_The Fable of the Belly and the Members. Tribunes of the People._ Pavor ingens in urbe, metuque mutuo suspensa erant omnia. . . . Placuit igitur oratorem ad plebem mitti Menenium Agrippam, facundum virum et, quod inde oriundus erat, plebi carum. Is intromissus in castra prisco illo dicendi et horrido modo nihil {5} aliud quam hoc narrasse fertur: Tempore, quo in homine non, ut nunc, omnia in unum consentientia, sed singulis membris suum cuique consilium, suus sermo fuerit, indignatas reliquas partes sua cura, suo labore ac ministerio ventri omnia quaeri, ventrem in {10} medio quietum nihil aliud quam datis voluptatibus frui; conspirasse inde, ne manus ad os cibum ferrent, nec os acciperet datum, nec dentes conficerent. Hac ira dum ventrem fame domare vellent, ipsa una membra totumque corpus ad extremam tabem {15} venisse. Inde apparuisse ventris quoque haud segne ministerium esse, nec magis ali quam alere eum, reddentem in omnes corporis partes hunc, quo vivimus vigemusque, divisum pariter in venas, maturum confecto cibo sanguinem. Comparando hinc, quam {20} intestina corporis seditio similis esset irae plebis in patres, flexisse mentes hominum. Agi deinde de concordia coeptum concessumque in condiciones, ut plebi sui magistratus essent sacrosancti, quibus auxili latio adversus consules esset, neve cui patrum capere {25} eum magistratum liceret. Ita tribuni plebei creati duo, C. Licinius et L. Albinus. LIVY, ii. 32, 33. [Linenotes: 1-2. +Pavor ingens ... omnia.+ One of the Roman armies (mainly recruited from Plebeians) refused to obey orders, entrenched itself on Mons Sacer, and threatened to secede from Rome altogether. 2. +oratorem+ (i.e. _legatum_) = _spokesman_, charged with a _verbal_ message. 4. +inde+, i.e. from the Plebs. 10-11. +ventrem ... quietum+ = _whereas the belly resting calmly in their midst_. --Rawlins. 13. +conficerent+ = _grind_, and so aid digestion. Cf. +confecto+ l. 20. 19-20. +maturum confecto cibo+ = _brought to perfection only when the food is digested_. --R. 24. +sacrosancti+ = _consecrated and inviolable_. 24-25. +quibus ... esset+, i.e. as official protectors of the Plebs, by their right of veto on the official actions of all other magistrates.] +For the Fable+, cf. Seneca _de Ira_ ii. 31, and 1 Corinthians, xii. 12-27. D13 WAR WITH THE VOLSCIANS, 493 B.C. _Veturia and her son Coriolanus._