, had an important function of its own; that they could no more do without it than it could do without them; and that if they would have the constitution of the body in a healthy state, they must work together, each in his proper sphere, for the common good of all. [more info]

The Stomach, The Feet, and the Hands

THE STOMACH, THE FEET, AND THE HANDS. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Belly and the Members

037. THE BELLY AND THE MEMBERS. In former days, when the belly and other parts of the body enjoyed the faculty of speech, and had separate views and designs of their own, each part, it seems, in particular for himself, and in the name of the whole, took exception at the conduct of the belly, and were resolved to grant him supplies no longer. They said they thought it very hard that he should lead an idle, good-for-nothing life, spending and squandering away, upon his own ungodly guts, all the fruits of their labour; and that, in short, they were resolved for the future to strike off his allowance, and let him shift for himself as well as he could. The hands protested that they would not lift up a finger to keep him from starving; and the mouth wished he might never speak again, if he took in the least bit of nourishment for him as long as he lived; and, says the teeth, may we be rotten if ever we chew a morsel for him for the future.
This solemn league and covenant was kept as long as anything of that kind can be kept, which was, until each of the rebel members pined away to skin and bone, and could hold out no longer. They then found there was no doing without the belly, and that as idle and insignificant as he seemed, he contributed as much to the maintenance and welfare of all the other parts, as they did to his. [more info]

The Belly and the Members

054. THE BELLY AND THE MEMBERS. In former days, when the belly and other parts of the body enjoyed the faculty of speech, and had separate views and designs of their own, each part, it seems, in particular for himself, and in the name of the whole, took exception at the conduct of the belly, and were resolved to grant him supplies no longer. They said they thought it very hard that he should lead an idle, good-for-nothing life, spending and squandering away, upon his own ungodly guts, all the fruits of their labour; and that, in short, they were resolved for the future to strike off his allowance, and let him shift for himself as well as he could. The hands protested that they would not lift up a finger to keep him from starving; and the mouth wished he might never speak again, if he took in the least bit of nourishment for him as long as he lived; and, says the teeth, may we be rotten if ever we chew a morsel for him for the future.
This solemn league and covenant was kept as long as anything of that kind can be kept, which was, until each of the rebel members pined away to skin and bone, and could hold out no longer. They then found there was no doing without the belly, and that as idle and insignificant as he seemed, he contributed as much to the maintenance and welfare of all the other parts, as they did to his. [more info]

The Members and the Belly

03.02: THE MEMBERS AND THE BELLY.
Perhaps, had I but shown due loyalty,
This book would have begun with royalty,
Of which, in certain points of view,
Boss Belly is the image true,
In whose bereavements all the members share:
Of whom the latter once so weary were,
As all due service to forbear,
On what they called his idle plan,
Resolved to play the gentleman,
And let his lordship live on air.
'Like burden-beasts,' said they,
'We sweat from day to day;
And all for whom, and what?
Ourselves we profit not.
Our labour has no object but one,
That is, to feed this lazy glutton.
We'll learn the resting trade
By his example's aid.'
So said, so done; all labour ceased;
The hands refused to grasp, the arms to strike;
All other members did the like.
Their boss might labour if he pleased!
It was an error which they soon repented,
With pain of languid poverty acquainted.
The heart no more the blood renew'd,
And hence repair no more accrued
To ever-wasting strength;
Whereby the mutineers, at length,
Saw that the idle belly, in its way,
Did more for common benefit than they.
For royalty our fable makes,
A thing that gives as well as takes
Its power all labour to sustain,
Nor for themselves turns out their labour vain.
It gives the artist bread, the merchant riches;
Maintains the diggers in their ditches;
Pays man of war and magistrate;
Supports the swarms in place,
That live on sovereign grace;
In short, is caterer for the state.
Menenius told the story well:
When Rome, of old, in pieces fell,
The commons parting from the senate.
'The ills,' said they, 'that we complain at
Are, that the honours, treasures, power, and dignity,
Belong to them alone; while we
Get nought our labour for
But tributes, taxes, and fatigues of war.'
Without the walls the people had their stand
Prepared to march in search of other land,
When by this noted fable
Menenius was able
To draw them, hungry, home
To duty and to Rome.
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The Belly and the Members

054. THE BELLY AND MEMBERS. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll down to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Belly and the Limbs

1.28. THE BELLY AND THE LIMBS. It is a folly even to wish to withhold our part from the support of civil government.
Menenius Agrippa, a Roman Consul, being deputed by the senate to appease a dangerous tumult and sedition of the people, who refused to pay the taxes necessary for carrying on the business of the state, convinced them of their folly by delivering to them the following fable:
My friends and countrymen, said he, attend to my words. It once happened that the Members of the human body, taking some exception at the conduct of the Belly, resolved no longer to grant him the usual supplies. The Tongue first, in a seditious speech, aggravated their grievances; and after highly extolling the activity and diligence of the Hands and Feet, set forth how hard and unreasonable it was that the fruits of their labour should be squandered away upon the insatiable cravings of a fat and indolent Paunch, which was entirely useless, and unable to do anything towards helping himself. This speech was received with unanimous applause by all the Members. Immediately the Hands declared they would work no more; the Feet determined to carry no further the load of guts with which they had hitherto been oppressed; nay, the very Teeth refused to prepare a single morsel more for his use. In this distress, the Belly bethought them to consider maturely, and not foment so senseless a rebellion. There is none of you, says he, can be ignorant that whatsoever you bestow upon me is immediately converted to your use, and dispersed by me for the good of you all into every Limb. But he remonstrated in vain; for during the clamours of passion, the voice of reason is always disregarded. It being therefore impossible for him to quiet the tumult, he starved for want of their assistance, and the body wasted away to a skeleton. The Limbs, grown weak and languid, were sensible at last of their error, and would fain have returned to their respective duties; but it was now too late, death had taken possession of the whole, and they all perished together. [more info]

The Belly and the Members

29. THE BELLY AND THE MEMBERS. One fine day it occurred to the Members of the Body that they were doing all the work and the Belly was having all the food. So they held a meeting, and after a long discussion, decided to strike work till the Belly consented to take its proper share of the work. So for a day or two, the Hands refused to take the food, the Mouth refused to receive it, and the Teeth had no work to do. But after a day or two the Members began to find that they themselves were not in a very active condition: the Hands could hardly move, and the Mouth was all parched and dry, while the Legs were unable to support the rest. So thus they found that even the Belly in its dull quiet way was doing necessary work for the Body, and that all must work together or the Body will go to pieces. [more info]