This fable was spoken by Menenius Agrippa, a famous Roman consul and
general, when he was deputed by the senate to appease a dangerous tumult
and insurrection of the people. The many wars that nation was engaged
in, and the frequent supplies they were obliged to raise, had so soured
and inflamed the minds of the populace, that they were resolved to
endure it no longer, and obstinately refused to pay the taxes which were
levied upon them. It is easy to discern how the great man applied this
fable. For, if the branches and members of a community refuse the
government that aid which its necessities require, the whole must perish
together. The rulers of a state, as idle and insignificant as they may
sometimes seem, are yet as necessary to be kept up and maintained in a
proper and decent grandeur, as the family of each private person is in a
condition suitable to itself. Every man's enjoyment of that little which
he gains by his daily labour, depends upon the government's being
maintained in a condition to defend and secure him in it.